Three Rivers Petroglyph Site — Attraction in Four Corners States

If you don’t have time to travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico to see the stone arts, there is a much smaller area in the middle of the State where you see some petroglyphs. Visit the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site. The site is located 17 miles north of Tularosa, NM, and 28 miles south of Carrizozo, NM on U.S. 54.

The Three Rivers Petroglyph Site is one of the few locations in the Southwest set aside solely because of its rock art. It is also one of the few sites giving visitors such direct access to petroglyphs. The number and concentration of petroglyphs here make it one of the largest and most interesting petroglyphs sites in the Southwest. More than 21,000 glyphs of birds, humans, animals, fish, insects and plants, as well as numerous geometric and abstract designs are scattered over 50 acres of New Mexico’s northern Chihuahuan Desert. The petroglyphs at Three Rivers, dating back to between about 900 and 1400 AD, were created by Jornada Mogollon people who used stone tools to remove the dark patina on the exterior of the rock. A small pueblo ruin is nearby and Sierra Blanca towers above to the east. A detailed petroglyph guide is available at the Three Rivers...

We really loved hiking this site and would recommend it to anyone looking for something to do on the way down to White Sands! The hike was fairly easy, but a majority of it was up natural and man-made steps that could be a tripping hazard for children or anyone who is not the most agile.

The visitor center is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but there was still a place to leave site fees, sign in, and pick up maps. We went just after noon on a day that was raining and were the only people on the trail. We didn’t even see anyone else in the camping site area. We started when it was lightly drizzling and still could identify many of the petroglyphs. We started heading back to the car after it started raining more heavily and the petroglyphs were much harder to see, but we’re still wonderful to see.

There were clean bathroom stalls near the start of the hike. I saw a water fountain, but not a water refill station (tho I could have missed it).

We stopped at the native owned trading post just near the entrance and were able to get a sticker for the site in addition to some other really wonderful stuff!

Both Verizon and T-mobile...

It was a very interesting day enjoying this area. There's a day pass fee of $7 and you can spend as much time in the area looking at the petroglyphs as you would like. The first part of the climb is on very easy sidewalk type base leading to a lookout area with few benches. The scenery here is stunning, looking out over the valley. The rest of the climb is perhaps about a half mile and can get rough as you are stepping up on natural stone steps in the Earth at various heights to get into the rock formations. The day I visited it was warm but very windy. Some of the petroglyphs are numbered to help you more easily find them. You can walk around the rock formations to view them from all sides. Once you get to the top there's a nice seating area that's covered to view the valley. There are signs that explain the area, and if you go Thursday through Sunday the visitors center is open and you can get a brochure that explains things well. Can also get it online. A very nice way to spend...