Trail of the Ancients - New Mexico
Trail of the Ancients - New Mexico is a National Scenic Byway in New Mexico. Within New Mexico it covers roughly 450 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Trail of the Ancients - New Mexico with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
New Mexico's Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway spans 662 miles of mostly back roads across the state's northwestern corner, much of it crossing the Navajo Nation. Chaco Culture National Historical Park anchors the route, preserving the monumental architecture of Ancestral Puebloans who lived in the region between roughly 850 and 1250 CE and are ancestors of today's Hopi, Zuni, and Rio Grande Pueblo peoples. Archaeological evidence along the byway traces human presence in the area back to hunter-gatherers as early as 10,000 BC, while the Navajo, whose Athabascan ancestors migrated from northwestern Canada, arrived roughly 500 years ago and remain the region's dominant presence today. Other stops include El Morro National Monument, the volcanic Ice Caves, the San Juan River Basin, the eroded Bisti Badlands, the Zuni Mountains, and Zuni Pueblo itself. The Federal Highway Administration designated the route a National Scenic Byway in 2021, recognizing one of the densest concentrations of pre-Columbian archaeological sites anywhere in the country.
- Chaco Culture National Historical Park
- Bisti Badlands
- 662 miles
- Ancestral Puebloans
- El Morro National Monument
- 2021 National Scenic Byway
- Navajo Nation
Designated for its archaeological qualities
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Places to stop along Trail of the Ancients - New Mexico
Aztec Ruins National Monument
A 900-year-old great house with original timber ceilings and a reconstructed great kiva you can step into.
WebsiteChaco Culture National Historical Park
A UNESCO World Heritage Site of monumental great houses like Pueblo Bonito, reached by rough dirt roads. Carry water and check road conditions first.
WebsiteEl Morro National Monument
A sandstone bluff above a rare waterhole where Puebloans, Spanish explorers, and American emigrants carved more than 2,000 inscriptions.
Website
Where to Stay along Trail of the Ancients - New Mexico
4 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Trail of the Ancients - New Mexico.
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What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.