Forty minutes west of Santa Fe in New Mexico, the landscape morphs into a field of cone-shaped hoodoos that were formed by ancient volcanic activity into rocky structures some 90 feet tall. Known as Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, the photogenic landscape was growing in popularity prior to March 2020, when it closed due to COVID-19 measures.
And it’s been closed ever since—until now. Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument reopened on November 21, 2024, after the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Cochiti Pueblo (the Indigenous group local to the monument) renegotiated how the monument would be operated and by whom. The result was updated entry fees and a new policy that limits visitation, encouraging the protection of this fragile, eroding land. If you’re planning on wandering among these mystical “tent rocks,” here’s what to know and how to get permits.
Access to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument requires a few additional steps now.
Courtesy of Bruce Warrington/Unsplash
How to visit Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
In 2019–2020, Tent Rocks, as it’s known, saw nearly double its expected visitation, with roughly 130,000 nature lovers trekking along the sandy trails—many coming to nab photos of the wild, peaked structures. For a site that’s just over 5,000 acres, with a relatively small trail network, that kind of traffic isn’t tenable; with road congestion and crowds, the gateway town of Cochiti Pueblo was negatively affected, too.
The BLM and Cochiti Pueblo leaders have agreed to a new system, under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, for the park’s recent reopening. The Cochiti Pueblo will now take on the day-to-day management of the monument, operating as the face of the site to visitors—an exciting chance for the public to experience this landscape alongside its human history and culture.
Right now, reservations are only available for visits through December 14, which is the end of the 2024 season. Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument will be closed for the holidays and will reopen on January 31, 2025. Additional information about booking windows for 2025 will be made available in January next year.
As for visitation, annual numbers will be kept to 75,000, ensuring parking availability, less-crowded trails, and well-managed public areas. What’s more, visitors now need two permits:
- A $5 timed reservation made via recreation.gov. A limited number are available each day (no precise number has been provided); America the Beautiful Passes waive the ticket price, and kids 15 and under are free.
- A Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Access Pass, available here. Adults are $20; kids ages 2 to 15 are $2; kids under 2 are free.
For those who manage to snag a slot, here’s the process day-of: Visitors must check in between 7:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Cochiti Visitor Center. Once you’re checked in, you can follow the next pilot vehicle to the monument—they run regularly, with the last vehicle departing from the visitor center at 1 p.m. When you’re finished exploring among the ancient volcanic towers, pilot vehicles escort visitors back out as needed, with the monument closing at 4 p.m.
“The Pueblo now has a greater voice in how we want our sacred lands and community to be treated and respected by our visitors to the monument,” said Cochiti Pueblo Governor Joel Arquero, in an earlier statement. “This will help us preserve our traditions and culture for generations to come.”
In addition to wondrous hoodoos, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is filled with slot canyons to explore.
Photo by VivL/Shutterstock
An Indigenous-led future
Indigenous management of public lands is becoming increasingly common, as part of the establishment of the Joint Secretarial Order 3403 in 2022, a government effort to strengthen tribal co-management of federal lands and waters. These developments come in the wake of the appointment of Deb Haaland, a registered member of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe, to Interior Secretary in 2021, the first person of Native American descent to hold the position. That same year Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III was named director of the the National Park System. Sams, also the first Native American to hold the role, is Cayuse and Walla Walla and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon.
The result has been a growing movement of greater cooperation between government-owned and -managed public lands and Indigenous communities, including in New Mexico.
“In New Mexico, visitors can experience many fascinating places co-managed by Pueblos, Tribes, and Nations in partnership with state and federal agencies,” says Jey Bernal, New Mexico Tourism Department tribal tourism development officer.
Bernal points to the 700-year-old Jemez Historic Site, a national historic landmark managed by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with Jemez Pueblo (Walatowa) since 2013, and the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area, a BLM site with tours provided exclusively by Navajo Tours USA since 2019.
In addition to Tent Rocks, spots like Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument are pushing for similar collaboration. With public support, this could be the beginning of a new chapter for America’s public lands. “Together,” says Bernal, “these entities will work to protect, preserve, and share these places that have long held great importance.”
