You don’t need to visit Europe to see ancient ruins. The Canyons of the Ancients in Southwestern Colorado and Eastern Utah showcase the ingenuity of pre-colonial native Americans with a vast network of impressive ruins constructed around the 12th century AD.
A visit to The Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is like a journey through time with ancestral Puebloans. You’ll see cliff dwellings, cave paintings, impressive towers, and more as you traverse the desert in search of the most well-known sites.
Discovering the Canyons of the Ancients
I discovered the fascinating history behind the Canyons of the Ancients while planning a road trip from California to Southwestern Colorado to visit Mesa Verde National Park, an ancestral site right on the cusp of the Canyons.
While planning my route, I noticed a massive area on the map spanning from Southwest Colorado into Southern Utah labeled “Canyons of the Ancients.”
My inner anthropologist quivered with excitement. Anything with such a mystical name must be extraordinary!
The canyon boundary line was near Mesa Verde, so I added it to my itinerary with absolutely no other research. Sometimes it’s more fun to find out on your own than to spend hours researching!
Not Your Typical Attraction
The Canyons of the Ancients is unlike any historical attraction I’ve ever visited.
There’s not a full National Park, so you won’t find a visitor’s center bursting with guides, maps, and points of interest. Instead, it’s a vast network of ancient sites sprawling across 164 thousand acres of land protected by the National Bureau of Land Management.
Although the biggest sites are accessible to the general public, the majority of smaller ones are inaccessible by vehicle, so only dedicated hikers willing to battle the desert trails, hoping to glimpse an archaeological marvel, can find them.
Many ruins in this vast wilderness remain buried, protecting them from the elements (and careless tourists).
All this may turn off casual travelers, but the idea of play-acting as Indiana Jones for a day sent a thrill up my spine.
I was all in.
Getting Started with the Ancients
If you’re like me and the idea of exploring the wild in search of ruins fills you with excitement, you need to explore the Canyons of the Ancients for yourself.
Here’s where you should start.
Mesa Verde
If you want to see ancient ruins in the US, Mesa Verde should be your first stop. Although it’s not technically part of the Canyons of the Ancients, it’s so close to the visitor center that it’s worth exploring.
As a National Park, the ruins are far more accessible than the rest of the canyons, which, although protected, are not part of a National Park.
Mesa Verde features some of the most impressive ruins in the country. Tour the remarkable cliffside dwellings and learn the history of the people who decided to live on the edge: literally.
Let Mesa Verde start your journey into the mysteries of the ancients who once called the American southwest home, then head ten miles down the road from Mesa Verde’s visitor center to discover the Canyons of the Ancients.
Anasazi Visitor Center
Cortez, Colorado, hosts the gateway to the Canyons. Though there’s a nominal admissions fee, it’s well worth it to prepare yourself for the journey ahead.
The Anasazi Visitor Center welcomes travelers with a museum housing a rich collection of Native American artifacts, including pottery, tools, tapestries, and several educational hands-on displays.
While there, I worked with an authentic flint stone tool and tried my hand at weaving using ancient technology.
The friendly staff is happy to answer questions about the Canyons and even provide directions to the most popular and well-excavated ruins.
Take them up on this.
Many of the ruins are tucked away on rural highways you’d never even dream of traveling, and having expert directions will help you stay on target when you think you’re lost.
The staff pointed me toward the four most well-known and accessible archaeological sites sprinkled within the Canyons of the Ancients:
- Lowry Pueblo
- Painted Hands
- Cutthroat Ruins
- Hovenweep
Lowry Pueblo
Lowry Pueblo, a massive sandstone pueblo tucked off a hidden gravel road, is remarkably well-preserved and even offers visitors the opportunity to peek inside.
The area includes a Puebloan ceremonial site, known as a Kiva, and placards featuring information about daily life and rituals near the Pueblo. Anyone interested in anthropology will enjoy viewing these sacred sites where the inhabitants practiced their rituals.
A massive bonus to Lowry Pueblo is its accessibility. Despite the dirt road and lack of signage leading up to it, the Pueblo itself is paved and mostly flat. Persons with disabilities should be able to navigate the area with ease.
There’s also a recreational area perfect for picnics and a restroom, making it an ideal stop for travelers who want to see ancient ruins while enjoying modern comforts.
Painted Hands
Painted Hands gets its name from the cave paintings of hands visible inside. The petroglyph is initially challenging to spot, taking some squinting and enhanced brain power to make out.
However, you should be able to spot them upon gazing closely for a few minutes.
This incredible site features a tower atop a small enclave where the petroglyph rests. As you tilt your head, attempting to make out the image, remember that this work of art survived the elements for centuries, so it will be a little raw. The “aha” moment when you finally make out the hands is indescribable. You have to see it for yourself.
Unfortunately, Painted Hands is tough to reach. The site itself is down a rough stretch of dirt road. Although you can see the tower from the makeshift parking lot, you must hike a bit to get near the tower and observe the paintings hidden underneath.
The trail is steep and inaccessible to wheelchairs, but it’s not long and not too far off the beaten path, making it a perfect location for those who want to stretch their legs a little.
Cutthroat Ruins
Those looking for a more rugged adventure into the wild to observe ancient ruins should continue down the savage dirt road hosting painted hands to cutthroat ruins, an apt moniker for the tough-to-reach site.
The hike is brutal.
Cutthroat ruins rest about a mile into the wilderness. Weary travelers must traverse hilly and scorching high desert terrains to lay eyes upon the impressive towers nestled in the canyons.
If you’re attempting to visit cutthroat ruins, bring plenty of water! You will need it!
The reward is well worth the effort. Cutthroat ruins consist of numerous towers, some of which are in excellent condition relative to their age. These towers have stood empty for centuries, yet they still stand, a feat made even more impressive when you remember that preservation efforts didn’t begin until the 19th century.
Cutthroat ruins survived harsh desert winds for centuries without human intervention. The towers are spectacular to behold, and their remote location off the beaten path allows motivated hikers to enjoy the site in quiet solitude.
Hovenweep
If you only have time for one stop on the Canyons of Ancients tour, it should be Hovenweep National Monument. Hovenweep, located on the Utah side of the forest, is the most well-known and popular site in the Canyons. The area features a visitor center, bathroom, ample parking, and picnic areas.
Hovenweep offers three hiking tiers for visitors of all skill levels. Casual visitors and those with mobility issues will prefer the leisurely tower overview hike. The short walk over a paved path leads to an overlook of the towers from across the canyon.
The second tier is a tower walk, a short half-circle around the canyon. The easy walk curves close to the towers, giving visitors a close-up view of the impressive architecture. However, easy is in the eye of the beholder. There are no elevation changes, but it’s not accessible for those with limited mobility.
Those looking for a challenge can opt to hike all the way around the canyon. This third tier is far more strenuous than the half-canyon trek, so bring plenty of water if you want to attempt it.
The Mysteries of the Ancients
The four sights I visited on my journey through the Canyons of the Ancients are just the beginning. The Bureau of Land Management protects numerous sites under the canyon’s umbrella.
Finding each site takes a lot of work. Some require vigorous hiking, while others need insider knowledge, as the locations aren’t apparent on a map. Many of these are closed to the public to protect the historic structures buried within.
The four sites listed here are easily accessible and close enough together to visit in a single day (though it will be a long day).
If you have more time, consider hiking deeper into the canyons to uncover more mysteries. I know I will if I find myself traveling through the Southwest again!
This place looks awesome! We will have to go. That is something we have been focusing on…travel in America. There is so much to see HERE. We get so caught up on traveling abroad and believe me it is my passion, but we also have good options here too!!!
My passion is traveling abroad too, but when I have less time I like to explore whatever’s nearby, and thats how I found this place! It’s spectacular! Thanks for stopping by.
Cool post! I’ve got a trip to a bunch of ancient sites on my bucket list; I’ll add these to the itinerary. 🙂
“What?? 12th Century ruins right here in the USA?”. I know, I was surprised too!”
Right? XD It’s easy to forget that North America has as much history as anywhere else, it just wasn’t recorded as well.