Ojito Wilderness Hoodoos

The Ojito Wilderness Hoodoo Trail leads into a pocket of desert northwest of Albuquerque, where pale yellow and orange sandstone rises in rounded towers and fins. The formations are smaller in scale than the hoodoos at Bisti, but Ojito is centrally located near Albuquerque.

What to Do

The Hoodoo Trail is a 2-mile round-trip hike that passes directly through Ojito’s sandstone formations. The trail is primitive, but the hoodoos begin appearing quickly as you travel north from Cabezon Road. The trail reaches an overlook above an expanse of eroded badlands, then loops back toward the trailhead.

The formations are found inside the Ojito Wilderness, a protected area southwest of San Ysidro filled with badlands, mesas, arroyos, multicolored cliffs, and exposed layers of ancient rock eroded from sandstone, shale, and limestone deposited over many thousands of years. The surrounding wilderness is also known for much older discoveries with fossils from roughly 150 million years ago having been found throughout the area. Seismosaurus, an enormous long-neck dinosaur, was first discovered a few miles away!

How Much Time to Spend

Budget 90 minutes to 2 hours for the loop, more if you’re stopping often for photos or exploring off-trail among the formations.

Getting There

The Hoodoo Trail is reached from Cabezon Road, southwest of San Ysidro. From Bernalillo, take US-550 northwest for about 21 miles, turn left onto Cabezon Road, and follow it toward Ojito Wilderness. The BLM parking area is near the trailhead, with the primitive trail beginning about 400 feet east along the road. The final approach is on dirt roads, avoid if wet.

Ojito is a great place to see hoodoos if Bisti is too far a drive, and the fossil history here adds a layer most other stops don’t have.