salinas pueblo missions national monument

TrinnaA

Loved spending a day visiting all 3 of these old Spanish missions/ancient Indian pueblo villages. Amazing so much is still standing. Family friendly hiking and exploring through the ruins.

MariuszJ664

I only visited Quarai Mission ruins. It was easy walk. Red bricks of ruins on greenish background make impressive view. I think I found out about this site by finding photos on internet.

tiffanyt229

We enjoyed exploring the sites and walking on the trails. So much history and beautiful scenery to see!

comparativ

Learn the history of the early colonization of the US before it was the US. The Missions ruins are beautiful remnants of an ugly past, but the breathtaking structures are worth the experience. All three have paved walks and are only about a mile or so of walking. The Missions consist of 3 separate locations. It's really tough to do all three and do them justice. I recommend saving Gran Quivira for last if you plan on making a separate trip. It's a little further away than the other 2 locations and much larger. All the rangers are super friendly but I have to give special props to Mario who is always a great pleasure to see and speak to. Recently we found out there are actually petroglyphs at Abo. However, you need a reservation and you must go with a ranger to see them. The path is much rougher, and the hike is moderate to heavy moderate. We only managed to do a short version but what an experience that was!

cmay57

I visited the National Park center in the heart of Mountainair, NM. Clean, bright, helpful, excellent displays and a short video about the migration of the native Americans and Spanish during the 17th century. Early settlers in New Mexico used the land and weather to make a life for themselves. There is plenty of parking, streets are wide enough for recreational vehicles to park, and the building reflects the local color. Great visit.

ElGrandioso

On the other side of the Sandia Mountains southeast of Albuquerque in small town and ranch country, the visitor center is in Mountainair, NM. There are three sites in different directions: Abo, Quarai (pronounced "core-eye"), and Gran Quivira. Each place has a mini-visitor center and a park ranger who can lead a tour of the site. Make sure to fill up on gas and supplies as you'll be mostly out in the country.

photosbyalexandria

We went to 3 sites and they were all breath taking. They are all so well reconstructed and well kept. You can walk all through them which is really run.All extremely easy hikes and knowledgeable rangers to tell you about the sites.Definitely worth the time if you are in the area

Tjshade

We only went to one of the 3 sites but it was extremely well kept and incredibly interesting. The Rangers were very nice and explained the site and answered our questions. We stopped at the Quarai Ruins site. The old church ruins are very cool.

AF_Hiker

I stopped by all 3 sites belonging to this monument. While I did not spend too much time at each one, I still learned about the architecture and history of them. There is a visitor's center in Mountainair, but each site has its own smaller visitor's center and store. It was nice to walk around the ruins and imagine these places being active. Worth a stop if in the area.

MaxD34

We enjoy visiting old pueblo ruins and are fascinated by the architecture and construction methods. The three sites, Gran Quivira, Abo, and Quarai are all within visiting distance of Mountainair, NM and, within driving distance of either Socorro, NM or Albuquerque.

GretchenM228

The ruins of the Salinas Pueblo Missions at Abo and Gran Quivira are easily visited in the same day, but use your time wisely, as they are only open until 5 pm, even in the summer months. The ranger at Abo was knowledgeable about the local area's history, as well as the inclusion of these ruins into the National Park system. We visited on a Saturday in early September and has the ruins mostly to ourselves, giving us plenty of time to speculate and imagine life in the area over 400 years ago. Well worth a visit if you are in the area, and not as 'touristy' as the Mesa Verde site at the opposite end of New Mexico.

311noelj

Off the beaten path and the ranger is a delightful person. We walked the grounds and found the old historic community to be interesting.

912mytravels

We were at the actual Salinas Pueblo location and took the walk up the hill to the ruins of the friar's church. The green valleys surrounding the site are probably not as lush as that when summer rains are missing. It was so still and lovely and a place to ponder the passage of time. Later we stopped at the town of Mountainair and it's Pueblo Missions exhibits and appreciated the very nice displays and wished we had time to visit the other two sites. It is remote so plan to take water and have a picnic and enjoy the setting. It may not be to every one's liking but it certainly was a pleasant surprise for us

LinusAdvice

We can't drive through a place without stopping to see everything interesting on the way. This trip, on our way to Albuquerque, we stopped at two of the Salinas Pueblo Missions--there are three in all. I recommend stopping at their central visitor center in Mountainaire. The staff there will be very happy to tell you about the missions and help you decide if you have time or want to see all or only some of the Pueblos. We saw Quarai and Gran Quivira. I was especially impressed by the massiveness of some of the Quarai ruins, and the red colour of the local materials makes awesome photographs. I also thought both of these locations were comfortable walks for all ages and fitness levels, which is not the case for all Pueblos. If you love the Pueblo culture--I DO!--you must visit these.

T10KSmichaelc

We took a circle day trip from Placitas, NM to see all three of the ruins. As another reviewer mentioned, "they are similar yet unique to themselves". Each of the three sites has a small National Park Service visitor contact station, museum, and gift shop. Flush restrooms are available on-site. The ruins are accessible to those of us who are disabled. Be sure to bring your "Passport To Your National Parks" book as there are separate stamps for each of the three sites. With a stop in Mountainair at the Shafer Hotel and Cafe for lunch (excellent green chili cheeseburgers!) and a visit to a couple of the local shops in town, we were ready to visit the third of the ruins on our way back through Belen to Placitas.