Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness

An eerie otherworldliness surrounds Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, especially when the moon casts shadows across the hoodoos, weird rock formations with mazelike passages. Difficult as it is to believe, this stark landscape was once buried beneath an ancient sea. As the water receded it left behind a 1,400-foot-thick layer of jumbled sandstone, mudstone, shale, and coal that lay undisturbed for 50 million years; then, 6,000 years ago, the last ice age receded, exposing fossils and eroding the rock into the fantastic hoodoos you see today. The soil underfoot lies soft and yielding, wrinkled like the surface of stale popcorn. Very few animals inhabit the area save a handful of cottontail rabbits, coyotes, badgers, and prairie dogs, and very little vegetation grows out on the badlands — only some sagebrush, tumbleweed, and cacti. Researchers believe dinosaurs passed into extinction around these parts, so keep an eye out for fossils; removing them is illegal. Precipitation averages a mere 8 inches a year, typically holding off until July and August when temperatures rise to sweltering highs. When a downpour does occur, soil baked to ceramic hardness by the sun softens into a slippery, yielding substance. The sun's heat, both direct and reflected from the sand, can be surprisingly intense even at 80 degrees F; summer temperatures can climb from 65 in the morning to close to 100 in the afternoon, and winter mornings can be as cold as 10 degrees. Elevation averages around 6,300 feet, and the most striking scenery is in the southern two-thirds of the area. There are two main access points. The Bisti Access has no trails — visitors may walk into the area in many directions to explore, but will need to keep track of their surroundings to find their way back to their vehicles. The De-Na-Zin Trailhead extends only about three-quarters of a mile to the De-Na-Zin Wash, and in this wide-open area with little vegetation many visitors choose to explore beyond it. Chances are you won't encounter a soul here. The Wilderness boundaries enclose parcels of private Navajo land; please respect private property. Carry a map, a compass, and plenty of water. Backpacking and horse packing are unrestricted, but campfires are forbidden.