Sand Canyon Dwellings Hike

We’ve been out hiking at Sand Canyon in Cortez, CO a few times. It’s a great option for early season when other things might be under snow or muddy. This time we hiked out the main Sand Canyon Trail to get a look at some of the dwellings.

What I like about this hike is the remoteness and the sense of walking into the past. In 6 mi we were able to see a few ancient dwellings. The trail isn’t very steep for the first 3 miles, though there are a couple switchbacks down before Double Cliff House. It’s pleasant hiking with a lot of canyons, cliffs, and rock views.

Double Cliff House was built in two ledges of the alcove. Pueblo people must have used a ladder to get to the two upper rooms. The stone masonry has been protected by the alcove and is well preserved. Archaeologists recorded and mapped Double Cliff House in 1965. They found pottery sherds and stone tools that indicated the House was probably used in the thirteenth century, AD 1200s.

Next we saw Corncob House called this because when archaeologists excavated the site in 1965, 700 year old corncobs, two yucca leaf strips tied in knots, and a piece of fiber or loose cordage were found. These two dwellings are fairly close together about two miles out from the trailhead. We kept going another mile to Sunny Alcove before turning around.

Sunny Alcove looked like a delightful place to live. It includes eight rooms and a kiva. When archaeologists conducted research at Sunny Alcove in 1965, they found corncobs, 67 pottery sherds, and fragments of manos (grinding stones). Sunny Alcove has remarkably preserved wall niches (little shelves). We sat underneath the alcove and ate our sandwiches before hiking back to the trailhead.