National Monument

El Morro National Monument

Southwest

About El Morro

Imagine the refreshment of finding water after days of dusty travel. A reliable waterhole hidden at the base of a sandstone bluff made El Morro (the headland) a popular campsite for hundreds of years. Here, ancestral Puebloans, Spanish, and American travelers carved over 2,000 signatures, dates, messages, and petroglyphs. Make El Morro National Monument a stopping point on your travels.

From the National Park Service.

Region: Southwest
State: New Mexico
Designation: National Monument
Entrance fee: None listed

Trail data for this park is still being added.
Places for this park are still being added.

Know before you go

Fees, hours, weather and getting to El Morro.

Entrance fees

The National Park Service lists no entrance fee for this park.

Hours

Mon: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Tue: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Wed: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Thu: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Fri: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Sat: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Sun: 9:00AM - 5:00PM

Summer Hours (May 24, 2026 - October 17, 2026). Park visitor center and trails open 7 days/week. Winter Hours (October 18, 2026 - May 27, 2027). Visitor center and trails open 5 days/week. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Trail access begins at 9:00 am. Last admittance to the Headland Trail is at 2:30 pm MT. Last admittance to the Inscription Loop Trail is at 4:00 pm MT. There is no access to park trails once the visitor center closes at 5:00 pm. Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1.

Weather and when to go

At an elevation of 7,219 feet (2200 meters) winters can be cold and snowy. Summers are warm with afternoon thunder showers from mid-July through mid-September. Trails can close unexpectedly due to severe weather. Average snowfall: 40 inches per year. Average precipitation (snowmelt and rain): 16 inches per year. Warmest month: July, with average highs of 84 degrees and lows of 52 degrees. Coldest months: December and January, with average lows of 14-15 degrees, and average highs of 44-45 degrees.

Getting there

From Albuquerque, NM, or from the east: take Interstate 40 west to Grants. At exit 81, go south on Highway 53 for 42 miles to El Morro National Monument. From Flagstaff, AZ, or from the west: take Interstate 40 east to Gallup. At exit 20, go south on Highway 602 for about 31 miles. Turn east (left) onto Highway 53. El Morro is 25 more miles.

Directions from the National Park Service

Contact the park

Address: Mile Marker 44.6 Hwy 53, Ramah, NM 87321
Phone: (505) 783-4226
Email: wendy_gordge@nps.gov
Official site: nps.gov/elmo

From the National Park Service, checked weekly. Fees, hours and road conditions change: confirm with the park before you go.

Trip planner

A day-by-day plan for El Morro

Tell us your dates and what you are into. We group the stops by where they are, so each day is one part of the park, not a zigzag.

Plan your park trip Free. No account needed.

Things to do in El Morro

The park service's own list, with how long each takes.

Hiking the Headland Trail

Hiking · about 1.5 hours

This 2-mile trail includes the Inscription Loop and takes you to the top of the El Morro bluff. It is a moderately strenuous trail with a gain of 224 ft of elevation. Much of the…
Hike the Inscription Rock Trail

Hiking · about 40 min

This 0.75 mile (1.2 km) trail takes you to the pool and past hundreds of Spanish and American inscriptions, and prehistorical petroglyphs. The trail is paved and the main 1/2 mile…
El Morro Visitor Center

Museum Exhibits · about 45 min

For visitors who are unable to hike or would like to learn more about El Morro, the El Morro Visitor Center is a great stop. Learn more about the history of El Morro in the museum…

Campgrounds in El Morro

Run by the park service. Reservable sites book on Recreation.gov; first-come sites do not.

El Morro Campground

9 first-come sites

El Morro operates a nine-site campground 7 days/week, year-round. First come-first served. Each site has a graveled tent pad, picnic table and ground grill for…