Memorial weekend is a tricky time of year for Colorado adventures. Three years ago, we went to the drier and more desert-like western part of the state and the weather was perfect. Two years ago, we went into the mountains and got snowed on.
So when I sat down to plan this year’s Memorial Day trip, mountain destinations were automatically excluded in favor of warmer, drier destinations.
The only problem is that reaching those destinations requires driving through the Colorado mountains. Thus, our Memorial Day plans were tentative until about three days beforehand, at which point it became clear that the weather was going to behave enough to allow us safe passage.
Our destination was the southwest corner of Colorado, an expanse of mesas and red rock desert, and the original homeland of many indigenous groups. Archaeological evidence shows that the initial inhabitants of this region lived a more nomadic lifestyle for thousands of years, while later inhabitants began farming and built year-round settlements. However, by about 1250-1300 CE, most of them had moved on. These people are the ancestors of 26 modern day Puebloan tribes of the southwest, and are collectively referred to as Ancestral Puebloans.
Today, many of the structures they built remain throughout the desert southwest, preserved and protected in places like Mesa Verde National Park and multiple other monuments in New Mexico and Arizona. However, the highest density of archaeological sites in the US is located in a little-known national monument: Canyons of the Ancients. This was one of our Memorial Day weekend destinations.
Table of Contents
- Visiting Canyons of the Ancients
- Visitor Center and Museum
- Sand Canyon Pueblo
- Sand Canyon/Rock Creek Trail
- Painted Hand Pueblo
- Lowry Pueblo
Visiting Canyons of the Ancients
Canyons of the Ancients is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rather than the National Park Service, meaning it’s open to a wider variety of recreational activities but is much less developed than many national monuments. There are no established campgrounds, very few facilities, and many unmaintained roads. We have a high clearance vehicle but it’s not 4WD, meaning there are substantial portions of the monument we didn’t even attempt to visit. But we were able to see the highlights.
Adjacent to Canyons of the Ancients is Hovenweep National Monument (post coming soon!), and we spent time in both locations. Because we were bouncing back and forth, I’m not going to write about this trip in chronological order, but rather geographical. We will begin at the visitor center and make a clockwise loop around Canyons of the Ancients, sticking to maintained roads. In total, I’d estimate all of these stops could fit into 1-2 days.
The roads that roughly encircle Canyons of the Ancients are US Highway 491 on the east, County Road G to the south, and County Road 10 to the north and west. Here is the official monument map. As you can see, there are a variety of 4WD only roads, trails open to various recreational usages, and some private land within the monument that visitors are responsible for avoiding.
While I always advocate for researching and planning ahead, this is absolutely not the place to skip those steps. Phone service in the area is very limited. Before we left home, I had a complete itinerary written out, I mapped the directions between all locations and took screenshots, and I downloaded all the maps and trail guides from the monument website.
Visitor Center and Museum
We began our weekend at the Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum (open Tuesday-Saturday 9am-5pm during the summer and Wednesday-Saturday 10am-4pm in the winter). While the monument is free to visit, there is a $7/person fee for the museum. Our America the Beautiful pass actually covered this, but it would have been well worth the cost.
Just outside the museum is what remains of Dominguez Pueblo, and behind the museum is a 1 mile (1.6 km) roundtrip trail to Escalante Pueblo as well as a viewpoint of the nearby McPhee Reservoir. Dominguez Pueblo is thought to be a single family dwelling while Escalante Pueblo is much larger. Only a small portion of it has been excavated, and many other unexcavated pueblos are also present in this area. The pueblos were built in the early 1100s, occupied by at least 2-3 groups of people over the next 100 years, and ultimately abandoned.
Sand Canyon Pueblo
From the visitor center, head south (left) on Highway 491 toward Cortez to begin the clockwise loop of the monument. The first stop is Sand Canyon Pueblo, off Route P just a few miles south.
This is an unexcavated pueblo, and therefore looks very different than the others. Honestly, had I not known it was the site of a pueblo, I’m not sure I’d have really even noticed it. While this wasn’t my favorite stop, it was neat to compare the unexcavated sites to the excavated ones. Despite how little is visible here, it’s estimated that as many as 400-600 people lived at Sand Canyon Pueblo, making it larger than the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde!
A majority of ruins in Canyons of the Ancients actually remain unexcavated for a variety of reasons, including respect for the ancient and modern people with ties to the region and also the fact that once excavated, much work is necessary to protect and maintain the structures. In addition, plenty can still be learned using noninvasive techniques that allow everything to remain firmly in place.
Sand Canyon/Rock Creek Trail
Sand Canyon Pueblo is also the northern terminus of the 6 mile (9.6 km) Sand Canyon Trail. We hiked a portion of this trail, but we elected to start at the southern trailhead instead as it’s closer to the excavated ruins. To reach this end, return to US 491, head south past Cortez, and turn west (right) onto Route G, which follows McElmo Creek toward the Utah border. At about the halfway point is the Sand Canyon Trailhead area.
From here, we hiked about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north, which took us to all the exposed ruins along the trail. All are marked with signs pointing down the side trails, so navigation is not terribly difficult. There are also quite a few spots with really nice views of the surrounding landscape.
This trail is hot, dry, and exposed to the elements, so be sure to have sun protection, food, and plenty of water. The trail surface is a mixture of slickrock and packed dirt, with some small sections of sand, so sturdy shoes are also recommended. Despite many warnings of rattlesnakes, we didn’t see any, but we did spot plenty of cactus and lizards.
Painted Hand Pueblo
The next stop on our journey is on the northern side of the monument. However, no roads cut across the middle, meaning it’s time to take a 45-minute drive out and around. From Sand Canyon Trailhead, continue west (right) on Route G. About 3.5 miles (5.6 km) after crossing the border into Utah, turn right onto Cajon Mesa Road, and then right again approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) later. This will put you on Hovenweep Road eastbound which, once you cross back into Colorado, becomes Route 10. If you have time, I do recommend stopping at a couple of the Hovenweep units… more on that next week.
Back in Colorado and Canyons of the Ancients, Painted Hand Pueblo is located off Route 10 about 5 miles (8 km) from the border. The turnoff is marked by an informational sign that can’t be read from the road. About a mile down this maintained dirt road is the parking area for Painted Hand Pueblo. From here, a 0.75 mile (1.2 km) trail meanders out to the cliff edge and views of what little remains of the pueblo. Apparently there are some petroglyphs and pictographs here, but we didn’t see them.
Lowry Pueblo
Our final stop is Lowry Pueblo, the northernmost in the monument and also the northernmost example of Chaco-style architecture (similar to that seen in Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico). Other Chacoan pueblos throughout the southwest indicate an interconnected network of travel, trade, or other relationships between many of the groups living throughout the region. However, not all pueblos in Canyons of the Ancients are built in this style.
We didn’t actually visit the pueblos in this order, but I wish we had because this saves the best for last. Lowry is by far the most intact, and you’re able to actually walk into it. Lowry Pueblo was built around 1060 CE, with at least two additions over the next 110 years, growing to 40 rooms, 8 kivas, and 1 Great Kiva that measures 47 feet (14 m) in diameter – one of the largest in the region! It was estimated that about 40 people lived here.
Aside from stabilization, Lowry Pueblo remains unchanged from when it was excavated nearly 100 years ago. A metal roof has been placed over it to help protect it, and pathways lead into and through parts of the pueblo.
And that completes our loop tour of Canyons of the Ancients. If you have more time, you could hike all of Sand Canyon or some of the other connecting trails. If you have a 4WD vehicle, you could explore some of the unmaintained roads or even spend the night in one of the many established dispersed camping spots down these roads. There are no bathrooms and no water so you’d have to be fully self-sufficient, but it’s probably worth it for a night alone in the desert. The couple dispersed camping spots we saw looked pretty good!
As compared to the grandeur of Mesa Verde, Canyons of the Ancients may feel like a letdown. But if you go into it with the expectation of seeing more rugged desert terrain and Puebloan ruins that are much less intact, I think you’ll find it a worthwhile place to spend a day. We certainly did!
Up next: more Ancestral Puebloan ruins at Hovenweep National Monument
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