Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument: A Geologic Marvel

Perfect timing that Tent Rocks has reopened for February. Plan accordingly, in recreation.gov , there’s no reservation available for Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s a must to purchase reservation and purple heart pass, the fee has increased but it’s worth it! The process of getting in was so organized. All information is in recreation.gov Pls be respectful, no video taping or recording while following the pilot car and passing by the Cochiti pueblo. Ample of parking space in gravel. Recommend to do the slot canyon trail first then the cave loop trail. So rewarding squeezing the slot canyons and hiking all the way on top of the mesa. After which, visit the memorial overlook , gravel/dirt road, passable even with sedan on dry condition

Beautiful landscapes. 😍 enjoyable!! We hiked all way to the top. Almost 4 hours.

Fantastic!

Tent Rocks is now open! This is great news! My family hiked there over the weekend. The views are beautiful and the road to get there is paved now. Porta potties on site are nicer than they were years ago. There is nice parking with picnic tables available to eat picnic food. You do need to carry in your own water and there are no snacks available on site. There is a convenience store as well as the Cochiti Visitor's Center nearby which does carry a few snacks. The shorter cave loop trail is an easy 1.2 miles, but is too sandy for a wheelchair. The slot canyon trail is moderately difficult with some slippery areas and some very narrow areas in the slot canyon. My family and I hiked it without problem until the end, which has a steep climb with some loose large rocks. This last part leads to an overlook which is breathtaking, but not necessary if you feel uncomfortable with it. My 20 year old daughters climbed up, but my husband and I did not do so. We still enjoyed it, nonetheless, and enjoyed the unique scenery. This trail is a "one way in and out" so you can't get lost and you return to the exact spot where you started out. We all wore tennis shoes and did fine with these, but hiking boots with some ankle support might be preferable. I would not advise going there if a thunderstorm or inclement weather are forecasted. Make sure and get to the visitor's center by at least 1 pm. Park rangers start telling tourists to hike toward their cars at 2:30pm. And everyone is required to drive away by 4pm. This is good because it does begin to get rather dark (and colder) in the slot canyon in the late afternoon. At least in the wintertime. My only reason for taking off a star is that I do think the Tribal Access Pass fees that are required by Cochiti Pueblo are too expensive. We had a family of 5 adults and the $23 or so PER PERSON ($20 plus fees) is too much. If it was a per vehicle fee, this would be reasonable. But requiring this per person is not okay for many families. These high fees will discourage some from visiting the site, which is a shame. The $5/per person BLM entry fee is reasonable, but requiring $20+ PER PERSON Cochiti Access Pass is not, in my opinion. If this pass allowed access to the pueblo itself, maybe that would be okay. But a pilot car leads you to and from the Cochiti Visitor's Center, and vehicles are not allowed to stray into the pueblo itself.

Be warned, they push people out particularly early to ensure everyone's out by four, and close the gates at the first sign of rain. If its windy they block off the scenic view at the end for safety reasons. I only give them three stars because I've had a lot of very unprofessional encounters with the staff. They literally ran for the gate and slammed practically in our face once, then ran off without any offer of explanation, presumably because of rain clouds. But is it incredibly beautiful, definitely worth the visit, just make sure to check the weather carefully.