8 votes

Pecos National Historical Park

2 miles south (of Pecos Village) on Highway 63, Pecos, New Mexico 87552 USA

Independent

“Indian pueblo remains”

In the midst of piñon, juniper, and ponderosa pine woodlands in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains not far from Santa Fe, the remains of an Indian pueblo stand as a meaningful reminder of a people who once prevailed here. Now a national historical park demonstrates to modern visitors the cultural exchange and geographic facets central to the rich history of the Pecos Valley. Pecos National Historical Park is composed of several noncontiguous units. The main unit of the park preserves the ruins of Pecos Pueblo. The first Pecos pueblo was one of two dozen rock-and-mud villages built in the valley around AD 1100 in the prehistoric Pueblo II Era. Within 350 years the Pueblo IV Era Pecos village had grown to house over 2,000 people in its five-storied complex. The main unit also protects the remains of Mission Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Porciúncula de los Pecos, a Spanish mission near the pueblo built in the early 17th century. A 1.25-mile (2 km) self-guiding trail begins at the nearby visitor center and winds through the ruins of Pecos Pueblo and the mission church. The Pecos Pueblo was declared a National Historic Landmark on October 9, 1960.

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Reviewed by
99998888

6 Reviews
4 Helpful

October 28, 2021

Rated 3.0

A worthwhile stop - 40 minute self guided walk through remnants of the
pueblo with commanding views that thrived in the 1580s when seen by the Spanish. The conquering Spanish built a huge adobe church, but were ultimately driven off.

Coordinates to this park are: (35.5501471, -105.6870634). The park is on northbound Highway 61 at mile marker 4, not a block past Main St as indicated bythe directions given in Roadtrippers. There are no helpful signs in Pecos either.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
DJI

18 Reviews
0 Helpful

November 25, 2023

Rated 4.0

Essentially a solid state park with history and a nice trail

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Reviewed by
roadtripper459494

3 Reviews
0 Helpful

December 06, 2022

A nice stop to stretch your legs and enjoy the beauty all around. This mountain pass has provided safe passage through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains for thousands of years. The introductory film inside the E.E. Fogelson Visitor Center is a must and will explain what you are seeing. The academy award winning actress, Greer Garson, along with her husband, Buddy Fogelson, owned a 13,000-acre ranch in this remote area near Santa Fe. In 1990, after the death of her husband in 1987, Greer arranged for the sale of her portion of the ranch to The Conservation Fund, which donated the land to the National Park Service to become part of Pecos National Historical Park.

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