3 Best Sights in Day Trips from Santa Fe, New Mexico

Seven centuries before the Declaration of Independence was signed, compact city-states existed in the Southwest. This 33,677-acre wilderness is home to a fascinating collection of preserved petroglyphs and cave dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloan people, relatives of today's Rio Grande Pueblo Indians, who thrived on wild game, corn, and beans. Suddenly, for reasons still undetermined, the settlements were abandoned.

Remnants of one of the most impressive examples of these dwellings can be seen at Frijoles Canyon. At the canyon's base, near a gurgling stream, the remains of cave dwellings, ancient ceremonial kivas, and other stone structures stretch out for more than a mile beneath the sheer walls of the canyon's tree-fringed rim. Along a paved, self-guided trail, steep wooden ladders and narrow doorways lead to a series of cave dwellings, one that contains a kiva large and tall enough to stand in. Named after author and ethnologist Adolph Bandelier (his novel The Delight Makers is set in Frijoles Canyon), it also contains backcountry wilderness, waterfalls, and wildlife. Some 70 miles of trails traverse the park; the short Pueblo Loop Trail is an easy, self-guided walk. Pick up the $2 trail guide at the visitor center to read about the numbered sites along this trek. A small museum in the visitor center interprets the area's prehistoric and contemporary Native American cultures, with displays of artifacts dating back to the 13th century.

Note that from mid-June to mid-October, visitors arriving by car between 9 am and 3 pm must park at the White Rock Visitor Center 10 miles east on NM 4 and take a free shuttle bus into the park. This sleek, eco-friendly visitor center also serves as a terrific resource for learning about local attractions. The modern, comfortable Hampton Inn & Suites Los Alamos is next door.

One section of the park, an Ancestral Puebloan ruin called Tsankawi (pronounced sank-ah-wee) lies 12 miles from the main section, on NM 4 just south of NM 502 (because it is part of Bandelier, you must pay the park admission to enter it). On the 1½-mile loop trail, you can see petroglyphs and south-facing cave dwellings, and there's a large, unexcavated pueblo ruin on top of the mesa.

Members of the Santa Clara Pueblo lead guests on one- to two-hour tours of the dramatic cliffs and ancient volcanic-rock dwellings that were inhabited by the tribe's ancestors from the late 900s to 1580. Start by viewing historic photos and cultural displays in the Exhibit Hall, which occupies a restored 1930s guesthouse that was the only lodging ever built by the famed Fred Harvey Company on Native-owned land. Visiting the dwellings—which include a 140-room kiva—and the cliff top with its eye-popping 360-degree vistas are by guided tour only (these last one to two hours, depending on which one you book). The entrance to the dwellings is about 15 miles northeast of Los Alamos.

Situated just off U.S. 285/84 at Pojoaque Pueblo, this impressive complex of traditional adobe buildings, including the three-story Sun Tower, makes an engaging first stop as you begin a drive north of Santa Fe toward Taos. The facility comprises a museum, a cultural center, and artists' studios, all with the mission of preserving the arts and culture of Pueblo communities. The museum holds some 10,000 photographs, including many by esteemed early-20th-century photographer Edward S. Curtis, as well as more than 600 works of both traditional and contemporary pottery, jewelry, textiles, and sculpture. There's also a lovely gift shop of locally made Native American arts and crafts.