Woods Canyon Pueblo on the Rim

The south segment of the Woods Canyon Trail arrives at the base of large Ancestral Pueblo ruins site in Woods Canyon in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. This trail starts west of the town of Yellow Jacket on County Road U west of County Road 14 in front of a small industrial facility.

There are many rubble pile ruins on the canyon slope and some intact wall sections in the sheltered area just below the canyon rim. On this hike I was trying to find a route to the rim, above the sheltered area.

From below, there are some structures visible above the rim, but steep cliffs prevent easy access to the mesa top area. I looked to the left or west side of the large site for a route up to the rim. It took me 0:45 minutes to arrive at the base of the site from the trailhead and another 0:30 minutes to find a way to the mesa top ruins area.

There are several large rubble pile structures up above and they are all very close to the rim, with broad views over Woods Canyon and Sleeping Ute Mountain visible in the distance.

There is one good section of wall still standing. This looks like the back wall of a square structure and this is the one that can be spotted easily from below. The old road that acts as the Woods Canyon Trail leading to the site is clearly visible down below.

On the return hike I stayed closer to the edge of the rim and found a shorter route down, than the way I came up, that connects to a trail that visits the several small sites that are just below the rim. From below the rim, this trail winds left around a cliff corner and there are some rocks arranged that have been secured with a T post to aid in the climb up or down. This vague trail leads past the small room block that is on the left or west side of the overall site.

There are a couple of more small structures along the under the rim trail and eventually the trail leads to the larger wall sections that catch most of the attention. From this side of the site, there are some cow trails to look for that make the descent a little easier than from below the larger wall sections.

The approach from the left side also allows a close view the three large boulder based structures that are near the bottom of the canyon slope. My total hike took 4:00 hours for about 5 miles on an early July morning. The temperature at 9:00 AM was about 65 F degrees and it was about 85 F degrees at 1:00 PM when I finished. I carried and drank 3 liters of water.

On this hike I knew where the site was when I started and didn’t spend any time searching, as is often the case. There is a lot to see at this large site.

Painted Hand Pueblo Neighbors-Hovenweep Canyon

The Painted Hand Pueblo Trail is one of the few publicized trails in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The trailhead is along the marked east turn off of County Road 10 about 10 miles north of the Visitor Center for Hovenweep National Monument.

Further along the same rough road is the upper trailhead for the Cutthroat Castle Trail, one of the outlying Hovenweep sites. Just south of the trailhead there is an old road that leads down into Hovenweep Canyon and heads north, following parallel to the creek bed and passing the area below the Painted Hand Pueblo site. The Canyons of the Ancients doesn’t have many official trails but there are many old roads to follow while exploring this outdoor museum.

I started my hike at the Upper Cutthroat Castle Trail Head and followed the rough road down into the sagebrush and greasewood canyon bottom area. After passing below the Painted Hand Pueblo, I noticed a possible collapsed boulder based ruins site about 0.2 miles further north, but continued on.

After about 1.5 miles, the trail crosses the dry wash and continues north. About 50 yards past the wash crossing I turned east off the trail and started climbing toward the mesa top area that is between Hovenweep Canyon and Negro Canyon. I was surprised to see a fairly large south facing ruins site about half way to the mesa top. Part of a circular tower similar to the Painted Hand tower stands out from a distance.

There are several structures with wall sections still standing. The site is north and east of the Painted Hand site, about 1 mile away. The vicinity of Painted Hand is visible but I couldn’t see the site for sure. I could see the collapsed site that is just to the north of Painted Hand.

Like the other Hovenweep area sites, this site seemed to have several towers with a mix of square, circular and perhaps a D shaped. There are large piles of rubble here also, but the site seems very compact. It also looks like there are some perimeter walls at the rim but I didn’t see any structures on the area above the rim. I didn’t see any trails nearby or evidence that this site gets visited very often.

My original hiking goal was to get to the mesa top and continue to the rim of Negro Canyon and explore the area. I was lucky to stumble on this large site. It took about 1:00 hour to reach this very good ruins site.

It was a short walk across the mesa top between Hovenweep and Negro Canyons. From the west rim of Negro Canyon I could see a green tank and there is a dirt road running along the canyon bottom. Across the canyon on Mockingbird Mesa I could see two of the Carbon Dioxide facilities and the large power lines. I scanned along the far canyon rim with binoculars but didn’t spot any ruins structures.

There was one boulder based collapsed ruins site below the cliffs near the point where I first arrived at the rim and also a circular petroglyph that was visible in the same area. I continued south for about 0.3 miles along the rim and then turned west and found my way back to the original trail. My hike took 5:00 hours for about 5 miles on a relatively cool 65 F mid June day. The biting gnats that swarm in June didn’t appear until the day warmed up later in the afternoon. I carried and drank 3 liters of water.

McLean Basin Northeast Trail

The northeast corner of McLean Basin can be hiked to along the dirt road trail that turns west from County Road 10 1.1 miles north of the east turn to the Painted Hand Pueblo Trail in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado.

This is the same area where the outlying Hovenweep National Monument sites are found. It is about 1 mile of hiking to the east rim of a short side canyon close to the point where it joins McLean Basin.

The turnoff is also about 0.4 miles south of the Canyons of the Ancients sign if traveling from the north. I drove a few hundred yards along the trail road to a point where the thick sagebrush thinned out enough to park without blocking the road. The two track dirt road heads west and then curves south. There are two side roads that I bypassed, staying on track to find the canyon rim. (In 2012, this road may be closed to vehicles but is open for hiking. If the road is closed it makes parking a problem.)

The terrain along here is mostly level with sagebrush and scattered Junipers. In mid May a lot of desert wildflowers are in bloom. I bypassed a side road that went directly to the side canyon rim and stayed southwest for about 0.5 miles until the trail came to a dead end at the rim of McLean Basin.

There are good views across McLean Basin and is a rubble pile ruins site along the north rim about 1.5 miles to the west. (Use labels McLean Basin North Rim for this site) I walked back northeast along the east rim of the side canyon toward the side road that I had bypassed and spotted a boulder based ruins site on the opposite side of the canyon.

This site is high on the north and west side of side canyon but below the rim. It is a little north of the side road and I found an easy canyon crossing route about 200 yards up the canyon past the site. In mid May there was flowing water in the easy to cross creek at the canyon bottom.

Besides the boulder top rubble and rubble around the base, there are other minor wall sections and perimeter walls at this medium sized site. There is a vague petroglyph on an alcove wall that could be a flute player, but it is very rough. From this site I walked down canyon toward McLean basin along the rim out to a point that overlooked the basin.

At the point there is a small pile of brick shaped stones. I didn’t have a very good angle to look over the edge for signs of ruins structures below, and I didn’t see anything else here besides this pile. I scanned to the west for the elusive McLean Basin towers, but I don’t think I had a good angle to see them.

 The possible rubble pile site that I had seen was still a long way to the west. Looking back north up the next side canyon to the west on the north rim of the basin, I sighted another boulder based ruins site.

The cliffs surrounding this site were very steep and I didn’t see an easy way down. From above, it looks there was a circular tower perched on one of the boulders. The flat door cover of the tower appears to still be laying there. To the left of the main part of the site, it looked like there was an alcove with a shelf inside.

My return hike from the second site took 1:10 hours back to my starting point. The total hike took 4:10 hours for about 5 miles on a 75 F degree mid May day. Much of the time hiking in Canyons of the Ancients is spent scanning and route finding and visiting the sites. The biting gnats that are a nuisance in June in the canyon areas were starting to appear on this mid May hike.

Mockingbird Mesa Main Road

The Mockingbird Mesa Trail is the well maintained road that continues past the closed gate next to the Mockingbird Mesa Kinder Morgan carbon dioxide gas plant in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado.

This road is the extension of County Road 12 south from the junction with County Road BB west of Pleasant View, Colorado. Visitors to the Hovenweep National Monument area arriving from the north side pass this junction when traveling west toward County Road 10.

It is 5.8 miles south to the Canyons of the Ancients sign. It is 8.5 miles to the closed gate and there is a left turn at a BLM sign describing the Mockingbird Mesa area as closed to vehicles but open to foot traffic and horses.

                        

This was my first hike in this area and my goal was to stay near the road. I didn’t know anything specific about the area and was lucky to meet the plant operator, Rick, who was very enthusiastic and helpful. Kinder Morgan has several carbon dioxide wells and processing facilities along the first three miles of road.

There are some small oil and gas facilities toward the further end of the road and large power lines along the whole length. This industrial activity appears to be very clean and well managed and could be cited as an example of good cooperation between industry and outdoor recreation. The carbon dioxide is obtained from a very deep rock formation and is used to aid oil extraction. Much of it is currently being transported by pipeline to west Texas.

A hike starting at the closed gate can get off to a good start by finding the ruins site that is behind the Kinder Morgan gas plant. I went through the gate and circled counter clockwise behind the plant. There are several large rubble pile ruins a short distance from the rim overlooking Sandstone Canyon. I imagine that when the builders originally chose their site they didn’t imagine what would someday be in their backyard.

There is another rubble pile ruins site 0.6 miles down the road on the west side. Neither this site nor the site behind the gas plant is apparent from the road and were pointed out to me by Rick the plant operator.

This site is at the point where the road is very close to the Sandstone Canyon Rim and there are some taller trees about 50 yards west from the road.

I was expecting that ruins sites would be visible from the road, but I didn’t see any. The Pinon Pine and Utah Juniper forest is relatively thick and there aren’t many good view points along the road. I made several random turns off the road into the forest and found two minor ruins sites along the way, but it is hard to describe where they were.

I walked about 4.5 miles past the gas facilities called Hovenweep C Cluster and Hovenweep D Cluster. There are side roads along the way to explore.  There is a site called Seven Towers in southwest part of this area to search for. At about 4.5 miles south there is an oil facility called Cutthroat B. Some visitors may want to bring a mountain bike to travel down the main road before starting a hike further into the backcountry.

On my return hike I walked the last 0.6 miles along the Sandstone Canyon rim rather than stay on the road. Following the rim east of the road may be the best strategy here if you are only going to visit the area once. From the rim I spotted two ruins sites associated with large boulders in the area below the rim.

There is a drainage at the canyon bottom with a couple of leafy trees indicating some permanent water. These sites look approachable but I was too tired to go there this time. There may be a ruins site on the other side of the canyon to the northeast of the trailhead gas plant. Rick says there is one there but I couldn’t spot it for sure from the distance. My total hike took 6:10 hours for about 9 miles. I carried two liters of water and drank it all on a 60 F mid May sunny day.

(On later hikes I visited the sites below the rim and across the canyon that are mentioned here. Use the labels for Mockingbird Mesa to see these posts.)

Hovenweep & Bridge Canyon Bike Trail

The central part of Hovenweep Canyon  in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado can be accessed along the dirt road marked as Road 4525. This road travels south and east from paved County Road 10, and north of the Hackberry and Holly outlying Hovenweep sites. This road is the north part of an established mountain bike route.

The trail road has an old corral visible from the main road and is about 1 mile north of the marked road to Hackberry Ruins and Holly Ruins, and about 6 miles north of the Hovenweep Visitor Center. The route leads through mostly Utah Juniper and sagebrush rocky terrain with small canyon drainages on both sides. The loop that mountain bike riders use connects with the road to the Hackberry and Holly Ruins Groups.

With binoculars I was scanning the canyon rims for rubble piles or other signs of the Ancestral Pueblo people who lived in the area 800 years ago. About 2.5 miles down the trail there are two minor side roads branching left and east into Hovenweep Canyon. I followed the second side route through a gate to a point where there was a good view into the basin below. The main trail continues south and makes the loop that connects back to the Hackberry and Holly road.

The only structure I came across was an odd stack of rocks on top of a small hill. This seemed more like an oversized cairn built recently than a 700 year old structure, but who knows. This was to the north side about one mile along the road. This hill and rock pile is visible for a long distance in this area and can be used as a navigation point.

Just east and north of the odd rock pile is a small side canyon that looked promising as a possible ruins location. Most of the good sites in the area are at the heads of small canyons near a seep spring or on hilltops. I walked up this small canyon for about 0.5 miles to the head, but only saw a few scattered pottery shards.

About 0.5 miles south and east of the odd rock cairn is the head of Bridge Canyon. This canyon runs north and south and is to the east of the Hackberry and Horseshoe Ruins sites of Hovenweep. I thought Bridge Canyon might be a similar location to the canyons that support the large Hovenweep sites. I hiked along the west rim of this canyon for about 0.5 miles and noticed two leafy green trees near the canyon head and some pools of water on the canyon floor.

Oddly, there is another large rock cairn about 1 mile south of the old corral, but not near the road bike trail. I haven't seen cairns this big anywhere else in the Canyons of the Ancients.

To the west of Bridge Canyon, north of Hackberry Canyon, are some hilltop areas with good views and extensive sagebrush fields. Despite these favorable features I didn’t see any ruins sites in this area. I did three separate hikes in this area, each was about 3:00 hours.