Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
Long before Colorado was occupied by white settlers, Spanish emigres or the Utes, and hundreds of years before Columbus sailed the ocean blue, the Four Corners region was home to an Indigenous people who left their mark on the landscape: the Ancestral Puebloans.
They lived in the deserts of the Southwest and unlike the mostly nomadic peoples of the time, built houses and cities, palaces and towers, with only crude instruments and mud.
The civilization vanished in the late 1200s but many of their homes remain, a lasting testament to the ingenuity of this mysterious people.
Just think: Will your house still be standing in 1,000 years?
Though a long drive from the Front Range, visiting these ancient ruins should be on every Coloradan’s bucket list. To walk quietly through these settlements, listening to the wind whistle through the rooms, hallways and kivas (round ceremonial chambers) is to step back in time. How did they survive such a harsh desert landscape? Where did water and lumber come from? And why did they abandon such places after so much hard work? (There are many theories on the latter, from wars to climate change.)
Here is an introduction to exploring the ancient ruins of the Four Corners region. There are many more places throughout the Southwest where you can see such remnants of these communities, but we’re focusing on accessible ones in Colorado or just over the border. This region can be very hot in the peak of summer, so plan ahead. The upside: You can camp quite comfortably in the region into November. elements and in some cases meticulously restored by the National Park Service.
The drive up is dizzyingly steep, and you’ll marvel at the effort it must have taken to build such marvels. nps.gov/meve/index. htm
When you go: Stop at the visitors center at the park entrance and make your tour reservations, as most of the ruins can only be visited on ranger-led walks. They also can be reserved in advance at recreation.gov.
Fees: $30 per vehicle, valid for 7 days (available online, too); annual pass, $55; America the Beautiful annual parks pass, $80; $8-$25 per person for cliff dwelling tours (ages 2 and younger, $1).
Where to stay: The Far View Lodge, located high on the mesa, offers hotelstyle rooms and a restaurant and bar ($176-$186/ night). Campers can overnight at the bottom of the mesa in the Morefield Campground ($38/night).
This sprawling national monument in the shadow of Mesa Verde is quite the opposite, small pueblos and isolated towers scattered over 176,000 acres of windswept desert and parched canyons. Ask yourself why people would live out here compared to the relative safety and protection of the cliff dwellings.
Hikers will enjoy a walk through Sand Canyon, where tiny homes built into shallow alcoves provide a stark contrast to the majesty of the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde. blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/colorado/canyons-of-the-ancients
When you go: Make your first stop at the Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center & Museum in Dolores, where you can tour exhibits, pick up maps and ask questions of the helpful rangers.
Fees: $7 per person for the visitor center; free to enter that national monument
Where to stay: Mcphee Campground is just outside of Dolores and is a great base camp for exploring the national monument. Primitive camping can also be found off some dirt roads (see blm.gov for ideas) campground adjacent to the main ruins, so you can walk from your campsite ($15/night).