ADJACENT POINTS OF INTEREST.
The Valle Grande is 15 miles west from the Frijoles Canyon checking station, on State Route 4, toward Cuba, N. Mex. This drive across the Jemez ridge cannot be made in the winter, for the road is never cleared of snow.
Los Alamos, the atomic city, borders the monument on the north. At the time of this writing (1955), visitors are not allowed to enter the gates of Los Alamos without special passes.
San Ildefonso, the modern Indian Pueblo nearest to the monument, will make an interesting side trip when you either enter or leave Bandelier. The village lies one mile north of State Route 4, just east of the Rio Grande. This is the home of Maria Martinez, the woman whose pottery-making skill has won nationwide awards and who was instrumental in reestablishing the production of high-quality pottery in the Rio Grande pueblos.
How to Reach the Monument
Bandelier National Monument is 46 miles west of Santa Fe, N. Mex., by way of U. S. 285 to Pojoaque, then left onto State Route 4. Coming from Taos and the north, leave U. S. 285 at Espanola, turning right across the Rio Grande. During the summer, access is possible from the south via Jemez Springs and through the Valle Grande on unimproved gravel roads.
About Your Visit
The monument is open every day of the year. The administration building and museum are open daily from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m. (from 8 a. m. to 9 p. m. in summer). Monument literature is available at the reception desk.
Interpretive services include self-guided tours to the principal ruins of Frijoles Canyon. Make application at the reception desk for the booklet and map which describe the walk.
Two other interpretive trails are provided, one visiting the ruins of Rainbow House immediately down canyon from headquarters; the other, in the Otowi Section, climbing to the mesa on which Tsankawi is situated. At the latter place, a booklet will guide you along the trail and tell you the archeological story, point by point.
Each evening from mid-June until Labor Day a program is presented at the administration building by a ranger or archeologist of the monument staff. The subjects of these informal talks range through many fields, from wildlife or botany to Indian ceremonials. Slides or movies are usually shown.
A campground is maintained near headquarters along the Rito de los Frijoles. Campsites are available in the shade of the grove which lines the stream; and fireplaces, tables, and firewood are provided. Housetrailers can be accommodated, and free toilet, shower, and laundry facilities are nearby.
Frijoles Canyon Lodge and Restaurant, directly opposite the administration building, provide excellent accommodations and meals under a concession contract from the National Park Service. The lodge is built of native stone in pueblo architecture, surrounding several landscaped patios; it is one of the more picturesque resorts of the Santa Fe region. The season for these accommodations is May 1 to October 15; no meals or rooms are available in the monument during the balance of the year. For reservations and further information write Frijoles Canyon Lodge, Bandelier National Monument, Santa Fe, N. Mex.
Horseback riding is very popular over the 50-mile network of trails. A saddle-horse concession is operated from April into October. Although the majority of riders take horses for the day only, overnight trips into the back country can be arranged.
Establishment and Administration
Adolph Bandelier, a Swiss-American historian and ethnologist, gave the first prominence to the Pajarito Plateau ruins as a result of his explorations and descriptions during the 1880’s. Around the turn of the century a bill was introduced in Congress to create here a Cliff Cities National Park, it being apparent that some protection of the area was necessary to reduce the vandalism of the ruins. The bill, however, failed to pass. Presently, attention was again drawn to the area by the archeological work in Frijoles Canyon from 1909 to 1912, directed by the late Dr. Edgar L. Hewett. The renewed interest resulted in a proposal by the Secretary of Agriculture, in 1915, that a national monument be created. The Smithsonian Institution strongly supported this idea and recommended the name Bandelier in honor of the pioneer student of the region. The Secretary of Interior concurred, and as a result, on February 11, 1916, Bandelier National Monument was established by Presidential proclamation.
From 1916 until 1932, the monument was administered by the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. In 1952, the area was transferred to the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior, with a small adjustment of boundaries. The total area is now slightly over 27,000 acres. Since 1932, a National Park Service superintendent has been resident at monument headquarters in Frijoles Canyon. The monument has a small complement of rangers and fire guards for protection of the ruins, the wildlife, and the forests; in the summer, several temporary rangers are employed to aid in archeological interpretation.
Requests for further information should be addressed to the Superintendent, Bandelier National Monument, Santa Fe, N. Mex.
Related Areas
A number of other southwestern areas in the National Park System have been established for the protection of prehistoric structures. These include Mesa Verde National Park, in southwestern Colorado, and the following national monuments: Aztec Ruins, Chaco Canyon, and Gila Cliff Dwellings, in New Mexico; Canyon de Chelly, Casa Grande, Montezuma Castle, Navajo, Tonto, Tuzigoot, Walnut Canyon, and Wupatki, in Arizona.
Glossary of Spanish and Indian Words
| Caldera | (cahl-DEHR-ah) | Spanish | Caldron—a volcano that has collapsed upon itself |
| Canada | (cahn-YAH-dah) | Spanish | Wide shallow canyon |
| Chaco | (CHAH-coh) | Unknown | A canyon in northwestern New Mexico |
| Cochiti | (COH-chee-tee) | Indian | A pueblo south of Bandelier |
| Frijoles | (free-HOH-less) | Spanish | Beans |
| Hopi | (HOH-pee) | Indian | A pueblo Indian tribe |
| Jemez | (HAY-mess) | Indian | A mountain range west of Bandelier and an Indian pueblo |
| Kiva | (KEE-vah) | Indian | Ceremonial chamber or room |
| Mano | (MAH-noh) | Spanish | Hand |
| Mesa | (MAY-sah) | Spanish | Table; hence, a tableland |
| Metate | (Meh-TAH-teh) | Spanish from Aztec | A large grinding stone |
| Otowi | (OH-toh-wee) | Indian | A ruin in Bandelier |
| Pajarito | (PAH-hah-REE-toh) | Spanish | Little bird. The plateau between Jemez Mountains and the Rio Grande |
| Pueblo | (Pooh-EB-loh) | Spanish | Village or people |
| Rio, Rito | (REE-oh) (REE-toh) | Spanish | River, creek |
| San Ildefonso | (San ILL-de-FON-soh) | Spanish | A pueblo near Bandelier |
| San Juan | (san WHAHN) | Spanish | A river and a pueblo |
| Tyuonyi | (tchew-OWN-yee) | Indian | A ruin in Frijoles Canyon |
| Valle Grande | (VAH-yeh GRAHN-deh) | Spanish | Great Valley |
| Viga | (VEE-gah) | Spanish | Roofbeam |
Suggestions for Further Reading
Bandelier, Adolph F. The Delight Makers. Dodd, Mead and Co., New York City. Bolton, Herbert E. Coronado, Knight of Pueblos and Plains. Whittlesey House and the University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, N. Mex. Butcher, Devereux. Exploring Our Prehistoric Indian Ruins. National Parks Association, Washington, D. C. Dutton, Bertha P. New Mexico Indians Pocket Handbook. New Mexico Association on Indian Affairs, Santa Fe, N. Mex. Hewett, Edgar L. The Pajarito Plateau and its Ancient People. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, N. Mex. McGregor, John C. Southwestern Archaeology. John Wiley and Son, New York City. Stallings, W. S. Dating Prehistoric Ruins by Tree Rings. Tree Ring Society, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz. Tilden, Freeman. The National Parks: What They Mean To You and Me. Alfred Knopf, New York City. Underhill, Ruth. First Penthouse Dwellers of America. Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe, N. Mex. Wormington, H. M. Prehistoric Indians of the Southwest. Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Colo.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES
(Price lists of National Park Service publications may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D.C.)
Antietam Bandelier Chalmette Chickamauga and Chattanooga Battlefields Custer Battlefield Custis-Lee Mansion, the Robert E. Lee Memorial Fort Laramie Fort McHenry Fort Necessity Fort Pulaski Fort Raleigh Fort Sumter George Washington Birthplace Gettysburg Guilford Courthouse Hopewell Village Independence Jamestown, Virginia Kings Mountain The Lincoln Museum and the House Where Lincoln Died Manassas (Bull Run) Montezuma Castle Morristown, a Military Capital of the Revolution Ocmulgee Petersburg Battlefields Saratoga Scotts Bluff Shiloh Statue of Liberty Vanderbilt Mansion Vicksburg Yorktown
