Aztec Ruins National Monument
Aztec Ruins has some of the best-preserved Chacoan structures of its kind. Learn more about the ancestral Pueblo people in the park's museum and explore the Aztec West great house to see exceptionally advanced architecture, original wooden beams, and a restored Great Kiva. Aztec Ruins is a deeply sacred place to many Indigenous peoples across the American Southwest. Please visit with respect.
Alerts
- InformationPet Policy
Pets are not allowed inside the visitor center at Aztec Ruins or on the trail through the Aztec West Great House. Pets are welcome in the parking lot, the picnic area, and along the Old Spanish Trail. Service animals are the only exception.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Aztec Ruins National Monument is a fee free park. Visitors are not required to pay to enter. We are able to issue free Interagency Passes including the Interagency Military (annual and veteran), Every Kid in a Park, and Access Passes. Please bring paperwork required if you qualify to be issued one of these passes. Passes are not required for entry.
Hours
| Hours | Daily · 7:00AM - 5:00PM |
Hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hoursNow | 7:00AM - 5:00PM |
| Nov 26, 2026Closed on Thanksgiving Day | Hours not published |
| Dec 25, 2026Closed on Christmas Day | Hours not published |
| Jan 1, 2027Closed on New Years Day | Hours not published |
When to go
June draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Aztec Ruins National Monument Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
A historic Visitor Center with museum exhibits and a 15-minute park film. The Visitor Center is open 9:00am-5:00pm every day, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
No campgrounds, no webcams or events in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.
Explore
Things to do
- Eat Lunch at Aztec Ruin's Picnic Area30-60 Minutes
Enjoy a picnic in the shade.
Opens on the Park Service site - Aztec West Great House Loop30-60 Minutes
A half mile long loop following a mostly paved trail through the ancestral Pueblo Great House.
Opens on the Park Service site - Become an Aztec Ruins Junior Ranger30-120 Minutes
Aztec Ruins National Monument offers a Junior Ranger program for the young and young at heart. Upon completion, participants will earn their Junior Ranger badge. Junior Ranger worksheets are available at the visitor center.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
On the National Register nearby
- Aztec Ruins National MonumentHistoric district · Aztec · 0.1 mi
- Aztec Ruins Administration Building–MuseumBuilding · Aztec · 0.2 mi
- Harvey McCoy HouseBuilding · Aztec · 0.6 mi
- McGee HouseBuilding · Aztec · 0.7 mi
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for New Mexico's national parks and the Southwest
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthAmerican Black Bear 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 108 birds, 47 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barn Owl · Golden Eagle · Great Horned Owl · Hen Harrier · Prairie Falcon · Red-tailed Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Turkey Vulture
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Coot · Black-crowned Night Heron · Canada Goose · Cinnamon Teal · Common Merganser · Common Teal · Great Blue Heron · Ring-necked Duck · Virginia Rail
Shorebirds & seabirdsKilldeer · Red-necked Phalarope · spotted sandpiper
Gamebirds & dovesCommon Pheasant · Common Pigeon · Gambel's Quail · Mourning Dove
WoodpeckersDowny Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Ladder-backed Woodpecker · Lewis' Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Red-naped Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsBlack-chinned Hummingbird · Broad-tailed Hummingbird · Rufous Hummingbird · White-throated Swift
Also on the checklistAmerican Bushtit · American Cliff Swallow · American Crow · American Goldfinch · American Robin · Ash-throated Flycatcher · Barn Swallow · Belted Kingfisher · Bewick's Wren · Black-capped Chickadee · Black-headed Grosbeak · Black-throated Sparrow · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Brewer's Blackbird · Brewer's Sparrow · Brown Creeper · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bullock's oriole · Cassin's Finch · Cassin's Kingbird · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping Sparrow · Common Nighthawk · Common Starling · Common Yellowthroat · Dark-eyed Junco · Eastern Meadowlark · Evening Grosbeak · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Great-tailed Grackle · Greater Roadrunner · Green-tailed Towhee · Horned Lark · House Finch · House Sparrow · Juniper Titmouse · Lark Sparrow · Lazuli Bunting · Lesser Goldfinch · Loggerhead Shrike · Mallard · Mountain Bluebird · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Raven · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Pine Siskin · Pinyon Jay · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-winged Blackbird · Redhead · Rock Wren · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Say's Phoebe · Song Sparrow · Sora · Spotted towhee · Townsend's Solitaire · Violet-green Swallow · Warbling Vireo · Western Bluebird · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Western Tanager · Western Wood Pewee · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-headed Blackbird · mountain chickadee · plumbeus vireo · western scrub jay
Small mammalsAmerican Beaver · Audubon's Cottontail · Black-tailed Jack Rabbit · Botta's Pocket Gopher · Brush Deermouse · Common Muskrat · Crawford's Gray Shrew · Deer Mouse · Gunnison's Prairie Dog · House Mouse · Meadow Vole · Northern Grasshopper Mouse · Ord's Kangaroo Rat · Piñon Deermouse · Plains Pocket Mouse · Rock Squirrel · Silky Pocket Mouse · Spotted Ground Squirrel · Western Harvest Mouse · White-tailed Antelope Squirrel · White-throated Woodrat · common porcupine
PredatorsAmerican Badger · Bobcat · Common Gray Fox · Coyote · Cross Fox · Long-tailed Weasel · Striped Skunk · Western Spotted Skunk · common raccoon
Hoofed mammalsMule Deer
BatsAllen's Big-eared Bat · Big Brown Bat · Big Free-tailed Bat · Black Bat · Brazilian Free-tailed Bat · California Myotis · Hoary Bat · Little Brown Bat · Long-legged Myotis · Pallid Bat · Pinto Bat · Small-footed Myotis · Western Pipistrelle · Yuma Myotis · mule-eared bat
Activities
Activity guides for this park Hiking in the national parks
Weather & climate
Summer High temperatures range between 80°F and 99°F degrees with a few days over 100°F. Afternoon thunderstorms usually cool things down in late July and August. Fall Usually pleasant, with mild days and crisp nights. Winter Daytime temperatures range between 20°F and 50°F with cold nights that can reach 0°F. Snow is periodic, but accumulations are typically only 1-2 inches. Spring Weather is especially unpredictable: it can be windy, cold, and wet, or still, warm, and dry.
Questions people ask
Does Aztec Ruins charge an entrance fee?
No. Aztec Ruins is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Aztec Ruins?
Standard hours are 7:00AM - 5:00PM, every day. Dated exceptions are listed under Hours.
Source: National Park Service
Is anything closed at Aztec Ruins right now?
1 active alert as of October 14, 2026: Pet Policy.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Aztec Ruins?
38,636 recreation visits in 2025, number 283 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Aztec Ruins?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
When was Aztec Ruins established?
1923. It covers about 0.0 square miles.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Aztec Ruins?
Summer High temperatures range between 80°F and 99°F degrees with a few days over 100°F. Afternoon thunderstorms usually cool things down in late July and August.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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