Hovenweep Towers in Little Ruin Canyon

The Little Ruin Canyon Trail is a 2 mile loop mostly along the rim of a small canyon that visits at least 10 centuries old Ancestral Pueblo Ruins sites that show a variety of building shapes. The trailhead is located at the Headquarters of Hovenweep National Monument along the remote southern Utah-Colorado border.

The sign near the Headquarters also calls this the Square Tower Trail. Among the interesting details of the Little Ruin Canyon group is the placement of the doors and windows.

Besides the Little Ruins Trail there are four outlying sites with trails in the vicinity of the Hovenweep headquarters and numerous other un-publicized sites that are part of the surrounding Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.

Following the trail counter clockwise, the Stronghold House is named for its fortress like structure. The stone blocks are thought to be very well shaped. Stronghold House has more details visible when viewed from across the canyon.

The Eroded Boulder House uses both the inside of a boulder below the rim and also has some remains on top. Binoculars are handy for viewing the Eroded Boulder. If you visit more of the sites in the area, you will see other examples of structures perched on boulders. The Holly Ruins Group, about 4 miles north has several structures perched on boulders.

The Unit Type House is an example of a basic unit of living rooms, storage rooms and a circular Kiva. The larger pueblos repeat this unit into a larger collection of structures.

The porthole openings on the east side of Unit Type House may have been used as a Skywatcher observation point. This is also an example of a doorway that is placed in a difficult location, over a drop-off.

There are two heads to the Little Ruin Canyon. Between the heads a trail leads out to Tower Point where a tower sits with a commanding view of the canyon and Sleeping Ute Mountain to the east. The alcove areas below Tower Point were used for storage of corn, beans, and squash. There the remnants of an unnamed tower visible just below Tower Point.

Hovenweep Castle has two D-shaped towers and appears to be the largest in the area.  There is a lot of speculation as to why towers were built. Some of the possibilities are celestial observation, ceremonial, defense, storage and communication with the other towers. There is a lot of rubble below the Hovenweep Castle indicating that there was a lot more here than we see now.

Hovenweep Castle has an upper story T-shaped doorway that is visible from both the east and west sides.

Hovenweep House was the center of one of the largest villages in this group. There is a lot of rubble in this area. This structure has survived due to a good foundation while the other structures have crumbled.

The Hovenweep Castle and Hovenweep House overlook the Square Tower down in the relatively lush canyon bottom. The Square Tower has a slight twist as it rises above the creek bottom. From the south rim, a T-shaped doorway is visible. The spring that supported the community is down in the canyon in this area.

Rim Rock House is not thought to be a residence structure. The trail guide has a discussion of why are there so many peepholes in these structures. A practical use might be ventilation and light, but these aren’t seen at other sites around the region. Below Rim Rock House the Round Tower is visible.

The Twin Towers had 16 rooms with one tower oval and the other horseshoe shaped. These are thought to be two of the most carefully constructed structures in the Southwest.

In the distance to the left is another view of Tower Point. The east tower has another example of a doorway in a precarious location.

The west tower has both a lower and upper story doorway. At the open end of the canyon the trail dips steeply down to the floor and then returns to the rim. It takes 1:00 hour or more to walk this rich trail.

Ancient Skywatchers at Hovenweep Castle

The Little Ruins Canyon Trail is a 2.0 mile loop at Hovenweep National Monument on the south Utah-Colorado border. The trail visits at least 10 ruins structures built by Ancestral Pueblo People who lived here until about 1300 AD.

The trail begins a short distance from the visitor center and follows around the rim of this east and west lying canyon, dipping into and crossing the canyon at the east end. The Hovenweep Castle is near the west end at the southern most of the two canyon heads.

The trail guide says there are two D shaped towers. The terrain on the canyon rim is very dry, with sage brush and a few scattered Utah Juniper trees. The stonework at the Hovenweep sites is considered to be very good and to show a variety of styles and shapes.

These structures have some T-shaped doorways, a feature seen on many of the Ancestral Pueblo sites all around the region, including at Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon. Some of the smaller holes are thought to be related to observations of the sun.

The port holes that are thought to be related to sky watching are on the first story of the west side. The port hole to the right of the west side is thought to be related to the setting sun summer solstice and the port hole around the corner to the right relates to the winter solstice.

The interior of Hovenweep Castle is closed, so visitors can’t observe the beams of light themselves.

Many of the Hovenweep structures have portholes so the solar observations seem like they must have been noticed after construction.

Unit Type House on the north rim also has some portholes on the east side that catch the rising sun rays on the solstices.

Below the canyon rim where Hovenweep Castle sits is the Square Tower. The area at the canyon bottom is greener due to the seep springs and has plants, like the large Hackberry trees, that are not growing on the canyon rim.

The Square Tower shows a slight spiral, twisting slightly in a clockwise direction. The trail guide indicates that the spiral shape was for added strength or aesthetics. The guide also says there is a circular kiva associated with the tower. The location of the Square Tower near the spring may be to protect it. This practice of protecting the water resources appears to be common at the Hovenweep sites.

Little Ruin Canyon Trail in Fall

The Little Ruin Canyon Trail is located at the Visitor Center of Hovenweep National Monument along the south Utah and Colorado border. The 2 mile loop visits at least 10 Ancestral Pueblo Ruins sites, mostly perched along the canyon rims.

Little Ruins Canyon appears to be dryer and more desert like than most of the surrounding Canyons of the Ancients area. The mesa top area is mostly Sagebrush, Mormon Tea, Cliff Rose, Prickly Pear Cactus, with a few scattered Utah Juniper trees. These plants are identified with small signs on the trail segment close to the Visitor Center. The canyons only a few miles further north are much thicker Pinon Pine and Juniper forest. Most of these plants retain some green color into the fall and winter seasons.

The trail here at the Hovenweep Visitor Center provides more ruin site viewing in a short distance than most trails in the region. The nearby Sand Canyon Trail has many small sites and Chaco Canyon in northwest New Mexico has very large sites. Sun Point at Mesa Verde has many sites visible from one view point.

Following the loop trail clockwise, there is an 80 foot descent into the canyon and a climb out the other side. The canyon interior is closed except for special tours. Several of the ruins sites can be viewed from this low angle including Stronghold House, the Twin Towers and Eroded Boulder House. Climb a little higher and Point Tower, Unit Type House, and Rim Rock House are visible. The canyon bottom has thicker vegetation than the canyon rim area, with some Rabbitbrush visible. The canyon head area has some Hackberry Trees.

The upper end of the south fork of the canyon head has some of the largest and most impressive of the Hovenweep Towers. Hovenweep Castle across the canyon head is the largest and most impressive. The Square Tower down below the rim is the most mysterious and seems to have been build with slight spiral. It overlooks the spring that provided water for the overall site.
 

There are a few small structures that aren’t pointed out. From the Tower Point loop segment looking north there are some small storage structures in the shallow alcoves under the rim. In fall, these small storage areas were probably stocked with the produce of the summer season.
 

Another unnamed ruins structure is at the point where the trail begins to descend into and cross the small canyon. This unnamed site would be a major find along the wild canyons of Canyons of the Ancients but is easily ignored here. Looking east, there is a view toward Sleeping Ute Mountain. 

The Holly Trail leads from the campground 4 miles north to the Holly Ruins Group, the nearest outlying site of Hovenweep. The Little Ruins Canyon Trail takes 1 or 2 hours depending on how long you linger at each site. I hiked in mid November on a sunny 45 F degree day and there were about 10 other vehicles at the visitor center during my visit.

Hovenweep Towers in Winter

The Little Ruin Canyon Trail is located at park headquarters for Hovenweep National Monument near the south Utah and Colorado state line. Most visitors arrive here during the mild portions of the year but the many mysterious towers can also be viewed during the snowy winters.

The circular, square, and D shaped towers, like the Twin Towers, are mostly perched along the canyon rim. This area is one of the best ruins viewpoints in the Four Corners as there are 10 sites to see within the 2 mile loop. The Hovenweep area received about 4 inches of snow while nearby and higher elevation Mesa Verde received nearly 2 feet during the same period.

The sidewalk leading to the trail head was cleared of snow but the trail itself required careful walking with a few icy spots. Temperatures since the snowfall have stayed mostly below freezing. During the mild seasons of the year we often forget how difficult survival in this region must have been.

The Hovenweep Castle is one of the most spectacular ruins in the region, a complex of two D shaped towers. The stone walls are two or three courses thick and dating of the wood used show a constructions date of 1277, a relatively late time in the history of this culture. The south facing canyon below the rim is cleared of snow while the north canyon rim still has a thick layer.

The Hovenweep Castle overlooks the area where a spring provides water for the site. Large Hackberry Trees benefit from the moist conditions.

Tower Point sits at the junction of the two canyon heads and has a commanding view down the canyon toward Sleeping Ute Mountain. The function of towers is not well understood, but this one clearly looks like a lookout point. There is supposed to be a pictograph somewhere below Tower Point. The trail up the canyon bottom is normally closed to visitors but rangers may lead hikers occasionally during the summer, based on demand.

I spent about 2:00 hours walking along the rim here on a 28 F mid January day, about two weeks after the most recent snow. The roads were mostly clear leading from the Cortez, CO area, a few patches of ice in spots that were always shady. I didn’t attempt to cross the canyon at the east end of the trail, but did an out and back counter clockwise hike from the trail head around to the Twin Towers and back.