Canyons of the Ancients National Monument

Historygrl14

What a great place to spend a couple of hours! Cost to enter: none when we visited (July 2022) Parking: easy plenty of space Restrooms: very nice indoor restrooms Gift shop: nice gift shop with all the basics for all ages Rangers and volunteers: everyone we encountered was extremely friendly and helpful You should be aware that the visitor center and museum has a short half mile/mile hike on site to escalente pueblo and a scenic overlook. The other sites that make up the full idea of Canyons of the ancients you will need to drive to. This visitors center & museum is TOP NOTCH! I was so impressed and it's probably been one of my favorites in the area. Not only does it have great informative exhibits, it is so hands-on!! Especially if you are a parent with younger children or even teens this has so much to keep them engaged. From a life size pit house that's been reconstructed so that you can see it and experience it better (but no you can't go in it), to microscopes where you can investigate plants as well as pottery and so much more and fun interactive pullout drawer areas where you can look at different topical items, there's something for everyone. They show 2 short films in a very nice theater that I highly recommend you start your journey here with. I felt it helped me understand and appreciate what I was viewing the museum better. Just ask the rangers at the desk about when they will be starting them, as it seemed fairly on demand versus some schedule. The native garden in front of the entrance was also beautiful and impressive to take some time looking at. They have nice picnic areas that are created so each group feels very isolated, which was really nice. The half mile/1 mile(round trip) hike to Escalente Pueblo is fully paved and very easy to navigate. There are even benches every so often if you need to stop. At the top, the path splits to go to a scenic overlook and the Pueblo. Gorgeous views, perfect picture spots. I love how you can see and experience these pieces of history so up close and first hand. I highly recommend this location/experience. All total we spent 2 hours ( films, museum, hike & picnic). I think I could easily have spent another hour with the various hands on exhibits! But big picture this is a great stop for all ages.

Taylor Harrison

This is probably the most comprehensive collection of Native American history I have ever seen in one place. It's beautiful. It's not huge but the pieces and the exhibits they have are very well done. If you're even slightly interested in history like this I 100% recommend checking this out. There is also a .5 mile walk you can do that leads to some Indian ruins. It's very cool with wonderful views.

Michael D Mercantini

Super cool place. Went on a day they were closed so took the path up to the ruins and outlook. It's a cold windy slightly snowy day. The path isn't clear and a lite icy but easy to get up there

Michele Schumann

Museum was great. The hike up to the ruins above the visitors center was twice as long as it needed to be because the trail winds around and around. They could have just put in a single staircase since the site is directly above the …