El Morro National Monument - Activities

Mesa Top Trail: If you have at least 1 1/2 hours, and lots of energy, you can continue past the inscriptions and up to the top of the mesa. There, you will be rewarded with spectacular views of the Zuni Mountains, the volcanic craters of the El Malpais area, and the El Morro valley. The Mesa Top Trail is a 2–mile loop which includes Inscription Trail. A 250 ft. elevation gain and the uneven sandstone surface makes this a moderately strenuous hike. Sturdy walking shoes and water, particularly in the hot summer months, are necessary. Portions or all of the Mesa Top Trail can close due to severe weather, especially during the winter.

Atsinna: Another reward for hiking the Mesa Top Trail is the Ancestral Puebloan ruin, Atsinna, or “place of writings on rock”. Between approximately 1275 to 1350 AD, up to 1500 people lived in this 875 room pueblo. The location was strategic—it was near the only water source for many miles, and located atop a nearly impenetrable mesa. Atsinna was partially excavated in the 1950s, and archeologists continue to work towards its stabilization.