New Mexico Places

The Colorado Plateau covers more than 150,000 square miles of the four-corners region (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado).  The geology here is primarily sedimentary rocks, especially sandstones, shales and limestones.  Volcanic rock is also common near former hotspots.

Over millions of years, wind and water have eroded the landscape, leaving amazing formations, fossils and hoodoos.  Massive petrified trees are fairly common and easy to identify.  Small chunks of petified wood can be collected on some (not all) BLM lands, and only in accordance with their regulations.  Fossil fragments of dinosaurs and other vertebrates are much harder to identify, and are absolutely illegal to remove.

All of the following badlands are wide open, with almost no tree cover or shade.  Only Ojito has marked trails.  The best sites at each of the badlands are not easy to find, since they can be around a bluff or across a wide expanse of desert.  So do your research before visiting.  Find online maps, AND lean on AllTrails (or similar).  The most impressive hoodoos are often marked on trail maps and apps.

For the others, you follow stream beds or just cut across the desert.  Only Bisti has pit toilets at the parking lot.  Only Lybrook has a gas station within easy access.  None have water of any kind.  All of these involve driving on dusty, though passable, dirt roads.  For all of them, sunrise and sunset are the best times of day to shoot, and midday can be deadly in the summer heat.  After the rain, the ground becomes a slippery, muddy mess.  These are true wilderness areas, so plan accordingly.

Bisti Badlands, BLM.  This is the grand daddy of them all in New Mexico.  It is the most well-known, easiest to access, and most visited. You can even get guided tours if you are short on time.  It is very large and easy to get lost and/or to miss the best features.  The good hoodoos and tree fossils are at least 30-45 minutes walk-time one way from the parking lot.  So if you are planning to be there at sunrise, be prepared to go early and take a flashlight.  ADVICE: If you really want the best pictures, this should not be a one-day visit.  The first day, explore the area, checking out the sites you most want to photograph in the daylight.  Mark them on your apps or maps.  Stick around at one until sunset, get your shots and then hike out.  The second day, get up early and hike out to shoot your next site at sunrise.  Then hike back before the heat of the day, head into Farmington to get lunch and to hydrate, then head back before sunrise for your third spot.  The formations are not usually close enough to get more than one or two at any sunrise or sunset.  The more sites you want to photograph at sunrise and sunset, the more days you will need to visit.

Ojito Wilderness, BLM.  This site is MUCH easier to visit than Bisti.  Ojito is often called the Hoodoos in the Pines, since it is one of few badlands with tree cover.  It is also much nearer to Albuquerque.  The hoodoo area is much smaller than the other sites, and the trail from the road is shorter.  I really like this area, but many photographers skip it since it is not an iconic barren desert-scape.

Lybrook Badlands, BLM.  This site is closer to the highway than Bisti, but is not well marked.  There are basically two areas where you can find hoodoos at Lybrook Badlands.  To the west of the dirt road, you will find a small concentration of amazing, closely packed and fascinating hoodoos.  But you will have to climb over some tricky ground to get there.  Maybe there is a good trail taking you there, but I have not found it yet.  To the east of the dirt road you will some amazing bluffs that are evolving into hoodoos, and some towering isolated hoodoos scattered far apart from each other.  This area is vast.  I prefer the west side, since I think the hoodoos there are more photogenic.

Fossil Forest, BLM.  I have only visited this site once, and I saw very few petrified trees.  But then, I did not do enough research regarding the area.  Maybe I just didn’t wander into the right area.  I found Fossil Forest to be interesting, but not compelling.  I would like to go back and do more exploring, though.