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Hovenweep National Monument, located in southeast Utah and southwest Colorado, protects six different groups of Ancestral Puebloan villages populated between 1200 and 1300. Over 2,500 people lived in the villages.
Visiting the Monument
The monument is divided into six different groups: Square Tower Group, Cajon Group, Cutthroat Castle Group, Holly Group, Hackberry and Horseshoe Group, and the Goodman Point Group. Two of the groups are in Utah and the rest are over the state line in Colorado. Some of them are accessible via primitive dirt roads only. The map below indicates the location of each group.
Entrance Fee
The entrance fee is payable at the visitor center and is US$20 per carload, or free for holders of any interagency pass (as of September 2023).
Camping
The Square Tower Ruins Campground is a first-come, first-served campground near the visitor center with 31 tent sites. It costs US$20 per night (as of September 2023).
Visitor Center
The visitor center is located at the Square Tower Group, which is the largest group of structures and the only one we visited. We had a quick lunch and learned more about the site before venturing out to hike around the structures.
Little Ruin Trail
From the visitor center, there’s a paved path that runs 0.3 miles to an overlook of the canyon where the ruins were built. From the overlook, we took the Little Ruin Trail, which is a 1 ½ mile loop along the rim of a canyon that gets hikers close the ruins. We took the trail in a clockwise direction.
Twin Towers
After going down into the canyon and up the other side, the first ruins we passed were the Twin Towers. The towers were two separated buildings that had about 16 rooms.
One of the towers is oval shaped and the other is horseshoe shaped. The walls of the towers almost touch each other.
Rimrock House
Next was Rimrock House. This two story structure may not have been a house at all because it lacks room divisions.
From Rimrock House we were able to spot Tower Point across the canyon. Another ruin stands at Tower Point.
Hovenweep Castle and Square Tower
Continuing along the trail, we were able to get excellent views of the canyon. Across is Hovenweep Castle and at the bottom of the canyon is Square Tower.
Two D-shaped towers make up Hovenweep House. It was used as a residence.
Square Tower was built in a tall thin shape and stands two stories tall. A kiva was excavated nearby.
Hovenweep House
Next was Hovenweep House, which stands on the opposite side of the canyon from Hovenweep Castle.
From there, the loop started to turn back towards the overlook and passed by Hovenweep Castle. There’s also a short extension to Tower Point.
Eroded Boulder House
Across the canyon sitting underneath the Rimrock House is Eroded Boulder House. It was built under a huge rock, and a tower once stood atop the rock.
Unit Type House
The next structure was Unit Type House, which looks more interesting from Rimrock House across the canyon. It contained a few storage rooms and living quarters as well as a kiva.
Stronghold House
Finally, before heading back up to the visitor center we passed by Stronghold House. It got its name because it looks like a fortress. The structure is made up of two sections.
Conclusion
In the end, we were satisfied with visiting the Square Tower Group only. We felt that while the other groups would also be interesting, it would have taken too much effort and too much of a toll on the car to reach them.
