Hovenweep National Monument

[donthompson]

I left Ridgeway, Colorado this morning and enjoyed a beautiful drive through the San Juan Mountains in SW Colorado. The scenery was incredible. Arrived at Hovenweep National Monument around noon and set up camp. I was the only camper until late afternoon--there are three other campers here now. Very remote and beautiful campground. I've posted some photos from the drive, the campground and a hike on a loop from the campground.

[SeaDawg]

Looks beautiful.

Could you share your elevation for those of us who suffer from elevation sickness,?

https://www.nps.gov/hove/index.htm

 

Sherry

[John E Davies]

Thanks for the info, that looks like a very neat destination. I love the clear blue sky, I am literally sick of the smoke in the NW...

 

I am a big fan of “unknown” National Monuments. They offer nearly as much spectacular scenery as National Parks with maybe 1 to 5% of the visitors. Dinosaur and Colorado NMs are especially wonderful, if you have a high clearance vehicle to explore the dirt roads that lead into the more remote “Jeepy” parts like Echo Cove in Dinosaur.

 

It appears that Hovenweep NM has some sites that are on Navajo land. Be especially careful if you have a firearm in your gear. If you are caught carrying it, a Tribal cop can confiscate it and eject you from their land. No carry permit from any state is valid there. Keep them unloaded and secured. I tend to avoid Reservations completely, unless they specifically allow legal concealed carry.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Overland]

Thanks Don.  We wanted to see Hovenweep a few years ago when we were at Mesa, but there was no time.  We're thinking we might head back that way next spring to pick up what we missed.  The campsite there looks pretty nice.

[donthompson]

Thanks for the tip, John. I don’t carry any firearms so that’s not a concern.

[routlaw]

I've been to Hovenweep many times, great small campground and like you say totally out in the middle of nowhere. One acquires and entirely new definition of quietness there. The ruins a short walk from the campground are great but if you have the time by all means explore some of the outlier sites as well. The blue skies do look inviting, something we haven't seen around here for weeks. From Hovenweep its about an hours drive perhaps slightly more to Bears Ear National Monument also well worth your visit.

 

To the best of my knowledge, Hovenweep is not on the reservation, but the reservation more or less completely surrounds it. I'm curious, what are the temps like down there right now? I've always wanted to go to the SW during the summer but the heat sounds unbearable at times.

 

 

[donthompson]

The daytime high temperatures were in the upper 80's and the lows were in the mid-60's. As you know, the humidity is generally very low. I hiked and cycled while I was there but enjoyed sitting under the awning reading from the mid-afternoon until sundown. I'd prefer visiting this area in the fall. Didn't get to Bears Ears, but it's on my list for a future trip. I think I'll plan an extended trip to Utah next fall.

[routlaw]

Thanks Don for the weather info, but have to say I'm really surprised at the mild temps. Much cooler than I would have imagined for summer in the SW, but I suspect Hovenweep is roughly a mile high elevation which certainly helps. BTW don't ever go there in May, the gnats will eat you alive. We made this mistake once, but the head ranger said it gets worse in June.

[John E Davies]

The south part of the monument is inside the Navajo Reservation in Utah according to the visitor guide:

 

 

https://www.nps.gov/hove/planyourvisit/upload/HOVE_VisitorGuide-web.pdf

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA