Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness

Hike off trail through 45,000 acres of eroded badlands, colorful hoodoos and petrified wood.

Bisti Trailhead, County Road 7297 off NM-371, 36 miles south of Farmington · Farmington, NM

About Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness

Bisti/De-Na-Zin is a 45,000-acre Bureau of Land Management wilderness of eroded badlands, colorful hoodoos and fossil-bearing rock from the Late Cretaceous. There are no marked routes, so you navigate on your own across uneven ground, and you need to bring all your water. Bicycles, motor vehicles and drones are not allowed, and petrified wood must stay where it lies. The access roads are unpaved and can become impassable after rain or snow, and primitive camping is permitted.

#badlands
#hoodoos
#wilderness hiking
#petrified wood
#photography

Printable maps

What's around here?

The closest stops to Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, ordered by straight-line distance.

Sightseeing
History Buff
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
$25–$50
Walk through the stone great houses of Chaco Canyon, including Pueblo Bonito, along the Canyon Loop Drive.
19 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Museums
History Buff
Salmon Ruins Museum
Under $25
An 11th century Chacoan great house ruin near Bloomfield with a self guided trail, heritage park and museum.
Transit: reachable by public transit
29 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Sightseeing
History Buff
Aztec Ruins National Monument
No admission fee
Walk a half-mile trail through an ancestral Pueblo great house and step inside a restored Great Kiva.
37 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Sightseeing
Iconic
Shiprock
No admission fee
View a volcanic rock pinnacle that rises about 1,583 feet from the desert floor of the Navajo Nation.
48 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Nightlife
Apache Nugget Casino
Check prices
Casino and travel center run by the Jicarilla Apache Nation at the US-550 and Highway 537 junction in northern New Mexico.
49 mi awaySwitch it up: Nightlife