Alcove House & Main Ruin Trail
The reason you visit Bandelier, in the Jemez Mountains, is to see the amazing ruins in Frijoles Canyon, and especially the Alcove House and its Kiva high up at the canyon’s rim after an exciting ladder climb. At only 2.6 miles roundtrip the full hike to the Alcove House from the trailhead is a breeze… unless you’re scared of heights. No joke, if you’re afraid of heights or are incapable of climbing 4 tall ladders and some stone steps, this ain’t the hike for you. I’ve seen adults and young people holding up traffic because they tearfully can’t continue the climb down.
Also, the NPS has struck again and they’re limiting people to 15 at a time in the Alcove House. Every time I’ve been there I was the only one in the alcove. Or it was my wife and I so maybe I’ve been lucky and missed the crowds. But check the NPS website often for future changes like permits being required. Speaking of further changes, this year (2022), the NPS is not allowing people to drive down into the canyon from June 4th through mid October. Instead, you must park in White Rock and a free shuttle (that comes by every 20 and 30 minutes) will take you down to the canyon… This is a good thing and I actually endorse it.
The start of the trail is essentially at the parking lot WHICH IS HOME TO RATTLESNAKES! I legitimately almost stepped on one late in the afternoon in early May of 2021. If you’re there during the off-season like I’ve been both times and you’re able to drive down into the canyon, the parking lot fills up very early so it’s best to get there in the afternoon, around 3 or later.
The trail to the Alcove House is flat and in the bottom of the Frijoles Canyon and is truly an exceptionally beautiful and fun hike. It’s also pretty unique! You not only get to explore the ruins and foundation of the Tyuonyi Pueblo in the center but the cavates carved into the volcanic tuff are also explorable on a fantastic paved trail and ladder system.
Be sure to also spot the many petroglyphs and pictographs on the canyon wall as well as the Long House. Some paint’s even been preserved and is now behind a plastic shield.
After the ruins you enter a beautiful shaded forest along the Frijoles River that you follow until the four ladders and many many rungs and stairs up to the Alcove House appear.
Once in the little cave be sure to treat the site with reverence as you admire the kiva and the cavates and take in the beautiful view and peacefulness of the whole scene.
After the Alcove House you can take an alternate route back to the parking lot and visitor center by going through a beautiful nature trail on the other side of the canyon with informative plaques and gorgeous scenery.
Just watch out for the snakes. On this trail back to the car with my wife we saw a small non-venomous snake which prompted me to mention how I’d somehow, through all my many countless travels throughout the Southwest, never seen a rattler. Well, Mother Nature remedied that anomaly for me almost immediately when I dang near stepped on one in the parking lot.