Reviews of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (Park)

Nathan Mesich

Very cool site. Very immersive.

i pm

Great place. Not too touristy, usually quiet, friendly. Rangers are very nice and helpful. If you spend 2+ hours here you'd visit amazing ancient sites and you get a glimpse on how life was centuries ago.

Reynard The Fox

Another very interesting native american site. It gets hot out west in the summer so be prepared. we just made a quick visit here. wasn't alot to see with the time we had would like to go back

Jk C

Beautiful family friendly hikes and horseback riding.

Rhonda Polsfut

Always love hiking in Canyon of the Ancients & today was a beautiful Spring day! A little sad to see so many dead & dying Pinon trees. Those beetles are really still taking a toll on the trees. Climate changes effects very noticable. New parking area under construction & looking like it should help since the canyon has become so popular. Also nice ti see some people are being consciencous to use dog poopie bags, but please remember to pack them out too, thanks! Beautiful day in the canyon!

Brian Russell

Went to the Northern Trailhead of Sand Canyon Trail. (Sand Canyon Pueblo) Explored the ruins with fascinating at the sheer size of the village. Highly recommend as the main ruins are simply 100 yards from the parking lot. Amazing...

t g

Plenty of hiking to do. Your best best is to do it in the morjing when the weather is cooler. Take plenty of water when doing this in the summer. Kid friendly, they will enjoy doing some real hiking.

Steve E-D

This is such a magical place. You can feel the history here.

Thomas Hively

Nothing to see anymore

Logan Sutherland

Grate trails

Jordan Johnson

This was definitely not what I was expecting, but there were some interesting ruins here. I would recommend going to another hike with more ruins though.

Adrienne Boggs

Undeveloped Nat'l Monument managed by the BLM. Absolutely stop by the Anasazi Heritage Center before visiting any of the sites. It's definitely a hidden gem!

Jennifer Vanalstine

Loved, loved, loved this place

Nancy McKee

Cultural center was amazing!

Lori Conrad

Amazing viewa

Matt Champlin

I give this place 5 stars specifically because it's undeveloped and nearly unexplored. What an amazing spot to be by yourself and sit in ruins that have hardly been touched for a thousand years. Check out the Painted Hand house for the easiest access, walk around and be amazed. Bring water!

Megan Toburen

Easy trails and many choices where to hike. Beautiful scenery and saw some runs.

Danny Munck

We were staying about an hour from here on our honeymoon. On our last day the hosts of our air bnb recommend this place. Wished we had found it sooner this was right up our alley. Very cool place to see nice short hikes to see some very cool ruins and cave dwellings a must see!

zarasbazaar

Love this place.

Larry Wade

High desert, abundance of slick rock;

Angela R

Great mountain biking, hiking and views. You will burn your battery out taking photos! Have fun!

Caleb Maes

I love this area and hike it often

Kevin Uptain

Great, easy hike, perfect for the whole family!

Michael Fiola

Very enjoyable visit. The trails are well marked and the ruins are plentiful.

Colvin Walker

This place is amazing. You can just hike around and find ancient ruins and broken pottery hundreds of years old. I recommend talking to a ranger at the Mesa Verde National park and asking how to identify pottery shards before you go. It makes it more fun when you can find remnants of the ancient people who lived in these majestic valleys.

Ari Stern

Had the place to ourselves. Did not see one person during 3 hour hike to ancient dwellings. Awesome

Audrey Lewis

My husband and I camper for 5 days and 4 nights. It was magical. We will make it a yearly trip.

Natalie Adams

Love these trails. Up high on the Mesa, mountain or around it, it is beautiful. Dog friendly, be sure to bring lots and lots of water! Ruins are pretty awesome. No bathrooms so bring a small shovel. Paths are marked pretty clear. Views or "spur" trails has fun surprises.

Van Davis

Easily accessible and extensive! No fees! Adequate explanatory information on placques throughput the site. A good choice for Anasazi ruins!

Renee Hon Totten

Amazing Ancestral Puebloan Ruins, most in their natural state, with fewer people than Mesa Verde! It's also dog friendly, which is a bonus!

Lee Lemon

Amazing

Ecchi Roulette

Stopped at the Hovenweep National Monument, gorgeous and insightful! Most of the road encircling canyons of the ancients is fields, so be sure to check out the hiking paths to get the full experience.

Murray Moran

An incredible park! Ruins are hidden all over, so keep an eye out!

Karen Eberman

Go to visitor center. Watch video..take the hikes. Clearly a hidden gem. The ruins are spectacular

brewandbbq

Most areas of the monument are not accessible by car. Big area with farmland in the middle.

VERDELL Primeaux

Beautiful sight seeing area

Vanessa Glady

I started the day in Hovenweep and the Ranger suggested the easy drive to this monument. If you start on the Colorado side make sure you stop at the visitors center to get the history and the map of the different sites. The Lowry site is in the middle of the farming area and was amazing. The paths are paved so there is wheelchair access to this site. You then continue through the farming area and go past it to get to the other sites. There is some driving on dirt roads and they suggest you do it in high clearance vehicles.The other sites require some hiking so be prepared with a hat, hiking shoes and water, they are not wheelchair accessible. Once you are done you can continue the drive on the same road to Hovenweep but you will cross the border into Utah. It all can be done in one day.

Teresja Nelson

There are several sites with ancient Pueblo ruins here. Some have been partially reconstructed, but Sand Ruin has not, nor has it been excavated. This offers a unique experience of trying to pick out the ruins (you get the hang of it pretty quickly) in the landscape. There are marked trails and informative signs to help explain what you see. There are other ruins that are also fascinating. The visitor's center for this park is the Anasazi Heritage Center, which is actually in Dolores, CO (about 30 miles away), and it is also worth visiting.

Me Weesie

Should see at least one in your life.

Janet Rader

I LOVE THIS PLACE! Visited Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and Mesa Verde National Park at the end of August. It was nice and cool. There was a thunderstorm one night which was cooling since we were camping in the San Juan forest 30 miles away in Dolores, CO. Highly recommend you stop by the visitor center first, which is 30+ miles away from the actual entrance to the park. You can talk with the park rangers, learn about the park, watch documentaries on the park and the natives who lived there, etc. After you enjoy the visitor center, head to the park itself where you'll see beautiful rock scenery with small ruins. It's a humbling experience to see how much these people were able to accomplish using the resources around them. Easy hikes for you to enjoy as you visit the main sites: Lowry, Horseshoe and Hackberry to start with. It does get hot during the day so make sure you are prepared for sunny and dry conditions! Hydrate prior to going and take water (and even cold packs) with you a depending on the season. Overall, my family and I really enjoyed this park and will definitely come back again soon. Happy Travels - JT

thomas rodrian

While on a trip through the Southwest Canyonlands, we stopped at Canyons of the Ancients National Monument to see some Sand Canyon huge kivas and towers. The reason our professor wanted us to see Pueblo III kivas and towers that were still in good condition. Some of the kivas we saw were restored, so less they were than authentic in our professor’s opinion.

Deb Morales

Beautiful place

Ellen Archibald

The museum had a lot of facts very informative. The 100 mile trip around the Land of the Ancients was long and hot. So many of the wonderful things to see now that we are retired are inaccessible to us. We have the time and money but can't hike back to these sites. Would have liked a way to have reserved a tour so we and others like us could see these sites. That would also bring in more revenue for the park. We need to do more for the seniors that have supported our National Parks for years.

Jacob Hopp

History if this place goes without saying. I love north America.

Eva Eriksen

I'm a ruins rat - what can I say!

The last In line

Beautiful hike

Michelle Warren

The NPS Guides are helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly. We really enjoyed the Visitors Center Learning more about the land, how they are preserving, and more about the local culture. We opted for a 6 mile hike which was not strenuous. There was only 1 other couple out - and so it is important to remember there are lots of miles between you & help, take lots of water!

Hank Stites

I camp at Hovenweep when I'm in this area. Great drive from Hovenweep to Canyon of the Ancients. Great place to ride your mountain bike and hike. I've included a picture, which shows the layout. There is one over riding rule when hiking in a desert environment. When you are halfway done with your water, you are half way done with your hike.This rule will save your life, so take plenty of water. I hiked 6 miles in, and it was both beautiful and interesting. Stick to the trails; because, the ground is so delicate. If you damage the soil, it takes years to recover if ever. Magical place. So much to see. Super views of Sleeping Ute Mountain, or I should say mountains. When you are up at Park Point in Mesa Verde Sleeping Ute looks like one mountain. When you get on the other side, you can clearly see Sleeping Ute is multiple mountains. Bring plenty of water and be safe! Have a great hike and leave it better than you found it. Cheers!

Heather Davis

Right off the road, easy to walk to for all, even wheelchair accessible.

Festus Clamrod

So much to see so little time.

Brian Weigel

I used the trails. No services. Have several dirt off roading trails as well.

Ellen Hanson

Great day hiking trails!

marietta eaton

A beautiful place with a remarkable story.

bernard hackler

This is a piece of history that I think everyone should visit.

Chrystal Curtsinger

Wasn't able to hike the area. it was all blocked off with signs, very disappointing

Robert Egert

A vast land of canyons and scrub once the home of native pueblo and mogollan people. Not well marked and no food water or gas stations unless you are adventurous.

Luke Fredericks

The road from Cortez to this park is easy to follow and fully paved(if you are on a dirt road, you are lost. I cannot imagine how that would happen, google takes you right here to the spot). Parking for the Sand Canyon trailhead is across from Sutcliffe Vineyard, which is marked. The parking is not car friendly, some clearance is required for much of the small lot, which is really just a big piece of exposed rock. The park is awesome. Explore all the marked detours on the hiking trail to see hidden surprises. The trail its self is marked by cairns initially, so keep your eyes open. Hidden ruins abound, you can find some hidden right behind the formation visible from the parking area, directly in front of you. Trekking poles are a good thing to keep you from stumbling, as your eyes will be busy searching the canyon for ruins, not on the trail.

Elesha Smith

Love coming here to hike

Pete Nauman

A soul stiring experience. Great.

Tracie Brown

No real signage or information to figure out where things are and how far off the main road. Such a long drive to the middle of nowhere to see nothing.

Jeanette Swaim

Very interesting place

Justin Sceili

Cool ruins and hikes!

Misty Mccoy

Great experience lots to see. Make sure u have at least a half day to be there

Justin Meadows

Great scenery if you love the outdoors. Very clean and uncrowded

hound dogger

Out of the way but impressive

Nihla McCabe

Nice adventures await there. We enjoy riding our horses on the old roads and trails.

Shaylie Boyd

Beautiful, still so many ancient artifacts to find here

mike montecino

Very cool and lots of trails for everyone. From novice to expert you will find what you are looking for.

Todd King

Beautiful country to hike and explore with numerous ruins to investigate. Bring plenty of water.

Gene Steinolfson

Good hiking trails to see ruins and great scenery.

Bobby Sante

Amazing. It is so surreal to be walking along and stumble upon a ruin. So cool! Visit with respect please.

Taylor

Seen one indigenous peoples museum seen'em all.

Dustyn Adams

Beautiful area that was peaceful and quiet. There are no roads into the park but some amazing trails with hidden gems scattered throughout the park. It's not as well developed as other parks but that's what makes it amazing.

Michelle Chaffee

Loved it lots of trails

david innes

Poor access across reservation lands, not worth the effort

Jeremy Birge

It was a wonderful hike.

Elle Bieling

A wonderful, uncrowded place to visit, exploring the canyons and seeing lots of Anasazi ruins!

Emily Batson

If you decide to visit Durango or Mesa Verde, take an extra day to see this monument. We were able to see Painted Hand Canyon, Lowry Pueblo, the Heritage Center, and a portion of Sand Creek Canyon in one long day - so quiet. Hardly any traffic or other visitors - views and experience were incredible.

Yami blue

Lots of archeology sites. Wonderful to visit. Bring lots of water and wear hiking boots. A walking stick isn't a bad idea either. Video in thr visitor's center about it. Stations to refill water bottles are there too.

Griffin Wilson

A quiet place, especially after the hustle and bustle of Mesa Verde. Easily accessible and on the drive back from Hovenweep. Just watch for cattle in the road!

Doneda Swenson

Excellent

Dan Begley

Don't go here. Stay away. This place is so remarkable we want it all to ourselves.

Elijah Kamermans

Hidden jem.

kyle marshall

Pretty good ..a nice drive relaxing just turn up the radio n Cruz

Stuart Schupack

Did the Sand Canyon hike from the Southern end. Beautiful, though you need to be into desert, rocky landscape. Many small Indian ruins, but they were just the icing on the cake for me. The Visitor Center is also worth a stop for orientation. Staff were very friendly and informative.

Laurie Cicotello

Amazing views!!

louie martinez

Roads are very rough but the scenery is beautiful

Erin Woods

Great hiking that was not crowded.

Trevor Abbott

This is BLM land and free to use for the public. If you enjoy being outside and hiking or mountain biking this is a great place to stop. Beautiful canyons and mesas. Some cliffs dwellings along the hiking trails, and a great mix of both short and easy and long and strenuous hikes.

Sarah Murphy

Beautiful place to visit. Stop and enjoy the scenery.

Marty W

Amazing Anasazi ruins, and excellent museum/cultural center. For the independent or adventurous, and those seeking to avoid the crowds of Mesa Verde.

Chase Milligan

Free range less restricted more adventurous feeling than your average monument park. We hike the painted hand trail to the tower and petroglyphs. It was a very easy hike to the "view point". From there it's down a slightly challenging bluff for the kids. Overall great experience.

Tavish Benally

Never Been! Its on the bucket list for sure.

Robert Henry

Not much to see as we couldn't find a road that went to nice vistas or trails.

Jon Bradford

Another beautiful national monument. Solitude and a wealth of ruins.

Lea Mullady

It's so awesome to visit it

James Spence

Very good place but lots of walking.

Grace Pansze

I had a great hike at sand canyon! It was fun adventuring, looking at the cryptobiotic soil, and seeing native ruins!

Shelly LaRose

The museum was fabulous

Sarah Zarate

Amazing! Do not miss this! Bring a ton of water.

Zac Caldwell

Over crowded.

Cory Roman

Biked the 2 loops clockwise. It was pretty techy but a lot of fun.

Bunny King

Amazing!

PS V

I felt great joy and happiness here. It's off the beaten path as a self guided drive (tour). I enjoyed the smaller crowds and learned a lot about the area.

E rewob

Serene and gorgeous public land.

Richard Tavenner

Some unbelievable sites. Make sure you have half tank of gas or better.

S.S. H-Whitehorse

Awesome pawesome time

Ethel Bia Bia

Beautiful land.

Sean Baca

These are my ancestors dating back 7 thousand years.

John Stehle

Great trail very uncrowded easy walk

Brandon Albright

Canyon of the Ancients is a scenic monument located West of Cortez. It offers scenic views with my favorite being sunset. There are several trail options available to bikes, walkers, hikers, and dogs. A must see for any adventure goer!

Will Simoneaux

Great place to camp

Mybiz

Very cool place. Go, take it in.

Jacob Ruby

Three well maintained trails offer a day of enjoyment. Starting off is a little rough but soon makes way to easy going trails with some challenges. Take your dogs, take your kids and have a blast.

frank milne

Great fun for the family and a fantastic hiking work out.

M Bob

A beautiful place to hike and look at ruins. Please stay on the trails! Keep this place as it is so future generations can also enjoy it..

LaRue Jacobs

The Ruins are just amazing to see.

john osborne

Great hike

La Familia Sin Fronteras

Beautiful camping

Willy G

Very scenic and rugged landscape. My only problem is the blatant overgrazing on the landscape. It clearly is degrading the vegetative community and ruining winter elk range. It would be much better to maintain that habitat for scores of wildlife viewers and sportsman instead of a few cattleman.

Bill Leland

Last 3 miles to the site is via a gravel road. The road is in very good condition. The site is a self guided tour with information plaques. If you enjoy history this place is for you.

Terry Zahn

An amazing and beautiful expanse. My wife and I were RVing across the county and chose Canyons of the Ancients for a hike with our dog. We enjoyed a moderate to strenuous hike with beauty and amazement all around. Take your digital camera and just start clicking...... You CAN'T take a bad picture lol!!!!! ☺️ There are trails and walking, running, biking are available on the trails. Spectacular views from every part of the park. We highly recommend you visit.

Venay Uecke

Awesome

Kristi Ross

The entire region around Canyon of the Ancients is majestic. Yes, it's a wonderful place to hike, bike, and ride a horse, but it's more than that. If you pause and listen you can hear history whispering. It can be a spiritual experience it is so intense. If you take the time to truly appreciate the splendor you will be forever changed.

Pennie Ballandby

Cool

Steve S

A bit disappointing as at the north entrance to Sand Canyon trail (6.5 miles), the discovered ruins have been covered up to preserve them. So we drove 22 miles around to get to the south entrance only to find that the ruins were 3.5 miles uphill on the trail. Trails denoting where the ruins where to be found were non-existent and no one at the visitor's center clued us in. So we hiked 2.5 miles before turning around and saw nothing.

Lou Fontana

Great place for short day hikes in quiet, contemplative, solitude...limited parking

Robin Dilg

Very educational and peaceful.

Janet Gadd

DON'T GO! There are no paved roads to get to the location. It is dedicated land but no facilities there. Restricted area. Please don't drive for a hour on uncharted roads to find the restricted signs like we did.

Aaron Seitz

You'll need to discover your own details, but it's totally worth it. There are so many treasures here.

Robert Fowler

Super cool!pre puebloans culture.

Arlene Greife

Wonderful visit, loved the stone cabin!

Scooter McDoo

So ancient you don't even know who your North American ancestors are. Predates the Spanish Conquistadors but for some reason only lasted abt 150 years before the "final igration". Hmmm???

Barry Ore

This was a pretty good place to stop off amd see ruins. The only thing is the site is covered by a metal canopy, which is kind of a bummer.

Matthew Knudson

Totally AMAZING to see all the remaining ruins! So many different places to see. Need to go back again to see the things we missed the first time. I HIGHLY recommend checking this place out!

Tanachy Bruhns

One of the best places on the Planet! Say no to scaling back National Monuments!!!

D Manley

Nice place for a walk. A vast expanse of archaeological sites.

Sabrina Murphy

Good day for a hike !!! Easy trail great views!!

Shelby Atwood

This was fantastic! We had a blast! The area is beautiful and we had the ruin areas to ourselves. Lowery Ruin was a real delight after touring with the crowds at Mesa Verde. The surrounding farmlands are also beautiful. And the night sky is to die for. Be sure to stop at the Anasazi Heritage Center [museum] in Delores before you go into this monument. They were so helpful and showed us the best hikes for our ability. Plus the museum is fabulous. There is no doubt we will visit this area again and again.

Chris Frank

Important Ancient Pueblo stone dwellings, not always a paved path to dwellings, great Visitor Center.

Stephen Fox

Great little museum. Has loads of information about how the ancient Puebloans of the 4 Corners region lived. The staff is knowledgeable with good ideas for other places to see.

Lisa Wornick

Epic hiking and amazing views

Skye Holiday

This is a great location. There are plenty of trails that can keep you occupied for 1-5 hrs. The best part is that you can stop off across the street and grab a glass of wine from suitecliff.

Ronaye lyn

The energy surrounding this area is Amazing! Remember this is our history. Follow signs, rules and respect the Ancients

Peter B

I would recommend ATVs for finding something worth while here. There are some spots that are expanded from Hovenweep in here too.

Kelvin Lopez

Love it so many trails lots to see and long hikes can spend whole days at it

Why Me

Great place love the nature, quite and the history. How can anyone give a one star when its not the parks fault they are not on the 10 percent rule

Sharon Neil

Beautiful scenery very informative of the ancient peoples of the area

Squid Tron

Awesome

Debbie Castle

FANTASTIC! Very rough rood

Ian Oppenheim

Beautiful hikes and nature walks. Ancient Pueblan dwellings and amazing rock formations. If you enjoy nature, do not miss out!

Carson Jensen

This was a fun place to explore in solitude. Some ruins are a little hard to get to but all were well marked and short walks.

M. Q. Smith

Established in 2000, Canyons of the Ancients NM is administered by the BLM, not the NPS. At 175,000 acres, this site designation is managed "to preserve, protect and restore these nationally significant landscapes recognized for their outstanding cultural, economic and scientific values." Canyons of the Ancients preserves the largest concentration of primarily Ancestral Puebloan ruins within the US. Over 6,355 individual sites have been identified within the park, with many more (estimated to be over 30,000) not fully explored. From AD 750 to 1100, the structures built by the ancient Puebloans were basic stone pit-houses. From AD 1100 to 1300, great changes occurred. Much larger masonry structures were built on top of the existing pit-houses, and towers and cliff dwellings were built as villages notably expanded. The use of dams and reservoirs brought about extended farming of beans, corn and squash. Distinctive black on white pottery further developed. And then, about AD 1300, abandonment and migration out of southwestern Colorado occurred. A visit should start at the Anasazi Heritage Center located in Dolores CO (10 miles north of Cortez). The visitor center and museum contains local artifacts and exhibits, a theater and research library. Directions to larger site ruins and other information is available: The Lowry Pueblo National Historic Landmark is the only developed site at Canyons of the Ancients. It contains 40 rooms, 8 kivas and a Great Kiva. There is a picnic area (no water available) and pit toilets. The Painted Hand Pueblo is a standing tower that was built on top of a large boulder. It gets its name from hand pictographs located nearby. A map and high clearance vehicle are recommended. There are no facilities. Canyons of the Ancients NM deserves to be designated as a NPS site. With that, more funds and services/facilities would follow. A greater archeological examination could occur. And most important, with greater protections, maybe fewer artifacts and ancient Puebloan history would be lost through vandalism and theft.

STEPH & DANIEL TRAVEL CHANNEL

Great place for free camping if you know the right spots

Joe Aldridge

A remote and interesting place to visit if you are in the area.

Scott Gordon

Stayed for a week right next to the Canyon of the Ancients. It wasn't nearly enough time. Fantastic place, this is an area where the term "Awesome" really does fit and is not an exaggeration. You can spend days, weeks, probably even years wandering the canyons, trails, and dry washes and still not see the entirety of this place. I have been all over the US, and have spent time wandering forests, deserts, beaches & mountains of this great Country; Canyons of the Ancients is the standout for me. Something about the history, terrain, and general feel of the place is magical for me and my family. We plan on spending many, many more vacations wandering this beautiful National Monument.

jason gibbons

An amazing place to go hiking and camping. The scenery is perfect. Take the opportunity to hike the ruins at Hovenweep also you wont be disappointed!