Risley Canyon Trail

Risley Canyon is a tributary to Yellowjacket Canyon in the south central part of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The trail head that I used is 3.4 miles north on the BLM road that is about 20 miles west of Cortez, CO along County Road G. At this starting point, high on the south side of Risley, there is a rough road leading east.

This point is north of the starting points for hikes to the Cannonball Mesa Pueblo site and the Lucy’s Warbler habitat area. The Lucy’s Warbler hike is west along the south rim of Risley Canyon to its junction with Yellowjacket Canyon. After about 20 minutes of hiking east, there is a junction with a left turn that pushes into the central area of upper Risley Canyon.

After about 1:00 hour of slow hiking, with a lot of scanning with binoculars, I spotted a large boulder outcrop in the center of the canyon area with some rubble on top. There are vague ATV tracks that lead down toward the boulder site, making it easy to walk to. It looks like there was a lookout structure on top of the boulder.

Not visible from a distance are all the structures on the south side. Many of these Ancestral Pueblo ruins sites would be easily missed in the forest if it weren’t for the rubble that is frequently on the tops of large boulders. A circular structure on the southeast side is protected under a small overhang.

There are additional wall sections to the left of the circular structure and built into other rocks in the vicinity. The pottery shards visible here are mostly the corrugated style.

From this site I hiked north a short distance to the cliffs on the north rim of Risley. I didn’t see any more ruins sites, but there are good views back toward the boulders and the surrounding area. Rather than return the same way I came, I hiked west, gradually descending down the drainage until I arrived at the main BLM road.

My total hike in Risley Canyon took 3:30 hours for about 4 miles. I carried and drank 2 liters of water on a 60 F degree mid March day.

Risley Canyon to Yellow Jacket Canyon Village

Risley Canyon is a tributary to Yellow Jacket Canyon in the south central part of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The trail head that I used to explore this area is 3.4 miles north on the BLM road that is 20 miles west of Cortez, CO along County Road G.

This starting point is high on the south side before descending into and crossing Risley Canyon. It is a little north of the starting points for hikes to Cannonball Mesa and the Lucy’s Warbler habitat area. The road is still drivable along here and there are ATV trails branching off here and there.

The Lucy’s Warbler hike is along the south rim of Risley Canyon to its junction with Yellowjacket Canyon. The terrain along here is Pinon Pine and Utah Juniper canyon country with Mormon Tea, Prickly Pear Cactus and maybe Cliff Rose shrubs. Risley Canyon doesn’t appear to have much water or sagebrush fields nearby.

About 1.2 miles further north along the road is a short west leading side ATV trail toward a hill with some south facing cliffs and jumbled boulders. I checked for ruins structures but only saw a few pottery shards. On top of the hill is a rock cairn and a good view into the Yellowjacket bottoms area.

From the hilltop I spotted a large ruins site on a fingertip of rock that extends into the wide sagebrush fields along the flowing creek. There is a vague unmarked trail that leads to the site from the ATV turnoff that I noticed on the return hike.

This site is mostly rubble with a few sections of wall still standing. The feel of the site is something like an island. From the highest points of the island, the water flows directly below the cliffs on the north side. The sagebrush farm fields are wide here compared with nearby canyons. The abundant water and wide fields make this a relatively favorable site to live in.

The flowing stream is lined with cottonwood trees. On the north side of the stream about 0.25 miles away, there appears to be an historic ruin made of sandstone blocks. I didn’t try to cross the stream to view it, but it looks like pioneer farmers thought this was a good site also.

Most of the structures still standing are rectangular. There are two circular depressions on the south facing side that appear to be large kivas. The pottery shards that I saw were either smooth gray or corrugated. I didn’t see any painted designs. There are several vertical rock faces that looked like good potential petroglyph sites but I didn’t notice any rock art at this site.

On the return hike I explored up Risley Canyon a short distance. The walking was easy on a sandy surface. I saw some alcoves but no ruins structures. (There is a good ruins site further than I walked.)  My total hike was 3:00 hours for about 4 miles. I carried two liters of water on a 55 F degree early April day.

Lucy’s Warbler Trail

The Lucy’s Warbler Trail is the route Colorado birdwatchers follow to the riparian habitat at the bottom of Yellowjacket Canyon on the south end of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.

 The trail head is 20 miles west of Cortez, CO along County Road G, then 2.4 miles north on the BLM gravel road to a west turnoff. I started my hike as this junction, which is 0.9 miles past the turn off and trail head to the top of Cannonball Mesa and just past a small dry wash. Cannonball Mesa has a large ruins site about 2 miles down the trail.

Lucy’s Warbler is 4 inches long with a gray back and whitish breast. It has a chestnut rump patch, white eye ring and a chestnut patch on the crown. Its habitat is along desert streams with mesquite, willows, or cottonwoods. The Peterson Guide that I have shows summer range to be mostly in Arizona and southwest New Mexico with a small question mark in southwest Colorado.

It is about 1.5 miles of hiking from the trail head west down into the canyon bottom. As it descends the trail makes a hairpin turn back to the east. The stream banks have quite a few Cottonwoods and Tamarisk trees with sagebrush further up the banks. The terrain along the beginning of the trail is dry with scattered Utah Juniper trees, short grasses, and desert shrubs.

In late March there is a healthy flow in the stream. The trail crosses the stream and I stopped at the crossing. About 100 yards further upstream is the junction with Risley Canyon with Yellowjacket Canyon making a big counter clockwise bend at that point. Late March has a moderate temperature for hiking but is too early to see many birds. To the right along the trail it is possible to view Risley Canyon from the rim.
From the cliffs above the crossing point, a small grassy hill is mostly encircled by the winding stream. On the top of the hill it looks like there is a rubble pile ruins site. It looks like a good location with water, farm fields, and sunny exposure available.

I explored down canyon a short distance until arriving at the same dry wash that crosses the road near the trail head. Following back up the wash but staying close to the cliffs I spotted a small dry wall ruins site. This site was in a small alcove with southern exposure, overlooking the dry wash and sage brush fields below.

From the small ruins site I climbed to the rim and worked back over to the main trail and returned to the trail head. My total hike of about 4 miles took 2:30 hours on a 58 F degree late March sunny day.