In the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico, there are several incredible badlands and hoodoo areas, such as the Lybrook and Burnham Badlands, the Fossil Forest, and the Bisti/De-Na-Zin, Ojito, and Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah wilderness areas along with several others. I have had the pleasure to visit, hike, and photograph the first four listed above. These badlands, mostly managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), feature many bizarre and wonderful hoodoos and rock formations, from tiny mushroom shapes to massive spires, and every shape in between.

These desolate shale and sandstone hills and washes (wide dry streams that occasionally carry water) were deposited millions of years ago during a wetter time period. Many dinosaur discoveries have been made here, and there are numerous pieces of petrified wood, including in-place stumps and large logs. Hiking is more a matter of "just hike and explore," as there are no established trails in most of the areas.

The Lybrook Badlands

Upon arriving at the Lybrook Badlands, things look bleak...mostly stark hills and scattered junipers. The search for hoodoos begins by wandering in just about any direction in the multi-layered landscape of sandstone and shale. Most of the hoodoos are scattered along the slopes of the hillsides. The steepness of the terrain makes exploring difficult but rewarding. The Lybrook Badlands can also be viewed from above from the top of a high cliff on the east side of the valley. From this overlook, many hoodoos can be seen scattered over the multiple layers of rock.

My hiking buddy Ward Combs and I spent the better part of a day in 2015 wandering about the area, and with the help of a GPS pre-loaded with waypoints of numerous points of interest, we came away with a plethora of photos of a bizarre variety of hoodoos and outcrops. Luckily we had a waypoint for the car saved however, as we seriously misjudged the direction and distance back to our vehicle.

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness

The 41,170 acre Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is probably the best known of the New Mexican hoodoo wildernesses. The name Bisti is pronounced Bist'-eye. According to a Navajo ranger who we met in the parking lot, the name describes the texture of the soils. The Bisti Wilderness features large areas that are fairly flat and featureless, with scattered areas that have concentrations of diverse shapes of hoodoos. There is also quite a bit of petrified wood in the Bisti Wilderness. Just east and connected to Bisti is the De-Na-Zin Wilderness, which I have yet to visit.

I have been to the Bisti Wilderness twice, and each time saw a different portion. On my first trip with Ward, we visited a small area of concentrated hoodoos just west of the parking area, and then followed the southern margin of the Bisti wash until we arrived at the most famous area here, which is often called the "Egg Factory," although the rocks have been described to me as turtles, oysters, and egg shells. On my second visit, Tom Magruder, Joel Beaird, and I backpacked into the northern portion of the wash, which was quite different in character from the southern edge. Hoodoos were initially a bit more scattered, but the areas with hoodoos had a wild and crazy variety of shapes and sizes. As we hiked farther into the wilderness, the areas of hoodoos became more common. We found a great camping area among the hoodoos and enjoyed an amazing sunset and sunrise. Some of the formations were mushroom-shaped, some had wings of various sizes, and some were just of indescribable shapes.

Ojito Wilderness

The Ojito Wilderness is a recently-designated 11,000 acre wilderness. I had been to the nearby White Mesa mountain bike trails a couple of times without realizing that just a few miles away was a wonderful and seldom visited wilderness area. Ojito Wilderness has more vegetation than some of the other wildernesses, including ponderosa pine and juniper, as well as several varieties of cacti and various grasses and shrubs. There are a couple of established trails that lead a mile or two into the wilderness. One of these is the Seismosaurus Trail, which I plan on hiking on my next visit. The Seismosaurus Trail is so named because of a large Seismosaurus skeleton which was unearthed there.

On my visit in March, 2016, Tom, Joel, and I backpacked on the Hoodoo Trail that leads into the wilderness. This trail is also short, and we hiked less than a mile. Along this trail were several clusters of pastel yellowish mounds and hoodoos. Further along we found a beautiful area with a cluster of large (15 to 20 foot tall) creamy yellow-orange hoodoos with some ponderosa pines and junipers scattered about. We each chose a spot among the hoodoos and trees for the night. The area where we camped featured a large sandy area. In the morning, we stashed our packs and wandered farther down the trail, where we saw hints of a much larger wilderness begging to be explored.

Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness

The fourth of these hoodoo-riddled wildernesses that I have visited is the 6,563 acre Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness. Although it has little vegetation, even less than the lightly-vegetated and desolate Bisti Wilderness, it seems just as worthy of wilderness designation as Bisti and Ojito. Many important dinosaur fossils have been discovered in the area, beginning in 1921. My visit here with Ward began on a cloudy day with rain storms threatening in the distance. Rain was a concern, as many of the areas we explored were shale hills, which would make for difficult walking when wet. Fortunately, the rain passed to the south.

We explored along the southern edge of the wilderness, around which we wandered several miles, seeing a remarkable amount of petrified wood, including one large (about 2 feet high and 18 inches diameter) upright stump. At first glance, it looks like real wood, until you inspect it closer and realize it is indeed petrified. Growth rings and the texture of the bark have been preserved remarkably well! We were running out of time for more exploration, so we reluctantly left to get to our destination for the evening: The “King of Wings.” We drove around several miles to the northern access point, and backpacked a few miles to find the “King of Wings” (KOW), one of those amazing “how can this be?” places that you have to see to fully appreciate. We were trying to get to the KOW before sunset, and hoping for good colorful light, but it was farther than we anticipated, and we ended up setting up our tents in the dark near the KOW. The wind blew all night, I barely slept, it was cloudy, and I had little hope of getting good sunrise pictures, but luck was with me.

When sunrise came, I was up to see an amazing show of colors, as the overcast sky from the previous day was breaking up, and the sun lit up the King of Wings perfectly. Somebody had in the past left a part of a cow skeleton just below the KOW, which further enhanced the scene. The overhanging rock of the King of Wings is about 12 feet long and less than a foot thick! Miraculously, it is still standing as of my visit in the fall of 2015.

A visit to these New Mexico “badlands” will take you back in time to the age of the dinosaurs and provide you with days of hiking and backpacking opportunities. Pack a lot of memory cards, because everywhere you turn, there are strange and wonderful shapes, textures, and colors to view and photograph. It's the kind of place where, depending on the lighting conditions and time of day, the same spot can appear different each time one visits.

Need to Know

Information

No reservations or permits are needed for any of these wildernesses. When visiting these areas, one must be prepared for the remoteness of the area, the dryness, and navigation challenges. Access to most of these places is from graded dirt roads (see below), and may be impassible when wet. So far, I have been lucky and have not experienced this. These wilderness areas are also vast, so several repeat visits or a longer multi-day or at least overnight trip will give you plenty of time to see the areas. Hiking is not typically difficult, as there is not a lot of elevation change – usually 50 feet or less, but extra time is needed to backtrack, change direction repeatedly, and take lots of pictures.

Getting There

Lybrook Badlands

The Lybrook Badlands are located a short distance northwest of the small village of Lybrook to the west of U.S. Highway 550. A series of oil field roads take you into the heart of the wilderness.

Bisti Wilderness

The Bisti Wilderness is about 36 miles south of Farmington and is accessed from the paved New Mexico State Highway 371, followed by a few miles of dirt roads to a well-maintained parking area.

Ojito Wilderness

The Ojito Wilderness is located off of Cabezon Road to the west of U.S. Highway 550 near the village of San Ysidro.

Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness

The Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness is just north of (but not accessible from) the Chaco Culture National Historic Park, and is approached on 10 to 20 miles of graded dirt roads. Most of these roads are frequented by oil field vehicles, so we had no trouble driving to both the north and south sides of the WSA.

Best Time to Go

Spring is a good time to visit, although it can be quite windy. Early summer is a good time, as spring winds have subsided and the heat of summer is not yet at its maximum. Fall is a great time for a visit, once the summer “monsoon” rains have ended.

Maps and Books

USGS topos as well as a GPS, and an atlas like the Benchmark New Mexico Atlas and / or the Delorme New Mexico Atlas & Gazetteer may all be helpful. See the Hiking New Mexico guidebook for more on hiking opportunities in the state.

The Author

Steve Ancik is a landscape architect by profession whose hobbies include mountain biking, photography, hiking, and backpacking. He lives in Edmond, Oklahoma.

All photographs in this article © Steven L. Ancik.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Issue 31 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.