Hovenweep National Monument  in Colorado State

Hovenweep National Monument

Imagine tall buildings rising from the Colorado Plateau up to four stories high: it's not a scene from the 21st century, but one from more than 800 years earlier.

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Hovenweep National Monument Details

Imagine tall buildings rising from the Colorado Plateau up to four stories high: it's not a scene from the 21st century, but one from more than 800 years earlier. Hovenweep National Monument contains the dramatic ruins of homes, ceremonial buildings, and other structures built by the Hovenweep people between 1200 A.D. and 1300 A.D. Meaning "deserted valley" -- the original inhabitants left in the 13th century -- Hovenweep consists of six sets of ruins in Colorado (Holly Canyon, Hackberry Canyon, Cutthroat Castle and Goodman Point) and Utah (Square Tower and Cajon). The visitor center, located at Square Valley, features ranger-led interpretive programs and the trailhead for a hike along the rim of Little Ruin Canyon, where several ancient structures can be seen, including the three-story Square Tower itself. Unpaved roads provide the only access to the five other park sites.

Difficulty

Open

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Nearby Parks Around Hovenweep National Monument

Compare nearby parks around Hovenweep National Monument when deciding whether to expand the route after this stop.

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Nearby Points of Interest Around Hovenweep National Monument

Use nearby POIs to quickly expand your options beyond Hovenweep National Monument while the map context is still fresh.

12.0 mi away

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument

Created in 2000, the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is especially notable for the large quantity of cultural and historical ruins and artifacts found there.

16.2 mi away

Trail of the Ancients- Colorado

As one of the more culturally significant routes in Colorado, this trail has many prehistoric sites from Navajo, Utes, and Puebloan communities.

16.2 mi away

Lowry Ruin

As one of the most prominent sites in the Canyons of the Ancient Nationals Monument, this archeological site was built over 1,000 years ago by Ancestral Puebloans.

23.2 mi away

Yucca House National Monument

Explore an unexcavated Ancestral Puebloan site with a two hour ranger-guided tour.

23.3 mi away

Yucca House National Monument

The U.S. National Park Service protects Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) ruins all over the Southwest; Yucca House National Monument is unusual in that it has never been excavated.