The Prehistoric Trackways National Monument was established in 2009 to conserve, protect, and enhance the unique and nationally important paleontological, scientific, educational, scenic, and recreational resources and values of the Robledo Mountains in southern New Mexico. The Monument includes a major deposit of Paleozoic Era fossilized footprint megatrackways within approximately 5,280 acres.
The Prehistoric Trackways National Monument is located at an elevation of about 4,500 feet above sea level in the Robledo Mountains north of Las Cruces. This is a desert area in a series of canyons cut into the steep mountains, dominated by creosote. Rainfall averages 8.5 inches annually, with most coming during July, August, and September. Thunderstorms are a common occurrence and lightning poses a hazard to hikers. Average temperatures range from highs in the 90's to lows in the 20's. In warmer weather rattlesnakes are sometimes sighted in the canyons or heard under rocks so please be alert.
There are opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, and off highway vehicle driving in portions of the monument. However, viewing trackways is limited; as they are discovered, and to preserve them for ongoing and future scientific study, the trackways are removed and transported to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
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