• Tyuonyi Pueblo and Big Kiva from Frey Trail

    Bandelier

    National Monument New Mexico

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  • Access by Shuttle Bus Only

    Starting May 24, 2013 all access to the most visited part of the park, Frijoles Canyon, will be via a mandatory shuttle bus from the nearby community of White Rock from 9 AM - 3 PM daily. Private cars may drive in before 9 AM or after 3 PM. More »

Falls Trail Virtual Tour

Lower Frijoles Canyon

View of Lower Frijoles Canyon from just below Lower Falls

NPS Photo by Stella Carroll

The story of the Falls Trail is the story of water. Water that tumbles and flows from snow melt and springs in the Jemez Mountains to the slowly moving Rio Grande (big river) some 4,600 feet below. Two dramatic waterfalls mark geologic transitions along the 700 foot descent from the Visitor Center. The Falls Trail follows El Rito de Los Frijoles (Frijoles Creek or Little River of Beans) 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the end of the Backpacker's Parking Lot to the Upper Falls and (virtual tour only beyond Upper Falls since the big flood in the summer of 2011) then continues another mile (1.4 km) past a second waterfall and finally to the Rio Grande.

 

Did You Know?

Valles Caldera

The Valles Caldera is the collapsed summit of the Jemez Volcano which erupted over 1 million years ago.  Ash from this volcano formed the volcanic tuff from which the Ancestral Pueblo people built their homes.