El Malpais National Conservation Area
June 28, 2024 update: Visitor Center is back open, with an ADA-compliant portable toilet and hand sanitizer station, but there is still no water at the Ranger Station/Visitor Center.
The El Malpais National Conservation Area (NCA) was established in 1987 to protect nationally-significant geological, archaeological, ecological, cultural, scenic, scientific, and wilderness resources surrounding the Zuni-Bandera volcanic fields. El Malpais translates to "the badlands" in Spanish.
The NCA includes dramatic sandstone cliffs, canyons, La Ventana Natural Arch, Chain of Craters Back Country Byway, Joe Skeen Campground, Narrows Picnic Area, and Cebolla and West Malpais Wilderness Areas. There are many opportunities for photography, hiking, camping, and wildlife viewing within this unique NCA.
For more than 10,000 years people have interacted with the El Malpais landscape. Historic and prehistoric sites provide connections to the past. More than mere artifacts, these cultural resources are kept alive by the spiritual and physical presence of contemporary Native American groups, including the Ramah Navajo and Puebloan peoples of Acoma, Laguna, and Zuni. These tribes continue their ancestral uses of El Malpais including gathering plant materials, paying respects, and renewing ties.
El Malpais National Conservation Area Community Art Program
The Public Lands Interpretive Association and the Bureau of Land Management invited artists from El Malpais' surrounding areas to participate in a unique collaboration: to create a narrative connection between art and land stewardship, history, culture, and land conservation. Highlighting the stewardship, history, culture, and land conservation of El Malpais NCA and celebrating local artists in showcasing the area and its communities for generations to come. Through this project, we hope visitors to the area can enjoy art while gaining knowledge about the importance of resources of this unique area of the New Mexico Landscape.
Learn more about the artists featured through the El Malpais Community Art Program:
Join the adventure at El Malpais with the new Junior Ranger Guide
The El Malpais NCA Junior Ranger Guide explores the amazing history, culture, geology, and other natural resources found in El Malpais NCA. The guide has a variety of educational activities, including word games, logic puzzles, and coloring activities. Download the guide to print at home. You can also request to have a copy mailed to you by calling the Rio Puerco Field Office at 505-761-8700.
When the guide is completed, you can take the oath with an onsite Ranger at El Malpais NCA, become an official El Malpais Junior Ranger, and receive your badge! If you are unable to complete the guide on site, mail your completed booklet to the address below and we will send your patch to you! 100 Sun Ave NE, Suite 330, Albuquerque, NM 87109.