Hovenweep National Monument

Essence: Hovenweep National Monument is located within the ancestral and traditional homeland of 26 Indigenous Tribes and Nations living throughout the Four Corners region. The park, including its outlying units, is situated along the Utah-Colorado border on Cajon Mesa of the Great Sage Plain. A complex of shallow canyons cut south through the tilted tableland to the San Juan River. Human habitation at Hovenweep dates to over 10,000 years ago when the nomadic Paleo-Indian roamed the area. The Ancestral Pueblo people occupied the Four Corners from about 500 to 1300 CE. By about 900 CE, people lived at Hovenweep year-round in canyon-head communities near water sources that supported agrarian life. Hovenweep is distinguished by its standing architecture, erected in the mid 1200s. There are square and circular towers, D-shaped dwellings, and kivas. Stonemasonry structures were built on canyon rims and isolated boulders. By the late 1200s Ancestral Pueblo clans began migrating south to the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico and the Little Colorado River Basin in Arizona. Hovenweep lay undisturbed for centuries until it was discovered by a Mormon expedition in 1854. "Hovenweep" is a Ute/Paiute word meaning "Deserted Valley," adopted by William Henry Jackson, photographer with the Hayden Surveys. In 1923, President Warren Harding proclaimed Hovenweep a part of the National Park System. Begin by showing your pass or paying fees at the Visitor Center and collect park literature and maps. Hike the two-mile Square Tower Group Trail. Ideally, visit all five outlying units. Each site has unique features and towers. High clearance, 4WD is required for some units.  

Travel: For travelers on US 491 there are two options for reaching the Visitor Center. From Pleasant View (midway between Dove Creek and Cortez), turn west on Road CC and measure distance from there. The highway sign points to both Hovenweep (26 miles) and Lowry Pueblo. At 5.3 miles turn south on Road 10. Enter Canyons of the Ancients National Monument at 16 miles. Turn east into the Monument, Visitor Center, and parking for the Square Tower Group at 26.2 miles. Alternatively, from Cortez, at the junction of US 491 and Road G (McElmo Canyon Road), drive west for 26 miles. Cross into Utah and continue on Ismay Trading Post Road for 3.7 miles. Turn right on Cajon Mesa Road. In 4.4 miles, turn right again on Hovenweep Road. In 6.0 miles turn right into the park. All roads leading to the park are paved, including roads from Bluff, Utah. Outlying sites that require 4WD high clearance are noted below.   
Total Time: Allow a full day to see all six units.
Difficulty: Visitors must stay on designated trails; navigation easy; Class 1 with no exposure; dogs allowed on a short leash; carry all the water you need.
Maps: Ruin Point, UT-CO; Negro Canyon, Colorado; Navajo Canyon, Utah, 7.5' USGS Quads. The Visitor Center has a couple of helpful maps.

Park Information: Fees, 31-site campground open year round within an International Dark Sky Park.
Latest Date Hiked: November 15, 2025 

Quote: The vertical architectural dimension is commonly understood by many Pueblo people as a cosmic ladder connecting different worlds in a layered universe, through which their ancestors ascended to the present world. Octavius Seowtewa

 

The complex Cutthroat Castle collection of buildings contrasts with a cornflower blue sky. Stonemasons masterfully erected square and circular three-story towers from a foundation of irregular boulders to create intentionally designed communities. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo)

Square Tower Group 

Distance and Elevation Gain: 2.0 miles; 150 feet
Total Time: 1:00 to 1:30

Map: Ruin Point, UT-CO 7.5' USGS Quad. The Visitor Center has a Square Tower Group trail guide.

Route: The trailhead, elevation 5,240 feet, begins at the Visitor Center. Walk south on a paved pathway for 0.2 mile to the north rim of Little Ruin Canyon. This description goes counterclockwise but the loop can be done in either direction. 

The Square Tower Group is the monument’s nucleus. Octavius Seowtewa, leader of the Zuni Tribe's Galaxy Medicine Fraternity, insists that the ancestral sites in the park be left undisturbed for future Zuni generations so they can visit the sites and reconnect back to their ancestors. Please stay on designated trails and do not cross over the chain barriers. As you move across the landscape remain aware that rattlesnakes thrive on the Great Sage Plain. 

 

Some of the plants bordering the initial paved footpath are labeled. Big sagebrush is ubiquitous along with its common companions rabbitbrush, snakeweed, cliffrose, and Ephedra veridis (Mormon tea). While the park contains as many as 325 different plant species, blooming flowers were scarce in late autumn. 

 

There are two primary rock formations in the park. The sheets of rock on either side of the trail are composed of Dakota Sandstone Formation, dating to the Late Cretaceous Period, 115 to 95 million years ago. It forms the cap rock on Cajon Mesa. All of the structures in the park were fashioned from quarried Dakota Sandstone. Rainwater captured in potholes was an important source of water. 

All of the communities in the Square Tower Group are clustered at the head of Little Ruin Canyon, a north tributary of McElmo Creek. The waterway bears southwest to join the San Juan River in the town of Aneth, Utah. Stronghold House today is but a small remnant of a large pueblo once located on the north rim of Little Ruin Canyon. Fashioned stones fill crevices in the flowing mother boulder and perfectly vertical walls create a clean finish, the signature of Hovenweep stonemasons.

For visitors limited to the paved walkway, the overlook at canyon's rim captures a broad sample of Hovenweep's vertical architecture. On the south rim, two-story Rimrock House has exceptionally square corners. Twin Towers, image-left, is a bit of a misnomer because one is oval and the other is horseshoe shaped. The trail loops past these remarkable buildings. Down off the rim is Eroded Boulder House. There is something both charming and comforting about being enclosed by a single massive stone and the merging of natural rock forms with human masonry. (THW, photo)  

The trail passes a pouroff and at 0.5 mile offers a quick detour to Tower Point. There sits a semi-circular tower with a comprehensive canyon view. Granaries in alcoves below the rim protected corn, beans, and squash against water and marauding critters.

 

Hovenweep Castle is a cluster of buildings at the head of Little Ruin Canyon. Stone sentinels rise from the canyon rim watching over a landscape shaped by silence and time. Members of the Hopi Tribe believe the structures served as watchtowers and astronomical observatories as well as facilities for defense and communication. The mastery of stone reflects craftsmanship seen at Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon, and a community capable of coordinated design and communal effort.

The stonemasons of Hovenweep used "core-and-veneer" masonry. They fashioned the veneer by pecking and shaping Dakota Sandstone blocks on six sides. The core was filled with earth and cobbles. Finally, walls were sometimes covered with a layer of plaster.

"Form follows function" is a principle of architectural design which states that the appearance and structure or shape of a building should primarily relate to its intended function or purpose. This principle is so archetypal (and practical), surely the towers of Hovenweep were erected accordingly.  

Rising to a higher order of design, renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright said, "form and function are one." This epitomizes the craftsmanship of ancestral Pueblo masons displayed by sharp corners and smooth curves, and durability over the centuries. (THW, photo) 

Two story Square Tower was erected down inside the canyon on a sandstone boulder. The slender edifice was built with an intentional slight spiral shape. Out of view in this image, a T-shaped doorway faces west. The entrance resembles the letter “T” with a large, rectangular opening on top of a smaller rectangle at the base. T-shaped doors were first constructed at the great houses of Chaco Canyon and followed the migrations of Pueblo people to the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde. They are found at thousands of archaeological sites throughout the southwest. 

 

Hovenweep House seen below perched on the south rim of the canyon was one of the largest Pueblo villages in the Square Tower Group. Masons fit sandstone blocks so precisely that some walls remain plumb after eight centuries.

 

Below, the massiveness and impeccable lines of Hovenweep Castle are seen from Hovenweep House. Floating on the slope below the Castle are rubble fields of shaped stone, a testament to the sizable culture and population that thrived on Cajon Mesa.

Most entrancing for me are the compelling shapes of the Twin Towers. Two building with 16 rooms rise from the bedrock, walls nearly touching, and wooden lintels still in place. (THW, photo) 

At 1.4 miles the footpath descends 100 feet into the canyon on juniper log and stone steps. As you cross the drainage and head up the other side you will pass the contact between the two major rock formations in this region. Burro Canyon Formation underlies Dakota Sandstone (and is therefore older). It is a conglomerate composed of interspersed pebbles and cobbles of chert, limestone, and quartzite.

 

When water that soaked into the sandstone hits the contact with the impermeable Burro, it travels horizontally until it hits an opening at a life-supporting seep or spring. This is a universal principal of geology that occurs all over the planet and made it possible for the ancestral Pueblo people to survive in this high desert region. 

  

Painted Hand Pueblo

Travel: From the intersection of the park road and Road 10, drive north for 8.3 miles. Turn right on Road 4531. Drive east on a well graded gravel road for 0.8 mile and park in the designated lot. 

Distance and Elevation Gain: 0.7 mile, 50 feet

Total Time: 0:30 to 1:00

Map: Negro Canyon, Colorado 7.5' USGS Quad

 

Cajon Mesa tilts slightly south. Painted Hand is the northernmost (and therefore highest) of the outlying units. Both Painted Hand and Cutthroat Castle are perched west of Hovenweep Canyon, a north tributary of Yellow Jacket Canyon. The confluence of Yellow Jacket and McElmo Creek is on the Colorado-Utah stateline in Ismay. From the trailhead, elevation 6,060 feet, the path skims along the canyon's rim for 0.25 mile before initiating a loop with a slight descent to better view the site. Below, a tower on a boulder is visible, image-center. 

 

There are several informative placards distributed along the trail, voiced by individuals from a myriad of today's Tribes. Below, we are told Painted Hand was a small village with numerous towers, kivas, plazas, and storage enclosures. 

In 2025, the trail stayed well away from the principal ruin and we respected the limitation. On a previous visit years ago the trail passed adjacent to the round tower. Additional walls were emplaced under an overhung boulder. We were fortunate to see an ultra faint negative handprint blown with blue pigment. Proceeding along the trail we also found a faint, 12-inch-tall anthropomorph.  

Cutthroat Castle

Travel: There is no sign for Cutthroat Castle on Road 10. From Painted Hand parking, drive 0.7 mile south on Road 4531. You will need 4WD with high clearance to negotiate rocks and deep ruts. There is a lower parking lot for modified 4WD vehicles only. 

Distance and Elevation Gain: 1.4 miles, 220 feet

Total Time: 1:00

Map: Negro Canyon, Colorado 7.5' USGS Quad

From the upper trailhead, elevation 6,020 feet, a singletrack bears southwest, descending gently through a piñon-juniper woodland. Cross the technical 4WD road and enter a (generally dry) wash at 0.4 mile. The Dakota Sandstone drainage is a side canyon of a north fork of Hovenweep Canyon. Revel in a few moments of blissful walking on the bedrock floor. 

Arrive at Cutthroat Castle at 0.7 mile, elevation 5,820 feet. The main site is an elaborate structure perched on and around two massive boulders. Logs spanning between them support walls soaring up from the gap, image-center. The stonemasons were masters of the curve, obeying the dictates of the foundational outcrops. 

Both times I've been to Cutthroat we were alone and it felt intimate. But we were not alone. The towers keep watch. As a placard at Painted Hand states, "Pueblo people believe the ancestors that built these communities continue to live here, caring for their homelands and sharing the wisdom of the past." (THW, photo)

 

Horseshoe and Hackberry 

Travel: From the intersection of the park road and Road 10, drive north for 4.0 miles. Turn right on Road 4721. A 4WD vehicle with high clearance is required to drive the 1.0 mile to the parking area. The track is deeply rutted with exposed bedrock; impassible when wet. 

Distance and Elevation Gain: 1.5 miles, 100 feet

Total Time: 1:00

Map: Ruin Point, UT-CO  

 

From the trailhead, elevation 5,500 feet, a singletrack bears east along the canyon rim, first passing Horseshoe and ending at Hackberry. Both sites are within a 137-acre outlying unit. Flush with water from springs in Hackberry Canyon, the pueblos were occupied from 450 to 1300 CE. The two sites, as well as Holly, are in the juniper-sagebrush vegetation zone on Cajon Mesa. 

 

Horseshoe House was named for the two-story D-shaped structure lying on its back on the rim of a Hackberry side canyon. A two-story kiva is tucked under the overhang at the head of the canyon. 

Horseshoe Tower is located at the end of the point where the two forks of Hackberry Canyon meet. Here, elements are reduced to worked rock, source stone, and the ancient skyscape. (THW, photo)

  

Horseshoe Tower. (THW, photo) 

 

Hackberry was named for the eponymous trees still thriving at the site. The ruins of Hackberry are located at a spring in the main channel of Hackberry Canyon, a tributary of Bridge Canyon, in turn, a north contributor to Yellow Jacket Canyon. Hackberry has been mostly reduced to rubble fields but it once was the largest village in the park. In addition to room blocks and granaries, there is evidence of garden terraces and water control check dams.

 

On our first visit there was more freedom to roam and we found a large alcove with a seep pool, smoke-blackened ceiling, standing wall, and hand prints (image-center). Please note that this site is now off limits. 

  

Holly Group

Travel: From Horseshoe and Hackberry parking, the trailhead for Holly is another very rough 0.9 mile south on Road 4721.  

Distance and Elevation Gain: 1.0 mile (to park boundary and back), 100 feet  

Total Time: 0:45 to 1:00 

Map: Ruin Point, UT-CO 7.5' USGS Quad

Please note: You may hike from the campground to the Holly Group on the Holly Trail. The 4-mile (one-way) footpath goes through a couple of slot canyons, wanders up Little Ruin Canyon, and then up Keeley Canyon to the site.

 

From parking, elevation 5,360 feet, walk west, skimming along the head of Keeley Canyon. Eastward, Sleeping Ute Mountain is omnipresent from all the sites in the monument. 

By staying on trails you will protect soil that holds the earth down. Cryptobiotic soil crusts are composed of living organisms such as algae, cyanobacteria, and fungi that bind soil particles together in a dense matrix. The crust protects the desert by absorbing water and defending against wind and erosion. The mature crusts can literally be thousands of years old! 

As you approach the Holly Group ruins, you will pass by a massive boulder that has separated from the mother cliff and pitched boulder-top ruins at a precarious angle. The forces of erosion, including rock fall, have wreaked havoc on cultural sites throughout the southwest.  

The Holly Group has more visitors than other outlying sites, perhaps due to the intrigue and charm of multi-storied "Holly Tower." Balancing on a massive, sheer-walled boulder inside the canyon, the rectangular structure was built from the inside. 

Foundation rocks were fitted precisely to the boulder. It is my favorite ruin at Hovenweep. I've heard it also called Shaman's Tower and Boulder House (THW, photo) 

It's hard to see in this image but out on the ground, you can see the toe and hand holds that were pecked into the boulder below the entrance. (THW, photo)

 

Wall construction styles, core-and-veneer, chinked joints, little ladders of stone between thick sandstone blocks, and the precision of curves and corners, suggests ties to both Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon. And yet the act of building towers on boulders is a distinctly local feature and specialty.

The original roof beams (as seen in 2013) at Holly House have been dated at 800 years old.

When we returned in 2025 the beams had been reinforced. 

Long ago we walked out the Petroglyph View Trail and dropped 50 feet into the canyon to stand right in front of a pictograph with one concentric circle and two spirals. Now, the Holly Sun Panel that archeologists believe marks the summer solstice is seen from an overlook at the far end of the Holly Group.  

Cajon Group 

Travel: From the junction of the park road and Road 10, drive 5.8 miles south. Turn right/west on Cajon Mesa Road. In just 0.4 mile, turn left and drive southwest on Old Aneth Cutoff Road for 2.8 miles. The dirt road is well graded with an expansive view. Watch for a little deep-red park sign and turn right. You will need 4WD with high clearance for the next 0.2 mile to the parking area. The primitive road has a high center and big swales. (Or, park at the turnoff and walk.)

Distance and Elevation Gain: 0.3 mile, flat

Total Time: 0:30

Map: Navajo Canyon, Utah 7.5' USGS Quad

Cajon is in the state of Utah on the Navajo Nation. It is the most southern, and at 5,180 feet, is the lowest outlying unit in elevation. Perched on the canyon rim at the southern edge of Cajon Mesa, there is a wide-open feel and full-swing view arcing from Sleeping Ute Mountain to Shiprock, the Carrizo Mountains, Monument Valley, Bears’ Ears, and the Abajo Mountains. And while Cajon is surrounded by scrubland, there is a spring at the head of the shallow canyon.

 

The main structures are mind-bending in both purpose and whimsy. Below, notice the tower built around and between two standing boulders. I find the "double boulder tower" simply enthralling. 

 

Three Hopi stonemasons, direct descendants of the original inhabitants at Hovenweep, have been stabilizing the ruins at the monument for many years. On-going renovation is needed to protect structures throughout the park that are in imminent danger from natural erosive forces and the cumulative pressures of visitation.  

In the late 1200s the people of Hovenweep began migrating south leaving behind sentinels of stone, symbols imbued with stories, and silence that speaks. (THW, photo)

Mesa Verde National Park: Morefield Canyon Trails

Essence: Mesa Verde is a complicated, vast, and elevated canyon-shredded tableland in Southwestern Colorado. Multiple, ever deepening defiles stream south to join forces in Mancos Canyon. The Ancestral Pueblo people lived among the clouds on the mesa top for over 700 years. They arrived in the area around 550 CE. Initially they lived in pit dwellings, and then in stone masonry houses on the mesa top. Around 1200 CE they moved into cliff villages at dizzying heights above the canyon floors. Late in the 13th century, the Ancestral Pueblo people began migrating clan by clan from Mesa Verde and the Four Corners region. This post describes three Class 1 hikes on maintained, engineered trails at the head of Morefield Canyon in the north wedge of the park. Point Lookout, 8,427' (LiDAR 8,432') is a ranked summit with a rise of 610 feet. The most recognizable landmark, the signature of Mesa Verde is easy to achieve. The Prater Ridge Loop Trail goes over ranked "Prater Ridge," Peak 8,418', with a rise of 541 feet. The Knife Edge Trail contours around the north end of Prater Ridge. Views on all three hikes extend unimpeded from the Montezuma and Mancos valleys in the immediate surroundings to the crystalline ranges holding down the Four Corners. The hikes are on trails managed by the National Park Service.
Travel: Measure distance from the entrance station and drive south on Mesa Top Ruins Road. Pass the Visitor Center and wind steeply up a series of S curves at the base of Point Lookout. At 3.1 miles turn right on Navajo Road signed for Morefield Village and Campground (ranger station, store, gas station, etc.). Prater Ridge Trailhead is on the left at 3.7 miles. Knife Edge Trailhead is at 4.3 miles. Point Lookout Trailhead is at the end of the road in an oversized paved lot shared with the Amphitheater at 4.7 miles. Restrooms and water are near Point Lookout parking.

Distance and Elevation Gain: Point Lookout, 2.2 miles, 550 feet; Prater Ridge Loop, 7.6 miles, 1,000 feet; Knife Edge Trail, 2.0 miles, 160 feet. 
Total Time: Point Lookout, 1:00 to 2:00; Prater Ridge, 3:00 to 4:30; Knife Edge, 1:00
Difficulty: Class 1 trails; navigation easy; no exposure (cliff edges can be avoided)
Map: Point Lookout, Colorado 7.5' USGS Quad. The Visitor Center has a brochure listing hikes open to the public.

Park Information: Fees, camping, cliff dwelling tours
Latest Date Hiked: November 14, 2025
Quote: Humans are vulnerable and rely on the kindnesses of the earth and the sun; we exist together in a sacred field of meaning. Joy Harjo 

  

Point Lookout has been a landscape marker for the migration of peoples into southwestern Colorado over the centuries. Its sheer sides rising to a verdant mesa top defines the northern perimeter of Mesa Verde. The thrusting sandstone prow is seen from the high La Plata Mountains hard to the east, The Blues (Abajo Mountains) well to the west, and along the Highway 160 corridor from Cortez to Mancos. Today, Point Lookout signifies arrival at Mesa Verde National Park and home ground for locals. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo) 

Route: All three hikes are on trails with excellent signage. The park asks hikers to stay on the trails. Point Lookout: From the head of Morefield Canyon, ascend the west slope of the mesa and walk to the promontory at the far north end. Prater Ridge Loop: Hike roughly north and then switch south to gain the mesa top. From there, this description runs the circuit counterclockwise. There is an option to hike just the North or South loop in either direction. Knife Edge Trail: From the trailhead at the base of Lone Cone, walk westerly along the northern front of Prater Ridge mesa. Return as you came. 

  

Point Lookout, 8,427'
The Point Lookout Trail begins from the northeast end of the parking lot, elevation 7,900 feet. (THW, photo) 

The pounded dirt footpath is smooth and buff. The hike is easy and short enough to appeal to people who are not regular hikers. The payoff is enormous. I have seen a gleeful four year old in the company of elderly grandparents on the mesa top. 

The trail bears north along the base of the west slope of the north-south running mesa. If you were to see this photograph completely out of context, you would know without hesitation it was shot in the American West. Rabbitbrush has fluffed up and gone to seed along with its little brother snakeweed. A full compliment of native grasses include Indian rice grass, a staple food for Indigenous people. The monochromatic straw-colored flat contrasts with aromatic big sagebrush on the fringe. Gambel oak in variegated shades of maroon to rust and ubiquitous piñon and juniper favor the slope.   

Soon, the trail begins climbing all the while maintaining a pleasant grade with a series of switchbacks. Shallow stairsteps are fashioned from juniper logs and stone blocks. Trail crews are commonly seen maintaining the treadway. 

Right away, the trail lifts enough to open a westward view of Montezuma Valley, the city of Cortez, and Sleeping Ute Mountain. The nearby flat-topped butte, image-left, is Lone Cone. Perhaps you noticed it driving to the trailhead because, from the south it truly looks like a cone. (THW, photo) 

Pause and consider the corkscrew pattern in the trunk and limbs of a large piñon resting beside the trail. Spiral grain is most obvious in trees that have lost their bark. The helical form taken by xylem tissues (charged with transporting water and nutrients from the roots upward), gives the tree more strength to withstand stresses caused by wind and slope angle. One of my favorite neighborhood trees is a fallen ponderosa pine. For 25 years, every time I pass that tree I lie down on its massive trunk and envision being spiraled up into the heavens. (THW, photo) 

Ah, the mysteries and wonder of lichen. There are different classes of lichen. Common in the West are crustose lichens. They form a crust over the surface of boulders. They are not plants, but they are alive. Lichen are composite life forms resulting from a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and alga. The fungus provides a protective home for the alga. The alga produces food for the fungus from sunshine, water, and air. Crusty lichens come in a wide range of colors, including bright shades of lime, orange, red, and yellows so brilliant you will insist sunshine lives on stone.  

 

Continuing up the trail, pass by a large weathered boulder dressed in subtle gray and blue lichens.

  

Retaining walls made from stone rubble hold back the slope. 

Hikers who have explored in the Four Corners will immediately recognize the fully mature perennial Ephedra growing beside the trail. Ephedra is common in semi-desert rock, mesas, and canyons. Its leaves are reduced to tiny dark scales. It doesn't have true flowers but instead, produces spores in cone-like structures. It is a relative of pines, junipers, and spruces. The Greeks named Ephedra in ancient times. The Chinese realized that certain species of Ephedra acted as a stimulant. The FDA banned all Ephedra products in 2004. They are also banned by the International Olympic Committee. The Four Corners species Ephedra viridis has no medicinal qualities. Indigenous and current day westerners brew Mormon Tea from the stems.

Banana yucca is easily recognized by its thick and rigid sharply pointed leaves. It was an essential, multi-purpose plant for Indigenous peoples. Every few years, in the month of June, it sends out a thick flowering stalk. Primitive-looking robust white flowers are followed by edible fruit. Fibers were spun into ropes, sandals, and baskets. The root of the plant can also be used as a cleansing soap. (THW, photo) 

Arrive on the mesa top at 0.65 mile, elevation 8,380 feet. With all the effort behind you, enjoy the flat, half mile stroll through a piñon-juniper woodland to the far north end. (THW, photo) 

Mesa Verde is in the Rocky Mountain and Utah juniper overlap zone. The Rocky Mountain variety are the trees with feathery, droopy leaves. They have a blue-green cast and abundant blue berries. They grow straight up from a central trunk. Utah juniper are a darker yellow-green and the foliage is stiffer. It branches out from the base into a broad spreading tree that can be as wide as it is tall, up to 20 feet. Be on the lookout for this multi-trunk forest elder. 

(THW, photo) 

  

The trail affords a glimpse of the cliff structure up ahead that we associate with the distinctive Point Lookout landmark. Surely the Ancestral Puebloans were on this mesa flintknapping, hunting game, keeping a sharp eye on the movement of people, and spinning stories about happenings inextricably tied with this very landscape. (THW, photo) 

There is a sense of spaciousness in all directions. Roughly 20 miles east (as the crow flies), the La Plata Mountains rise mightily above a mantle of autumnal gold. A handful of peaks over 13,000 feet are clustered at the northern end of the range. Highest of them all is Hesperus Mountain, marking the northern boundary of the traditional homeland of the Navajo. Hesperus is the Sacred Mountain of the North. (THW, photo) 

The ridge narrows to 30 feet, dropping sharply on either side. However, there is no sense of exposure because the surface is flat and trees offer protection. 

 

The trail opens to a view of the western escarpment, a good place to pause and consider geology. There are two primary rock formations visible from there. Mancos Shale is the thickest and oldest formation in the region. It was deposited from 95 to 80 million years ago over a large portion of the Western Interior Cretaceous Seaway. It was named in 1899 for outcrops near the town of Mancos. It is as much as 2,000 feet thick in the San Juan Basin. It is the gray formation image-left, underlying Point Lookout.  

 

Point Lookout Sandstone is the lowest (and therefore oldest) member of the Mesaverde Group. It was deposited in the Cretaceous era as the sea receded. The sandstone was first described by A. J. Collier in 1919 for exposures in the cliffs at Point Lookout. It is an impressive sandstone up to 430 feet thick, overlying Mancos Shale and underlying the Menefee Formation. Often quite dark in color, the Menefee is the middle layer of the Mesaverde Group, consisting of shale and coal. 

 

The youngest, and final member of the Mesaverde Group is Cliff House Sandstone. The formation was named for the Ancestral Puebloan habitation sites built in alcoves typically found in this layer. It has a distinctive yellow-orange cast and can be almost 1,000 feet thick. It was deposited when the sea was rising to inundate the Colorado Plateau once again. Just think, the rise and fall of the sea is recorded in the rocks.  

As I closed in on the far north end of the mesa at 1.1 miles, I felt a primal sense of excitement and breathlessness. Humans are hardwired to detect an impending precipice well before they are in danger of stepping off into thin air. This is the time to gather up your children because the only protection is common sense. Yes, it is exhilarating to walk along the edge but some of the boulders are overhung and not well seated. Don't succumb to the allure of cliff suck. The views from all three hikes are superb but this vantage point is the most comprehensive. At skyline, moving west to east are Lone Cone, the San Miguel Mountains, the Wilson group of fourteeners, and the medley that is the San Juan Mountains. (THW, photo) 

 

From a safe perch take a airy look down on the winding park road cut into Mancos Shale. (THW, photo) 

Looking westward, the Knife Edge Trail wraps around the north face of Prater Ridge (image-left).  From this perspective it is easy to see why the old road earned its name, and why it was later abandoned due to persistent rockfall. Sleeping Ute Mountain is revered as a sacred place by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the Weenuche band of the Ute Nation of Indians. On a cloud-free day you can see the La Sal and Abajo mountains further west and north. 

  

My favorite feature of this hike is the sandstone shelf running along the east edge of the mesa. Please use existing trails to get there and back. Below, I'm gazing into the Mancos Valley. (THW, photo) 

Standing on sheets of rock overlooking the face of the sky, a fertile valley, and a mighty mountain range--no wonder those who came before were tethered to this mythic landscape. So am I. (THW, photo) 

  

Prater Ridge Loop Trail, Prater Ridge Peak, 8,418'

The Prater Ridge Trail is a stem and loop. Upon reaching the mesa top, hikers may choose among three circuits that loosely track the mesa rim. Statistics from the trailhead are: 

Entire Loop: 7.6 miles, 1,000 feet
North Loop: 5.8 miles, 920 feet 

South Loop: 4.5 miles, 750 feet

From the Prater Ridge Loop Trailhead, elevation 7,740 feet, the footpath ascends gradually to the northwest. I have been on Prater Ridge many times and that is reflected in the photos. For instance, you will see Gambel oak pictured in varying shades of autumn. I have yet to visit at the height of wildflower season but I have noticed mule's ears and penstemon gone to seed. A few late-season hearty goldeneye were still blooming in late autumn. This is the season to revel in native grasses backlit by low angle sun. 

As you might surmise because of proximity, Prater Mesa is held up by Point Lookout Sandstone. If rock can be sensuous, these weathered blocks surely qualify.  

 

At a quarter mile, a link trail branches right and makes for the Knife Edge Trail. Occasional shallow steps are fashioned from stone or juniper logs. The grade is impeccably consistent. At 0.6 mile, the path hooks sharply south, the first of several switchbacks. Lone Cone, 8,302' (LiDAR 8,305'), is a ranked summit with a rise of 406 feet. It holds down the head of Morefield Canyon. Astoundingly, what Colorado residents will insist is the real Lone Cone is seen in the wedge to the left of Point Lookout. Lone Cone, 12,613', is the westernmost peak in the San Juan Mountains. (THW, photo)  

Gathering elevation, the La Plata Mountains rise over the top of the Point Lookout mesa. The range is bifurcated by the La Plata River into two north-south running ridges. (THW, photo) 

 

As you near the mesa top, the trail tracks along the rim on shelves composed of Point Lookout Sandstone. My family and friends all agree this hike is all about the broad stone ledges and the unobstructed views. 

Arrive at a well-marked trail junction at 1.1 miles, 8,220 feet. For the shortest option, walk a few steps south on a connector trail and then do the South Loop in either direction. For the longer North Loop or to hike the entire circuit, turn right. This description runs counterclockwise but you could reverse the loop without penalty. The trail steepens just a little as it closes in on informally named Prater Ridge Peak.

Round off on Peak 8,418' at 1.7 miles. While the prominence is the highpoint of the hike with a respectable rise of 541 feet, it presents as a broad roller. I had to look at the topo to be sure that Point Lookout was taller, indeed, by 14 feet. This mountain has yet another grand sweeping view from Sleeping Ute to the Abajo, La Sal, San Juan, and La Plata mountains.

The trail passes by a secondary roller on its way to the north end of the mesa top. It is just as scenic as the highpoint. A sculptural charred piñon tree raises the question of fire. According to park literature, 95 percent of recorded wildfires within the park were started by lightening. Seventy percent of the park has been burned since it was designated in 1906. The lightning-ignited Bircher Fire in July, 2000 was the most destructive fire in the park's history. The fire burned 19,607 acres inside the park, incinerating the landscape featured in this post.

 

There are many sandstone slabs with colorful striations or rings lying on the surface. "Liesegang" bands are observed predominantly in sedimentary rocks such as sandstones. The bands are composed by minerals, generally iron oxides. The phenomenon was first described in 1896 by a German chemist named Raphael E. Liesegang. Once you know what to look for, you will see Liesegang banding anywhere sandstone is present throughout the West. 

The trail reaches the north end of the mesa at 2.2 miles and turns west, then south. The pathway runs along on the west rim bench for a good distance or parallels it by a few feet. We got the nod from a ranger to cruise on solid rock adjacent to the trail. This stretch is the highlight of the circuit. 

 

If off-trail hiking was allowed, we would have scampered out a small westward ridge to the ultra appealing linear outcrop, shown. It is located above the terminus of the Knife Edge Trail.  

The water-stained and curvaceous perpendicular rim wall, plus the white-gray color and turtle back weathering resemble Navajo Sandstone. However, Navajo Sandstone is over 100 million years older than Point Lookout. It is the most prominent rock formation on the Colorado Plateau but is not present in the park. 

This triangular boulder is about five feet to a side. The surface is covered with concretions, compact masses of iron oxide or calcium carbonate that form within preexisting rock. The nodules are often spherical and are always harder than the host rock. 

 

The ripples recorded on this thin slab are associated with the shoreline marine environment from which the Mesaverde Group emerged. Marvel at that!

At 4.4 miles arrive at a posted junction adjacent to a comfortable sitting log. If you'd like to incorporate the South Loop into your circuit, continue south. If you need to return to the trailhead, hike north on the cutoff trail for 0.3 mile and link back up with the stem trail, retracing your steps to the trailhead, 1.4 miles from this point.

The South Loop continues to follow the rim, skimming by standing dead clinging to the precipice. The Bircher Fire was spotty in this area and the trail passes by refreshing live piñon-juniper trees. (THW, photo) 

As you near the south end of the mesa you will see Prater Canyon heading south toward the Mancos River. Both Prater and Morefield canyons are flat-floored. And while they were created by water millennia ago, the clay-bottomed canyons have been dry as long as humans have lived in the area. It takes a torrential rain to create even a thin, ephemeral creek. 

 

The trail swings from south to north at 5.4 miles. You can see the east entrance to the Morefield-Prater Tunnel as it burrows under the mesa.   

Both weathering and erosion alter the landscape. The photo above is a beautiful example of weathering rounding the edges and smoothing stone in place through heat, water, ice, and wind. Erosion always involves the movement of material. Below, erosion has cleaved gigantic blocks from the edge of the rim. Gravity will take over from there. 

(THW, photo)

The east side of the South Loop wraps up with more extensive stone platform walking. Oh joy! Look out over the Mancos Valley and the entire length of the west block of the La Plata Mountains from Sharkstooth to Baldy Peak. 

This is one of the few places where you can see the entire mesa hosting Point Lookout. At 6.5 miles, close the loop at the initial mesa top junction and retrace your steps 1.1 miles downhill to the trailhead. 

 

Knife Edge Trail  

The two mile (roundtrip) Knife Edge Trail follows a portion of the historic Knife Edge Road that came up and into the park from the west. Built in 1911, the road was narrow and steep and prone to rockfall tumbling from the cliffs above. The road was decommissioned in 1957 when the Morefield-Prater Tunnel was completed. The trail is fairly level with just 160 feet of elevation gain out-and-back. There are excellent views of cliffs high above, the Montezuma Valley, and the San Juan Mountains in the distance. From the Knife Edge Trailhead, elevation 7,820 feet, begin on a crushed rock trail utilizing the abandoned roadbed. 

Bearing northwest, the link trail from Prater Ridge joins at 0.15 mile. The most intimate vantage point of Lone Cone and Point Lookout is effortlessly yours right from the trail. 

The footpath swings westward and pretty much holds to the 7,850-foot contour on the slope below the Prater Ridge north face cliffs. Northward, eyes try to find a hold, drifting from the gray earth of Mancos Shale, to the viridian green of piñon-juniper blanketing the low country, to the high sky-cleaving wilds, up past the cloud-disheveled sky, to rest at last in cerulean blue. (THW, photo) 

The Prater Ridge escarpment is about 200 feet in height. Buff-colored Point Lookout Sandstone has gray streaks where water flows over stone. The blocks are pleated with razor-sharp corners, confirming its reputation for shedding on a regular basis. Where did all that rock go? Some of it rests on the slope, of course. A geologist once told me, given enough force sandstone simply explodes on impact. The north slope is moist and shady enough to support sub-alpine fir growing on narrow platforms. (THW, photo) 

Speaking of erosion the trail was closed in autumn, 2025 at 0.75 mile due to a recent rockfall. Look up and you'll see the fresh scar on the cliff face. Rangers we spoke with said it could be a very long time before the debris is cleared. The park is underfunded and has higher maintenance priorities. 

We have been to the official end of the trail at one mile before. Look up to see peach-colored stone on top of the barrier wall, a beautiful variation in the same formation. 

Toward image-right is the linear outcrop that I mentioned looked so appealing from the west rim of the Prater Ridge Loop. (THW, photo)

I have seen concretions in sandstone all over the American West over the years but never one this fascinating and fun. The surface is covered with multi-colored circular nodules and divots. 

This vantage point over Sleeping Ute, Montezuma Valley, the city of Cortez, and the Abajo Mountains was common for those on the Knife Edge Road a century ago. 

Seen from the park entrance ancient light burnishing Point Lookout beckons travelers across time--from human prehistory, to the Ancestral Puebloans, semi-nomadic Utes who imbued the mesa with stories and myths that were old by the time the first Spaniards penetrated the country, settlers who came by wagon, those of us permanently grounded in the Four Corners, and visitors passing through today. As Joy Harjo wrote, as humans we rely on the kindnesses of the earth and the sun. Wherever our chosen landscape, it encircles us in a sacred field of meaning. (THW, photo)