Summer 2013 - Southwest
Take Two

I had seen pictures of Hovenweep in a magazine or documentary (can't remember which) that fascinated me. So we decided that on this trip we will include Hovenweep in our itinerary. Hovenweep National Monument is located near the Utah-Colorado border. The monument contains several units, but the Tower Square group we visited is the only one reachable by paved road. Even though it has paved road access, it is still not what you might call easily accessible. As the crow flies, the Visitor Center is approximately 30 miles from our hotel. The shortest route, by way of Blanding, UT, is 66 miles, only 20 of them on US Highways.

Construction of the structures began about 900 years ago, however most of the buildings date to mid - 13th Century. There is a primitive trail along the rim of Little Ruin Canyon. Most of the trail runs along the canyon rim but to get back to the Visitor Center from the Twin Tower area you have to go down into the canyon and back up to the rim. We chose to hike the trail to Tower Point and walk back to the visitors center. We saw only one group that made the full circuit of the route (One of them carrying a child in a backpack). The rest of the people we encountered came back after visiting Tower Point. The abbreviated walk along the rim still allows you to see most of the structures.

Stronghold House