OJITO WILDERNESS

This 11,000 acre area was designated a federal wilderness area by an act of Congress in the fall of 2005. Prior to that access was restricted and very few people had the opportunity to see this amazing wilderness. Ojito is still a very well kept secret, so you're going to see some fantastic sights that few humans have seen before. As we drive the dirt roads through the desert the view is of lonely, desolate country; and if you're thinking this looks like a place where you would expect to find dinosaur bones, you're right! A seismosaurus, the largest sauropod skeleton ever found anywhere in the world, was found in Ojito. We have also seen gastroliths (dinosaur gizzard stones) and petrified wood in this desert (no we're not permitted to take them with us). Surprisingly, in this barren land numerous springs percolate to the surface, forming ponds that support a wide variety of wildlife. We have seen deer and heard elk bugling out here.

You have to do some hiking to see the truly amazing beauty of Ojito. There are places that will make you think you're at the beginning of creation, as we pass by large formations of white, yellow, pink, red, gray and brown rock, jutting out of the earth as if they had just appeared yesterday. We'll see a spectacular anticline of red, white and gray rock, the likes of which you are not likely to see anywhere else, and we'll see sandstone hoodoos (weathered rock formations) that look like animals. We have found ancient Anasazi petroglyphs (rock drawings) out here that few people have ever seen and we have hiked through a canyon where people felt as if they were on another planet. If you have the heart of an explorer then you will be mesmerized by Ojito.

Advisory: Ojito is pure wilderness and there are no restrooms or facilities of any kind once we turn off the main highway.

Best time: Year round - Ojito is especially beautiful in June when hundreds of Cholla Cactus are in bloom.

Price: $65.00 per adult

See our children's price policy on the Home Page

OJITO'S ANTICLINE