photos by Stephen Eginoire

Hidden among the sage just west of Cortez is a vast network of canyons that are home to the highest known concentration of prehistoric and historic Native American ruins in the country. Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, as its known, hosts numerous marked trails and maintained ruins, as well as countless seldom visited backcountry gems. Heres a look at a few sites, hikeable year-round, (if you dont mind the mud): Hovenweep and Lowry.

The Great Kiva, the one of the largest known kivas in the region, is located near the Lowry Pueblo ruins. A view of the Twin Towers ruin, perched above Little Ruin Canyon at Hovenweep.

 

In this week's issue...

May 15, 2025
End of the trail

Despite tariff pause, Colorado bike company can’t hang on through supply chain chaos

May 8, 2025
Shared pain

Dismal trend highlights need to cut usage in Upper Basin, too

April 24, 2025
A tale of two bills

Nuclear gets all the hype, but optimizing infrastructure will have bigger impact