Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness is located in San Juan County, New Mexico United States.
Ah-shi-sle-pah in northern New Mexico is an area full of caprocks (hoodoos), colorful badlands and fossils.
The Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness Study Area is located in the San Juan Basin in northwest New Mexico, just a few miles from the Bisti Badlands and De-Na-Zin. Farmington and Bloomfield are ideal starting points for the tour. Both places do not offer any tourist highlights, but are only about 60 miles away and have a relatively good infrastructure with many inexpensive motels, (fast food) restaurants and gas stations.
This part of Ah-shi-sle-pah is located within a Wilderness Study Area (WSA) and is therefore under protection.
Access : Coordinates: 36.16668, -107.91729 / From US Highway 550, about 7.5 miles northwest of Nageezi, NM turn left onto NM 57. Then drive south-southwest approx. 13.5 miles, at which point NM 57 forms the boundary of the WSA. For the next 4 miles, the WSA will be on your right, you can find parking area next to road 57.
Highlights :
- The most beautiful part of Ah-shi-sle-pah stretches for almost 1.5 miles along the southern rim. Above are the extremely photogenic badlands with their different shades of yellow, near the edge and in the coves countless sometimes bizarre hoodoos.
- Chocolate Mushroom Hoodoos , Turtle Hoodoo , Fossil Hoodoo : Hoodoos are tower-like structures made of sedimentary rocks in western North America that were formed by erosion ,In certain regions of western North America these rock structures are called hoodoos (which means bad luck). The name derives from the voodoo cult that gives certain natural forms magical powers , These forms, sometimes strange, are present in all parts of the planet and are the source of many beliefs, superstitions and legends.
- The trailhead on the southern edge of Ah-shi-sle-pah Wash is the starting point for a wide variety of tours. From here you can explore the western region with its colored badlands and the bizarre hoodoos near the edge of the breakoff, but also the northeastern part down in the wash is not far and quite interesting.The Wilderness Study Area ends just under 1.5 miles from the trailhead at a fence that runs across the Wash in a north-south direction.
- Strange structures made of clay and sandstone in the northeastern part / Yellow Hoodoo Gang.
Activities : sightseeing / photo opportunities / exploring / trekking,Yellow Hoodoo Gang Loop via Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah-Trail.
Go next : The nearest larger town is Nageezi, 19.2 km northeast of the Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness Study Area. / Pierre’s Site
