Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness — Attraction in Bloomfield

If you’re unfamiliar with the area but an avid hiker, Bisti Badlands is an amazing area to check out on your own, so long as you’ve come prepared with GPS coordinates, maps, and parking advice. I have no affiliation with it, but we used Firefall Photography’s website for excellent resources on all of that, including pinpoints for the north/south parking areas. As experienced hikers (Grand Canyon, Utah parks, Himalayas, etc.), we know our limitations, including the fact that our GPS apps often make quirky jumps in extremely remote areas, so we tried to pick and choose our priorities, ultimately deciding that we could manage the Bisti portion by ourselves. (We did the De-Na-Zin side the following day, with a guide. We had limited time to explore and didn’t want to waste it false-navigating to permitted parking sites or major landmarks on our own, especially in monsoon season, so we signed up for the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah tour offered by Navajo Wilderness Adventures for that area — absolutely wonderful!) On our independent day at Bisti, we arrived around 3 p.m., and a few sprinkles started just after 7 p.m., cutting off our desire to stay into the golden/blue hours, but it’s worth visiting no matter the time of day. Since we had only one sunrise moment to spend there, we decided to end at Wings, despite having read that the Eggs don’t photograph well in brighter light, and we were pleased with that choice in the end, since we had “near sunset” at the gorgeous hill of wings. Overall, in just under five hours, we made it from the Eggs to the Wings and hit nearly every major formation in between, including the Rock Garden, petrified wood, Hoodoo City, Vanilla Hoodoos, Manta Ray, and more. We found that some of our GPS points didn’t quite match the Firefall map (including at the Beige Hoodoos and Manta Ray), but going armed with general AllTrails locations, Firefall and AllTrails maps, Gaia, and a tiny print map with photos made it all come together, allowing us plenty of time to photograph the landscape from vantages up, down, and all around. The relatively flat terrain made our nine miles of hiking relatively simple (but do avoid it after rain where possible), and it was a fantastic journey — such mesmerizing formations and...

Spectacular area, well worth an easy hike. The area is mostly flat and wide, so the risk of flash floods is not as high as a slot canyon (but still keep an eye on the weather). There are no marked trails, so bring a trail map or use the Trails app. A lot of the really worthwhile sights are tucked against the cliff edges, so make sure to go beyond the river cuts. There is almost no shade, so bring PLENTY of water.

The parking area on Google Maps is marked accurately, and it's at the end of a gravel/dirt road that is pretty well-maintained. We came in an all-wheel drive vehicle and had no trouble. The parking area has a bathroom that's in decent condition, but there's no potable water, so again, bring PLENTY of water. There are no onsite BLM staff or visitor center.

We had occasional cell phone connection, but I'd make sure to bring a GPS and not rely on the cell...

If you've ever wondered what it's like to visit Tatooine (minus the double sunset) you have to come here! They have hoodoos and washes, petrified wood, strange rock formations called the alien eggs, and much more that we didn't have time to see! Downolad an offline map (all trails is a good one) if you want to keep your bearing and also see the coolest areas of the badlands.

BRING WATER. We hiked about four miles in during the fall and still needed to drink a ton of water, like the land steals moisture from your very breath. I also live in a swamp, so if you're more acclimated to the desert your experience may not be as dramatic as mine.

Also, take screenshots of the directions in AND OUT of the badlands, the signal is horrible for miles in any direction, and the roads are definitely not paved....