Sand Canyon Pueblo Neighbors

At the north trail head of the Sand Canyon Trail in Canyon of the Ancients in southwest Colorado, to the west side, there is the short interpretive trail to the mostly unexcavated and large Sand Canyon Pueblo. With about 420 rooms, 100 kivas and 14 towers it is larger than the spectacular Cliff Palace at nearby Mesa Verde.

There is also an unpublicized site on the east side of the canyon rim near the trail head that spills over the rim into some of the alcoves just below the rim. This site is only 100 yards or so off the trail but is not visible from the trail. It is fairly easy to hike over and view this site. These sites at the Sand Canyon trail head rest on the Dakota Sandstone layer.

The structures on the rim mostly appear as rubble piles, similar to the Sand Canyon Pueblo. Below the rim, there are some alcove wall sections that are similar to the alcove sites at the lower end of Sand Canyon. I haven’t spotted any alcove structures below the rim at the main Sand Canyon Pueblo from the main interpretive trail.

The below the rim area can be reached from the main trail by descending about 10 feet, then turning off the trail and working your way east. There may be a few rock cairns to guide the way. The rubble pile ruins start to appear before reaching the alcove. Looking inside, there are some roof beams still in place. Just to the east of the alcove, there is a notch that allows passage to or from the rim.

The rim structures don’t seem to be as overgrown as the Sand Canyon Pueblo sites, fewer trees coming up through them. This is a smaller site and there is a definite gap between the east site and the main site. I noticed a small hiker’s collection of pot shards on display. There aren’t any interpretive signs at the east site and there isn’t a trail to follow, but the distance is short.

Sand Canyon Pueblo Trail

The Sand Canyon Pueblo Trail in Canyon of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado is a short interpretive trail to a large mostly unexcavated Ancestral Pueblo site. It is located at the north trailhead of the 6.5 mile Sand Canyon Trail.

The village is U shaped around a spring at the head of Sand Canyon. The trail has two arms, to each side of the village. The overall site is one of dozens in the area and had about 420 rooms, 100 kivas, and 14 towers. Most of what is visible now though is piles of rubble. Several hundred people are thought to have lived here between 1245 and 1290 AD.

The west arm of the trail circles around the outer wall and then passes through to the interior. The west side is thought to have the most kivas and open spaces and may have had a different role than the east side of the village.

 The terrain along the trail is fairly thick Pinyon Pine and Utah Juniper forest with a lot of sage brush and yucca plants. The forest has grown up through many of the collapsed structures.

There are good interpretive signs along the trail explaining the layout of the village. The signs include drawings that show how the structures are thought to have looked. These are helpful as you can't tell much from what appears now.

There are spots on each side of the canyon with views down the canyon to the south. The east side gives a good view back to the village on the west. Down the canyon there are quite a few small structures tucked up under rock alcoves. These are visible on the Sand Canyon Trail.

There is about a mile worth of hiking on this trail. The time spent here depends on how long you want to linger.

This is a tricky trail head to find. It is on County Road N west of County Road 16. Turn west off of Highway 491 onto County Road P north of Cortez and zig zag west and south.

Sand Canyon Trail North Trailhead

The 6.5 mile Sand Canyon Trail is the best established trail in the relatively new Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southeast Colorado. Most hikers start at the south trail head, but the north trail head has interest also.

A side trail at the trail head leads to the large Sand Canyon Pueblo interpretive trail. The Sand Canyon Pueblo is mostly rubble piles, but there are good interpretive signs giving a sense of the overall site. This large ruin site is thought to have been a center for the scattered small dwellings further down the canyon. There is an unpublicized site on the rim to the east also. No trail goes over there but it is easy to explore there. There is also a pueblo site at the south trail head around Castle Rock.


The trail cuts through a forest of Pinon Pine and Juniper trees, and starts to get steeper going downhill. Mountain bikers are cautioned that this section is not recommended.


An inner canyon comes into view with Sleeping Ute mountain lurking in the distance. To the east two drill holes are visible and there is a road leading to them.


The terrain becomes drier the lower you descend. The trail guide has a key to identifying the geologic formations that are exposed and comments on the known uses of each layer by the Ancestral Pueblos. Past the sandy creek bottom, the trail reaches the area where there are at least 10 small ruins sites before reaching the Castle Rock formation and pueblo at the south trail head.



The lower end of the Sand Canyon Trail includes the 5 mile East Rock Creek Loop and two unnamed long loops and at least four more small ruins. The middle loop, that I call the Rock Creek Trail includes a large arch. At the point of this small sign, there is the unmarked East Sand Canyon Trail that leads to more small sites.

The north trail head is a little tricky to find. It is on County Road N west of Road 15. Turn west off of highway 491 at Road P and zig zag your way. Keep an eye out for the obscure Goodman Point Ruins site along the way. I walked down about 4 of the 6.5 miles to some of the small ruins and then back up in a little over 4:00 hours. It was a warm September day and though I took two liters of water, I was out of water the last half hour.