Hovenweep National Monument is an area on the Colorado/Utah border with Pueblo housing from the 1200s to 1300s.
About 10,000 years ago, nomadic people would pass through the area, hunting and gathering food during the harvest season each year. Around 900 A.D., they settled here and began farming and building homes and other buildings. Then, mysteriously, around 1300 A.D., they left. The buildings they left behind are what make up this national monument for about 20 miles, along mesas and canyons in both Colorado and Utah.
There is a visitor center to give you an orientation. There are also some guided tours, but feel free to hike the area on your own to see all of the dwellings.
Near the visitor center, there is a camping area with 30 camp sites. They do not accept reservations, but are rarely full. The camp sites have no water or electricity hookups. They are for tents with tent pads, fire grills, and picnic tables, but a few of the sites can accommodate RVs 36 feet long or less. There are flushing toilets and running water nearby. No showers. The going rate as of March 2009 is $10 per night.
The main activity other than photography is hiking to see and explore the ruins left by the nomadic people who are ancestors of the Zuni, Hopi, and Pueblo people. The main trail by the visitor center is paved, but most are not.
From either Colorado or Utah, take Highway 191. The visitor center is near Cortez, Colorado.
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