Slot Canyon Albuquerque
A high desert wind whips into the canyon, bounces off towering sandstone cliffs, whistles its way through slot washes and twists around eroding hoodoos, howling like a freight train.
Starting with arguably the most popular slot canyon, Antelope Canyon is actually divided into two: Upper and Lower. Both areas feature the gorgeous curvy walls that beckon visitors from all over the world but you’ll find the tourist traffic significantly less in Lower Antelope Canyon. It is the longest and deepest slot canyon in the Southwest and offers obstacles like rock jams, pools, quicksand, and the potential for flash floods. Yet a day hike option via Wire Pass Trail is moderately easy, and should be a must-do tour on any hiker's list. Note: there are multiple trailheads that provide access to Buckskin Gulch. Tent Rocks Slot Canyon and Cave Loop CLOSED is a 3.1 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking and is accessible year-round. Length 3.1 miElevation gain 839 ftRoute type Loop. Slot Canyon Trail, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. Walk among rock hoodoos that look like tipi tents! Amid the unusual rock formations, you’ll likely imagine yourself in another world. The Slot Canyon Trail is a 3-mile/4.8-kilometer roundtrip hike into a narrow canyon shaped by geologic processes seldom seen on this lovely planet.
Slot Canyons Near Albuquerque
This is San Lorenzo Canyon in the long light of a New Mexico summer afternoon, and the solitude and geologic features seem light-years from civilization.
But the small, dramatic canyon in Socorro County is an easy hour-and-a-half drive south from Albuquerque, making it a worthy day trip for adventurers of all kinds.
Visitors come to explore the narrow slot canyons, hike the trails and washes that wind through the area, or picnic under impressive sandstone cliffs, which vary in height from 100 feet to 300 feet, according to Denny Apachito, an outdoor recreation planner with the Bureau of Land Management.
Others come to photograph the wild geologic features in the 2.5-mile canyon, which Apachito said is less than a million years old.
Although the canyon isn’t long, it’s easy to spend hours exploring the various caves, hoodoos, arches and side canyons accessible from the road or trails.
There are three slot canyons on the north side of the road that are particularly dramatic, Apachito said.
One of them, which is easily identifiable by a wide wash that intersects with the road, is referred to as “The Toilet Bowl.”
Slot Canyon Albuquerque Jobs
“It got its name from the violent surge of water that runs down the canyon during monsoon season,” Apachito said.
An evening sky hangs above a slot canyon to mark the end of a summer day visit to San Lorenzo Canyon. (Robert Browman/Journal)
Walking into the slot canyons along the washes is easy, but things get more technical further in. There are spots where hikers wishing to continue will need to hoist themselves up a ledge or get a lift from a fellow adventurer.
The BLM jointly manages San Lorenzo Canyon with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a primitive recreation area, and there is no running water, other services, or official maps of the trails, Apachito said.
Hikers wanting to explore the canyon or the trails should be prepared to find areas of interest on their own.
“All trails in the area are unmarked, but well-used by hikers,” Apachito said. “The trails are well-worn.”
While there are no official trail markers, hiking apps and websites display many trails in the area. And other hikers have left stacks of rocks called cairns to help guide the way.
“The best hiking will be beyond where the road ends in the upper reach of the canyon,” Apachito said.
The canyon’s dramatic geologic features allow for hours of exploration. (Robert Browman/Journal)
Hikers wanting to explore this area will need to do a short scramble over the rocks at the end of the road, or find a way around, and then follow the canyon in, keeping an eye out for San Lorenzo Spring at the western end.
Those looking toward the sky in the canyon may spot quail, sparrows and cliff swallows, along with various birds of prey, and Chihuahuan Desert plant life is on display in all directions. San Lorenzo is also home to several types of lizards, snakes, bobcat, coyote and mountain lion.
“Lately the canyon has seen an increase in desert bighorn sheep population,” Apachito said. “Be on the look out for them as well.”
One of the truly classic hiking trails in the United States, let alone the world, Buckskin Gulch swerves through a subterranean paradise for the senses. Attempt this visually-arresting walk as a day trip, or walk the entire 20 miles over the course of four days.
Located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (near Kanab, Utah) and Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness (Arizona), Buckskin Gulch trails takes hikers through the veritable layer cake of the Colorado Plateau's geographical wonderment. It is the longest and deepest slot canyon in the Southwest and offers obstacles like rock jams, pools, quicksand, and the potential for flash floods. Yet a day hike option via Wire Pass Trail is moderately easy, and should be a must-do tour on any hiker's list.
Note: there are multiple trailheads that provide access to Buckskin Gulch. Wire Pass Trailhead offers the most direct access for a day hike. This is not to be confused with the Buckskin Trailhead, which follows a wash for several miles before intersecting with Wire Pass Trail and then the confluence with the Paria River.