Why you should visit Colorado’s Chimney Rock National Monument!

Hello everyone!!! I know it’s been a minute since I’ve posted – my little baby keeps me pretty busy!!  Today’s post is from a trip that I took last summer with my family! Some of you may or may not know that New Mexico and Colorado are home to a variety of Native American ruins.  I’ve always found it interesting to tour these areas and learn about the culture and day to day life of the people who lived there! Now I’m not an expert of Native American culture, so I’m not going to discuss historical information in this post, but I do want to promote the tour we took through Chimney Rock National Monument!

Chimney Rock National Monument is located between 20-30 minutes west of Pagosa Springs. Home to the Puebloans of Chaco Canyon, Chimney Rock features several excavated homes and buildings of this ancient people! As you reach the first parking area, there is a Visitor Center that you can inquire about tour prices as well as buy souvenirs if you so desire.  (Go to their official website for the most up to date information!) From the Visitor Center, you will continue to drive up the mountain on a dirt road to the next parking area. We signed up for the two-hour tour, so we were shuttled to this location in vans. From what I remember, you could take a self-guided tour through the Kiva Trail, but you would be unable to access the Pueblo trail which features the Great House at the top of the mountain. In general, I’m a self-guided-kind-of-girl, but you would seriously be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t take the two hour guided tour and see the ruins at the top of the Pueblo trail!

General Information: Guided walking tours are available as 1 or 2-hour tours. The 2-hour tour takes you through the Kiva trail and up the Pueblo trail, allowing you to see the Chacoan Great House Pueblo ruins. The 1-hour tour only has access to the Kiva trail. You could opt for a self-guided tour with a headset, but you would still be unable to hike up the Pueblo trail to see the Great House. For the most up to date information, please visit the official website.

Tips:

• Chimney Rock is only open for tours between May and September
• There is not an entry fee, but there are tour fees.
• The cabin at the first parking area should be visited prior to driving up to the Kiva and Pueblo trails. Only people who have paid for a tour should be driving on to this point.
• Tours are first come, first serve
• Check the website for tour times to avoid waiting!
• There is no shade on the trails, especially the Pueblo trail! Make sure to wear hats and sunscreen!
• Bring plenty of water!! You won’t regret it!!
• Try and plan a morning tour so that the afternoon heat doesn’t wipe you out
• Check out the special programs calendar to see what’s going on during your trip! You may get to do a full moon or night sky tour!

The pictures below were taken on the 2-hour guided tour that covered the Kiva and the Pueblo trail:

Beginning of the Kiva Trail

The tour guide was very informative and taught us a lot about the day to day life of the Puebloans of Chaco Canyon!

At one point the tour guide offered for us to try our hand at grinding corn…not as easy as you might imagine!!

The Kiva trail culminated in the above-pictured area! We had a short restroom break back where we started and began our tour of the Pueblo trail.

Once on the Pueblo trail, you start to climb toward the Great House!!

Make sure you bring a hat and sunglasses – there is no shade on this trail!

…not really sure why this sign is necessary but there ya go!

Closer and closer to Chimney Rock!!

Made it!! This was for sure the coolest part of the whole tour…would not recommend coming if you aren’t going to take the tour up the Pueblo trail!!

View from the top!!!

The Great House ruins…very cool! This portion of the tour had some of the most interesting information from the tour guides!!

From the top of the trail you could see down into New Mexico!!

Once the tour guide had finished talking to us about the ruins, they gave us all a nice photo op!

Because it has been a year I don’t want to talk too much about the information we were given with the fear that I will impart incorrect information, but I for sure can tell you that this is an attraction worth seeing if you are in the Pagosa Springs area!! We were done with the tour and back in Pagosa by lunchtime! I hope this has encouraged some of you to make this a part of your itinerary!

Don’t forget to leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!

Until next time!