Mesa Prieta Petroglyphs

This one-mile round trip hike led by Dr. Martha Yates takes you through one of the most stunning petroglyph sites in New Mexico, famous for its shield figures, many flute-playing animals, water snakes and Spanish crosses from the historic period. Visit the Wells Petroglyph Preserve owned by the Archaeological Conservancy. At only 156-acres, this portion of the Mesa contains more than 9,000 petroglyphs dating from Archaic (2,000 - 5,000 years old) to modern times. For the last 24 years, the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project, a non-profit with numerous national awards for its work, has been helping to preserve the Mesa's cultural heritage. Over 45,000 images of the estimated 80,000 on the Mesa have now been recorded by the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project.