How to Spend a Day in Hovenweep National Monument

Post author:Traveler with a Map
Post published:October 12, 2021
Post category:Blog / National Monument / USA / Utah

Hovenweep National Monument was established in 1923 under President Warren G. Harding. It preserves a collection of towers built by Ancestral Pueblo people along the area’s canyon rims . If you have visited Mesa Verde or Canyons of the Ancients, you’re going to notice how different Howenweep is. Rather than finding cliff dwellings or remnants of regularly shaped pueblos, people who lived in Hovenweep built a variety of towers in square, round, or D- shapes. There is no certainty as to why. It may have been for protection but scientists don’t know for sure.

How to spend a day in Hovenweep?

Are you wondering how to spend a day in Hovenweep National Monument? Well, you may actually not need a full day. The park is quite small, so it may make sense to combine it with a visit to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. That’s what we did. We visited Lowery Pueblo and Pointed Hand Pueblo before heading to Hovenweep.

Highlights of Hovenweep

1. The Square Tower Group

Definitely focus on the Square Tower Group, which is the only section of the park accessible via a paved road. Once you get to the Visitor Center, pick up a trail map and go on a self-guided tour of the remarkable buildings that were abandoned over 800 years ago. The trail follows the rim of the Little Ruin Canyon for 2 miles, which you can easily do in an hour and a half. The trail will take you past interesting structures which were occupied by the Ancestral Puebloans in the 13th century. All of the buildings show remarkable masonry skills. I was particularly impressed by the Hovenweep Castle, Square Tower, Eroded Boulder House, and the Twin Towers.

2. The Little Ruin Canyon

The canyon itself is beautiful and deserves appreciation. On a clear day you will be able to see the silhouette of the Sleeping Ute in the distance. I recommend stopping in multiple places to take in the lovely landscape and the abundance of the intriguing structures.

What else should you visit in the area?

I recommend spending several days in the area and visiting Mesa Verde as well as Canyons of the Ancients. And if you’d like to relax and visit a local brewery, head to Dolores. The Dolores River Brewery has an amazing outdoor patio and great beer.