Top 5 Hikes in Hovenweep National Monument, Colorado

Tucked into the high desert along the Colorado-Utah border, Hovenweep National Monument protects one of the most fascinating collections of ancestral Puebloan towers in the entire southwest. Built between AD 1200 and 1300 and established into a national monument in 1923, these stone structures still stand dramatically along canyon rims more than 700 years later. What makes Hovenweep so special is how easy it is to explore. You don't need days or a week of hiking to experience it. You can come here and see almost the entire park in just a few hours to one full day. You can walk the scenic loops, visit multiple tower groups, and immerse yourself in a landscape that connects directly to the larger canyons of the ancient region. In this video, I'll be sharing my top five hikes and places to visit in Hovenweep National Monument. And to give a little background, this national monument is located between Cortez, Colorado and Bluff, Utah. It's an extremely underrated area to visit inside the Four Corners region of the southwest. It's situated along the Trail of the Ancient Scenic Byway. It's a remote high desert destination that everyone should check out along their next road trip. Most people visit the Cortez area when they're exploring Mesa Verde National Park, which is awesome, but this is another great place to check out that will have a fraction of the crowds. And if you only have one day here, the best place to stay will be Cortez, and you can visit all of the locations here on a big driving loop that will include all of the stops I'm going to talk about. So let's dive right in. First up on the list is the Square Tower Group Loop via the Ruins Trail. This is by far my favorite stop in Hovenweep. You will get to stop at the Visitor Center as it is the trailhead for the hike, and you will get to see Tower Point, Hovenweep Castle, and Hovenweep Canyon. This hike is 1.8 miles long with 150 feet of elevation gain if you follow the exact all trails path, but there are options to shorten or lengthen your hike slightly if you would like. If you only have a few minutes here, you can take a short path stroll to the Canyon Overlook, or if you have 45 minutes to an hour, you can do the Tower Point walk portion of the trail, and if you aren't time restricted, you should do the entire two mile loop. Next up, we're heading to Goodman Point, which is only a 0.4 mile roundtrip hike with less than 50 feet of elevation gain. This is a quick and easy stop that features partially buried pueblos of different sizes. Not that I didn't like this hike, but if there was one hike to leave out on this list, I would probably choose this one, although it is a great stop to stretch the legs and see more of the history of Hovenweep. Then at number three, we're heading to the Cajon Group, which is a short 0.2 miles flat walk, and it is a very cool stop. Practically right next to the parking lot is where you can see the ruins along a cliffside canyon. It's a short stroll that has beautiful morning light. One of the coolest things about this park is that places like this are just so remote that you'll very likely have the entire place to yourself. And really quick, I want to share what types of videos you can expect from the channel. Bree and I met 11 years ago, and we just got married in June. We met in Amsterdam and have been traveling ever since. We've been to more than 30 countries together and have shared tens of thousands of miles on road trips together. We're big hikers, love the outdoors, and all things travel. We have hundreds of travel guides, top 10s, and hiking vlogs on the channel, so make sure to subscribe and check out the other videos that we've made from all over the globe. And at number four, we're heading to the Holly Group, which is a 0.7 mile hike with less than 100 feet of elevation gain. Technically, you can make this hike a little shorter if you have a high clearance vehicle, because there is a lower lot that you can park at. But with this hike being so short, we just decided to park at the All Trails Trailhead and walk from there. This stop features another impressive tower named the Tilted Tower, which sits above a sandstone cliff and showcases a multi-story Puebla. Last but not least, we're visiting the Horseshoe and Hackberry Groups unit. This stop will be a 1.4 mile hike with roughly 100 feet of elevation gain. I found a map that showed a road where you could make multiple driving stops to see this unit instead of doing this hike, but the road was a no-go when we were there. So just park at the All Trails Trailhead on the side of the road and hike from there. This hike will showcase stunning views of the towers that ancestral Pueblans built at the heads of the canyons, and it's probably my second favorite hike in the park after the Square Tower Group. And that's going to wrap up this video. I know this travel guide was shorter than normal, but it's really just because this is such a short and easy destination to visit. But definitely don't sleep on this area. It's so epic, and there are so many hidden gems and parks in Cortez and the greater Four Corners region. And keep an eye out on the channel for a few other top 10s that we're making from this area. And make sure to give this video a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel if you haven't already. But until next time, thanks so much for watching.