When the Spanish first reached Pecos Pueblo (nps.gov/peco; free), they found a five-story, 700-room structure that was a major center for trade between the Pueblo peoples and the Plains Indians to the east. The Spaniards completed a church in 1625, but it was destroyed during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. A mission church was rebuilt in 1717; today its ruins, alongside remnants of the pueblo, are the main attraction. It takes around an hour to explore the site thoroughly.
After reaching a peak of 2000 inhabitants, the pueblo gradually declined, and in 1838 its 17 remaining inhabitants moved to Jemez Pueblo. The main Ancestral Sites Trail is an easy 1.25-mile walk including excavated ruins, a kiva you can climb into via a ladder, a church and convento built in 1717. Another option is the South Pastor Loop, an easy 3.8-mile nature walk along the river.
It's located 30 miles southeast of Santa Fe via I-25 (towards Las Vegas). From the visitor center, ask for a gate code and directions to Glorieta Pass – it's 7.5 miles away and where a Civil War battle, sometimes referred to as the Gettysburg of the West, took place. The Glorieta Battlefield Trail is a 2.25-mile round-trip loop.
