Bisti Badlands (De Na Zin Wilderness)
This extensive 45,000 acres of barren wilderness in New Mexico is just waiting to be explored. There are no trails, or signs, or guides here. The only thing restricting your exploration is a cattle fence and your own ambition.
It is a bit of a drive to get to the parking area along Road 7290, a dirt road that runs parallel to highway 371, about 30 miles south of Farmington, New Mexico. The dirt road is fairly smooth and can be driven with just about any vehicle.
From the parking area, you will slide through a gate designed to keep large wildlife out. There is a map on a shaded sign that points out some of the more notable features, but it is fairly faded from the sun and is difficult to interpret. Notable features aren’t hard to find, but it will require some walking as you wander, zig-zagging, through the wilderness. Here you can find natural arches, dinosaur egg looking rocks eroded in the strangest ways, badlands, petrified logs, or actual dinosaur fossils. In 1997 A T-Rex skull was discovered here and is now on display at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. Rock formations vary from unusual to downright weird.
There is no visitor center or water here so bring everything you need. There is no shade and in the summer temperatures can exceed 100 degrees so bring plenty of water, sunscreen, and a hat!
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