12 Amazing Native American Ruins in the Southwest
5 Sep 2022 || UNITED STATES
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The National parks of the southwest United States evoke conversations about popular topics including the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon, the outstanding climbing and hiking in Yosemite, the dramatic narrows of Zion. The national parks are not all about outdoor scenery though. There is a myriad of Native American sites that present a cultural, historic perspective to accompany the rugged beauty of the southwest.
Offering ancient architecture, petroglyphs and artifacts, the Native American ruins in parks across the southwest provide a fascinating historical glimpse into a 1000-year-old history while frequently offering wonderful hiking and panoramic vistas to accompany it.
Here, we talk about our favourite Native American ruins within the national parks and monuments, dotted across the southwest United States. These fascinating sites provide an informative and often beautiful way to learn more about the history of Native American tribes. They are all very easy to access by two-wheel drive vehicle and have free entry with an America the Beautiful Pass.
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MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mesa Verde, (‘Green Table’ in Spanish; describing the plateaus under which all the dwellings are situated) is the ultimate park for learning about Native American cliff dwellings. With stunning panoramic vistas, enormous canyons and construction going back over 700 years, Mesa Verde National Park should be included on any southwest itinerary with an interest in Native American ruins.
Within the hundreds of Ancestral Pueblo constructions concealed beneath the canyon rim is the largest cliff dwelling in the United States, Cliff Palace. You can book onto a ranger led tour of Cliff Palace, or hike or bike one of the other park trails to visit additional dwellings. For a less active trip, it is easy to spend an afternoon spotting the dwellings from the opposite cliffs along the scenic drive.
MESA VERDE
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Where – MONTEZUMA County, Southwest colorado
Cost – $20 in winter, $30 in summer (free with an America the Beautiful Pass)
Closest Major Town – CORTEZ, CO
Area – 210 square kilometres
Visitors – 563,420 in 2018
Hint – dedicate at least a day for Mesa Verde. There is loads to see and the tours (book in advance) can be quite long. Also, the highest point is over 8500 feet, be aware when hiking.
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TONTO NATIONAL MONUMENT
Tonto National Monument comprises two stunning cliff dwellings, Upper and Lower, which were built by the Salado people around 1300 CE. These Native American ruins are remarkably well preserved, even having partially intact original roofing. The soot from resident fires is still visible on the alcove ceilings.
The lower dwelling has 20 rooms and is a short, easy walk up the cliff, affording amazing views all the way across to Roosevelt Lake. The larger 40 room upper cliff dwelling is only accessible by guided ranger tour, which must be pre-booked. Tonto National Monument is well worth visiting even without a trip to the upper dwelling though; a very enthusiastic ranger was at the lower site to answer all our questions!
TONTO
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Where – Gila County, central ARIZONA
Cost – 10$ per person. children under 16 are free. (free with america the beautiful pass).
Closest Major Town – Phoenix, AZ
Area – 4.5 square kilometres
Visitors: 39,822 in 2018
Hint – combine a visit here with a drive along the Apache Trail, a super-scenic drive that ends nearby this monument (only give this a go if you have a four-wheel drive vehicle, the road can be a bit sketchy).
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CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
The UNESCO designated Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a bonus addition to this list because it has some mildly sketchy roads, so does not meet our requirements of two-wheel drive vehicle access. However, it is one of the most significant pre-Colombian sites in the United States, and worth adding to any itinerary that is prioritising Native American history.
Situated in remote northwest New Mexico, the massive Chaco site was a major centre of culture and engineering from around 900 CE for the Ancestral Puebloans. The area comprises multiple settlements, reachable via a scenic loop drive and some backcountry hiking. A can’t-miss stop is the largest great house in Chaco (a ‘great house’ is a large multistoried structure in Ancestral Puebloan settlements, often functioning as important religious or political hubs). Named Pueblo Bonito by explorers in the 19th century, the semi-circular structure has 800 rooms and is the best-known building within the park.
CHACO CULTURE
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Where – San Juan and McKinley County, northwest New Mexico
Cost $25 per car for 7 days (free with America the Beautiful pass)
Closest Major Town – Gallup, NM
Area – 137 square kilometres
Visitors – 39,175 in 2011
Hint – there is 20 miles of dirt road to reach Chaco CULTURE NATIONAL HistoricAL PARK. This is passable for two-wheel drive vehicles if you are careful and it has not been raining. Be aware, this dirt road will likely invalidate your rental insurance.
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NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY
I’m not sure what Americans are taught in school and told via the media about the history of their country. Growing up in the United Kingdom, I had very little in the way of background; there is little about Native Americans in our education system and even less in the media.
I found that visiting these Native American sites provided a helpful window into a group of (often maligned) people who I would otherwise not have had much exposure to. Having travelled the width of the United States by car eight times and spent several years on the road there, it would have been easy to learn very little without visiting some of these sites.
I imagine many who visit the United States for a short period will not have that same exposure. I hope that if you are doing a driving tour of the big and famous locations across the southwest, you include a few of these too! They add extra depth and comprehension about the history of the country you are travelling. This is as close to an authentic cultural experience as you will find!
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Canyon de chelly NAtional Monument
Canyon de Chelly might be my favourite site (pronounced de ‘Shay’). Situated within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation, the park is still populated by multiple families of Navajo people who live within the canyon. The three impressive valleys that run through the national monument have been populated for more than 5000 years; it is one of the longest continuously inhabited regions of the United States.
Around 40 families live in the Canyon, which you can view from 300 metres above from the Canyon rims. The only way to visit the valley floor is with an authorised Navajo or Park Ranger guide, apart from one trail. With a guide, you can visit via horseback, four-wheel drive vehicle or on foot.
The site has two scenic drives, peppered with many viewpoints along the canyon rims. Some have viewing aides that help you find the small adobe dwellings built onto the cliffs opposite. They are surprisingly hard to spot!
Along the bottom of the canyon are beautiful strips of cottonwood trees, lining meandering streams that run past traditional Navajo homes and farmland. The culmination of these views is Spider Rock, a massive monolith jutting directly skyward, around 250 metres from the floor of the canyon.
CANYON DE CHELLY
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Where – Apache County, Northeast Arizona
Cost – Free
Closest Major Town – Chinle, AZ
Area – 344 square kilometres
Visitors – 439,306 in 2018
Hint – Photography is best during the mornings along the north rim, and best in the afternoon along the south.
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HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT
Hovenweep National Monument is an area dedicated to the preservation of six settlements built by Ancestral Puebloans. Affording superb views of the Colorado Plateau, this designated Dark Sky Park is somewhat different to the traditional cliff dwelling style of other sites like Canyon de Chelly and Mesa Verde. Much of the construction you can see at Hovenweep is in square towers, situated not below the rim, but along the valley edges.
The main trail, the Square Tower Loop, is accessed directly from the visitor center and is around two miles long, briefly dropping into the canyon. Other hikes are available but involve dirt roads, if your car can manage it.
HOVENWEEP
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Where – Montezuma County, Colorado and San Juan County, Utah
Cost – $20 for one car (free with America the Beautiful Pass)
Closest Major Town – Bluff and Blanding, UT
Area – 3 square kilometres
Visitors – 39,970 in 2018
Hint – watch out for rattlesnakes, we heard three rattling very close to us on the hike.
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NAVAJO NATIONAL MONUMENT
Navajo National Monument, located on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, is the site of three exceptionally beautiful Native American cliff dwellings, build by the Ancestral Puebloans in the 13th century. Set on a high plateau in a spectacular canyon, a casual 1.3-mile trail offers panoramic views of the 120 room Batatakin Ruins (meaning ‘House Built on a Ledge’ in Navajo), the only cliff dwelling visible from the canyon edge within the national monument. This overlook is one of the finest displays of Native American cliff dwellings I have seen, with an improbably circular alcove surrounding the settlement, tucked beneath the cliff.
Keet Seel (‘broken pottery scattered around’ in Navajo), the larger site, is deemed one of the best preserved Native American Ruins in the entire of the southwest due to its positioning but is not viewable from the rim.
Free (but strenuous) ranger guided tours are available to take visitors to the base of the canyon to see the dwellings up close.
NAVAJO
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Where – Navajo and Coconino Counties, northwest ARIZONA
Cost – Free
Closest Major Town – Kayenta, AZ
Area – 1.5 square kilometres
Visitors – 61,195 in 2018
Hint – Camping is free in this monument! Also, be prepared for snow in the shoulder/winter seasons.
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