Saddle Horn Ruin Neighbors

Saddle Horn Ruin is one of the small Ancestral Pueblo Ruins sites on the Sand Canyon Trail in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. There are at least two off the trail ruins sites that can be viewed from a distance in the vicinity of Saddle Horn. (In 2011 the off trail areas are considered to be closed.)

The south trail head for the 6.5 mile Sand Canyon Trail is 12 miles west of Cortez, CO on County Road G. The Saddle Horn Ruin is about 1 mile north along the well marked trail. Turning off the trail and going east and slightly north for a about a quarter of a mile to the rim of Sand Canyon. I scanned with binoculars across to the other side looking for a tower site known as Mad Dog Tower.

I didn’t see anything from the rim but moving back to a higher spot and repeating my scan several times I finally spotted the elusive tower. It is visible in line with the right side of the large rocky outcrop that is in the middle of this view. It appears to be only about a half mile away but Sand Canyon is very deep and steep and in the way. (I think the Mad Dog Tower can be sighted from the Saddle Horn ruins without leaving the Sand Canyon Trail.)

There is an unmarked East Sand Canyon Trail that accesses the area of Mad Dog Tower. Follow the Sand Canyon Trail north for about 3.3 miles to the point where there is a small sign that says “Sand Canyon.” The main trail continues north, but there is also a trail that crosses and turns south toward the side canyons on the east side.

On this hike I tried walking south along the west rim of Sand Canyon to see if there was a shorter route over to the east side. There is a service road for drill holes on the east side but it passes through private property.

I walked to a point that is about 0.7 miles east of the Castle Rock Pueblo and overlooking the beginning of the drill hole service road.  Looking back north up the canyon I spotted an alcove ruins site that looks like it is in a very inaccessible position. This site is in a short eastern side canyon near the junction of Sand Canyon with McElmo Canyon. There are cliffs both above and below the site and there isn’t any apparent entry point.

I thought this would be a rarely viewed site but I caught a glimpse of it as I drove past the canyon mouth on County Road G. From the view point it was about 0.5 miles across country back to the Sand Canyon main trail and then 0.5 miles back to the trail head. My hike was about 3:00 hours for 3 miles, with much of the time spent scanning for these elusive sites.

East Rock Creek Loop Trail (Old System)

The East Rock Creek Trail is a 5.0 mile loop off of the South Trail Head of the 6.5 mile Sand Canyon Trail in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The main trail head is 12 miles west of Cortez, CO on County Road G.

The trail junctions of the East Rock Creek Trail are at the 0.25 point and about 1.8 miles on the Sand Canyon Trail and are clearly marked. This is just past the large Castle Rock formation and ruins site that looms above the slickrock near the trail head. (In 2011 the formerly unnamed loop into the east fork of Rock Creek Canyon is now the East Rock Creek Trail. The segments mentioned here are now called Connecting Trails.)

This trail has scenery typical of the high desert country seen in the Four Corners area, lots of Pinon Pines and Utah Juniper trees with eroded layers of rock stacked together and mountains or canyons in the distance. Turning at the 0.25 mile mark and heading west there are at least four small ruins sites in the first 1.5 miles. (This segment is the south Connecting Trail.)

Three of the four ruins that are obvious are associated with rock alcoves that face the south. This one is the most extensive.

The trail continues north along the east side of the Rock Creek Canyon. There are two trail posts indicating trail junctions with unnamed trails that explore the two forks of Rock Creek Canyon. At the second trail post at 2.5 miles, the 2011 Connecting East Rock Creek Trail turns east and climbs to the mesa area between Rock Creek Canyon and Sand Canyon.  (The 2011 East Rock Creek Trail stays north. )

There are at least seven ruins visible between the 1.5 and 2.5 mile trail posts. They are down in Rock Creek Canyon to the west and are easy to miss as they are not right along the trail. It is helpful to have binoculars to view them. There is a large arch that I've called Rock Creek Arch another 20 minutes along the formenrly unnamed trail (the 2011 East Rock Creek Trail) that continues north.

Just above the trail junction there is an odd small hole in the side of the hill that appears to be a mining effort. The views are good from the elevated area with a spur trail leading to the edge of the mesa.

It is 0.75 miles across the mesa area to the connection with the Sand Canyon Trail. Along the return route to the trail head there are several spur trails to at least two small ruins sites along the south end of this scenic trail.

One of the two sites is known as Saddle Horn Ruins, the only one with a well known name. (In 2011 several of the other sites on the Sand Canyon Trail have publicized names.) I usually spend about 3:00 hours on this loop with stops to view the ruins.