Petroglyph National Monument
Petroglyph National Monument was one that I was really excited about visiting. I didn’t know much about it ahead of time, but I knew that there were thousands of petroglyphs at the site. It was definitely a solid stop!
We started at the Information Center where the kids got a video intro to the site and got their Junior Ranger booklets. This area was mostly outdoors with a very small info center and shop. The amphitheater for the video was outside, and maybe it was due to Covid, but the rangers were set up outside under a canopy. Petroglyph National Monument is pretty widespread, and there are not a ton of stops or services around. We had several choices of hike, so we chose to do the one with the most petroglyphs on view and then, if we had time and stamina, we would do the Volcanoes Day Use Area (more on that here!).
We started at the Rinconada Canyon Trail. Again, this area is widespread, and this trailhead parking lot was within a residential neighborhood. The trail was amazing. We walked along the escarpment of this canyon with sweeping views of the canyon and the city. But most importantly, views of hundreds of petroglyphs very clear along the way.
It rained just a tiny bit while we were out, but the temperature was perfect. It was all kind of dramatic- I loved it. 😀
The trail was sandy and there were lots of little spurs to explore.
I felt a lot of emotions viewing these petroglyphs left by people years ago for us to explore and interpret now. It was a really special visit that I enjoyed a lot.
