Travel Alert: The southern portion of San Juan County including the communities of Bluff, Montezuma Creek, Aneth and the surrounding areas, has been heavily affected by recent heavy rain and flooding.
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Exploring Hovenweep National Monument: Ancient Engineering & Timeless Landscapes
Exploring Hovenweep National Monument: Ancient Engineering & Timeless Landscapes by Utah’s Canyon Country
Hovenweep is one of the quietest treasures in Utah’s Canyon Country. Tucked along the Utah-Colorado border between Blanding and Cortez, the monument protects six villages built by the Ancestral Pueblo people more than 700 years ago. The name “Hovenweep” comes from the Paiute and Ute languages and means “deserted valley” — a fitting name for a place where the wind now moves through towers that once held families, food, and prayer.
The towers are what people come to see. Ancestral Pueblo builders stacked sandstone blocks into square, oval, circular, and D-shaped towers along the edges of canyons and on top of massive boulders. Some rise two
and three stories high, and many still stand after centuries of wind, rain, and freeze-thaw! The masonry is precise. Doorways and small windows appear to align with the sun at solstices and equinoxes, which suggests the builders tracked the seasons with real care. For visitors, the best starting point is the Square Tower Group loop. The trail runs about two miles around the head of the canyon and passes most of the monument’s iconic towers. It’s mostly fl at with a few short, rocky descents, so wear sturdy shoes and bring more water than you think you’ll need. Summers are hot, shade is rare, and the exposed rim can feel twice as hot as it looks. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times for photos and cooler temperatures. The outlying units (Holly, Horseshoe & Hackberry, Cutthroat Castle, and Cajon) reward anyone willing to drive a little farther on dirt roads. Stop at the visitor center fi rst for current road conditions and a trail map. Hovenweep deserves respect. Stay on marked trails, never touch or climb the structures, and leave every artifact exactly where you fi nd it. These are sacred places, and the descendants of the people who built them still honor them today. Hovenweep is also an International Dark Sky Park, which means the show doesn’t end at sunset! Plan your visit at utahscanyoncountry.com or call San Juan County Visitor Services at 435-587-3235. And be sure to mention you read about it in Moab Happenings.
