Hovenweep National Monument

We visited here in mid-May 2024, so it wasn’t too crowded. We had made reservations in the campground, and it was a good thing we did, as it was pretty full. Site #28 was perfect for our camper-van. The campground features a clean, well-stocked restroom with cold water and flush toilets. It was a pleasant 78° when we arrive in the afternoon, but the wind picked up and the temperature dropped as evening approached. We hiked counter-clockwise on the moderate, 1.8 mile trail that loops around and through Little Ruin Canyon, where all of the Ancestral Puebloan ruins are located, taking us about 1-1/2 hours. The section of the trail through the canyon on the southeast drops down and goes back up about 100’ and is rugged in a few spots. There are excellent views along the trail of the historic structures. Due to staffing shortages, the visitor center was closed; however, there are some informative displays on the outside walls and the restroom was open. Highly recommended!

Five plus stars for this national monument. Staff at visitor center was very nice and helpful. The short hike (900 ft) on a paved trail offers a nice overlook of the ruins. This trail ties into an approx. 2 mile hiking trail surrounding the ruins and dogs are welcome on a leash. The trail is nicely marked and fun to hike. The ruins are beautiful and kept in nice conditions. If you are traveling by RV, taking 162 might be a better choice than the alternative route. The road further north was very rough and a short part of it was gravel. There are limited (3) RV/bus parking spots at the visitor center.

Amazing and cool place. There was even a Crow/ Raven at the castle, and at that point, it was the top of the ravine I could hear voices echoing, and there was nobody near that area for a voice to travel. Very uplifting experience.

Just Wow. Thise park is an awesome place to visit. The different sites are spread out along the cliffs but each is unique. The history you see is phenomenal. The pueblo ruins are a site to see. It's amazing what they did over a thousand years ago by hand. There's also nice restroom facilities and an educational center to walk through.

Another national park free site. They were closed for the winter, you couldn’t visit gift shop but could still walk to visit the monuments. The sites are heavily modified for preservation and the park service makes a lot of assumptions that are represented as fact. Still an amazing site, a small site worthy of your 30 minutes.

The historic site is lovely, impressive and educational… the ruins are similar stone architecture to Medieval European towns of the same era. Facilities (visitor center and campground) are architecturally appropriate, clean, and well maintained. Accessibility: Only a short section of the trail is wheelchair accessible, but the rest is easy enough to be walkable even for those with bad knees. Air quality: generally spectacular, except during the evening when campers have fires, and in the bathrooms which have fragrance emitters. Water quality: filtered drinking water available at the visitor center. (Note to staff: please consider removing the air freshener dispensers from the restrooms to make this park more accessible.) WiFi: available at visitor center. Center closes at 4, but you can reserve campsites online at reservation.gov.

If you are into ancient ruins this place is for you. 2 miles trail takes you past dozens of amazing structures.

A beautiful place full of history, little far away from the main road but worth the visit. The main trail right of the visitor center is about 2 miles long and provides amazing views of the canyon and ruins all around it. The path leads in and out of the canyon and it is steep in some areas, the rest of it is flat around the canyon.

If you like Mesa Verde, you'll love Hovenweep. Located on the Utah side of 4 corners, this compact stone powerhouse offers a 2-mile hike where you can get up and close to a variety of stone ruins that are accessible and awe inspiring. We stayed at the Mountain Ute Casino/hotel and it was a 75 mile round trip. Try to get there early in the morning to beat the heat and bring water.

Signage only exists coming from the west. If you are coming from the east (most likely after visiting Canyon of the Ancients) be sure to check signs in the opposite direction or you might pass a needed turn and have to double back to get here. It's a pretty long drive from anywhere so be sure you are actually interested in seeing what is here - and have a couple of hours to walk around to get the most out of coming. The visitors center is closed.

The Visitor's Center was closed when we got here but one can still take the self-guided tour. What a magical place! We walked around as much of it as we could before it started raining. It's a bit over an hour away from Mesa Verde. Not a bad drive at all and lovely countryside n the late spring. Many desert flowers blooming.