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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 »
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Alcove House Closed
Alcove House, with its 140 ft climb on stairs and ladders, is closed to all visitor access from June 10 to August 22, 2013 while important stabalization work is done on the Alcove House kiva. More »
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Fire Restrictions in Place
Due to high fire danger, starting June 5, 2013, smoking will be allowed only in designated areas. No open fires will be allowed anywhere in the park. Self-contained stoves only at the campground or backcountry camping. No fireworks.
Falls Trail Stop 2
Frijoles Creek NPS Photo by Stella Carroll The prehistoric people who lived here were dependent on their immediate environment for everything they needed, including food, clothing, shelter, and medicine. The environment within Frijoles Canyon has several characteristics which made it a good place for the Ancestral Pueblo people to live. Frijoles Creek is a permanent stream, a rare commodity in the arid Southwest. A reliable source of water, diverse vegetation, and an abundance of wildlife supplied the needs of some of the earliest inhabitants of Frijoles Canyon. As people began more permanent settlements, agriculture appeared. Beans, corn, and squash were grown in the canyon bottom, in shallow basins, on side slope terraces and on the mesa tops, where the Ancestral Puebloans developed water conserving methods. Shelters could be made by carving a cave into the soft cliff, or by building a home of stone blocks cut from tuff.
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Did You Know?
Scorpionweed gets its name from the shape of the flowers, which unfold like a scorpion's tail as they prepare to bloom.