Favorite Four Corners Trails

Petroglyph Point (Mesa Verde National Park)

Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado is one of the crown jewels of the National Park System, both from a cultural perspective and a scenic one. While most people focus on a guided ancient ruins tour (which is a must do) I suspect many leave the park without hiking this truly great trail. Petroglyph Point hike starts from the Spruce Tree House museum, which has excellent and comprehensive displays on the Ancestral Puebloan people and and their way of life. The trail starts off paved as it descends down to a view of Spruce Tree House ruins. Incidentally, I recommend you pick up this hike’s optional trail guide for a suggested donation of $0.50. It lists 34 points of information among the 2.9 mile trail, mainly about the flora of the pinyon-juniper forest in this region, but also about the petroglyphs for which this trail is named. The book we used to select hikes in the region, “A Falcon Guide: Hiking the Four Corners” by JD Tanner and Emily Ressler-Tanner included all four of the trails in this post.

Spruce Tree House is located at the beginning of Petroglyph Trail

Canyon view from Petroglyph Trail

Shrub Live Oak, which are rare in Mesa Verde, are found along the trail

Petroglyph Point Trail

The first half of this loop trail meanders just below the rim of the canyon, taking a fairly taxing route up, between, and down large boulders and rock walls. The NPS has done a stellar job of laying out a minimally visually intrusive route through complex terrain, carving steps directly into the rock when necessary. It’s a fun hike just for the hike itself, let alone factoring in the stunning views and rich history. As I was hiking, I wondered if the Native Americans had used this very route to navigate these ledges that housed their dwellings. At about the halfway point you find the largest petroglyph panel in Mesa Verde National Park. The trail guide comes in handy here, with possible explanations of the symbols provided by the Zuni people (ancestors of the Puebloans). Follow the short but steep climb up to the mesa top and it’s a quick hike back to where you started.

One of many narrow staircases along the trail

A narrow section of trail

A ruin we spotted along the trail

Shaping stone used to make tools along the trail

Karla at the bottom of another section of stairs

A wall remnant along the trail

Petroglyph panel at Petroglyph Point

The loop continues by climbing steeply up the wall of the cliff to return to the museum

Canyon view from the top of the mesa

Lizard spotted along the trail

Petroglyph Point Trail returns to the trailhead by traveling across the mesa

White House Trail (Canyon de Chelly National Monument)

Canyon de Chelly National Monument near Chinle, Arizona, has some of the best preserved Anasazi ruins in the southwest, as well as my favorite trail in the greater Colorado Plateau area: White House Trail. I think this is mainly for two reasons: spectacular views and an impressively built trail. As someone who has a smidge of trail building experience (I volunteered for 7 days to help re-route a section of the CDT in Colorado), I appreciate the hard work that goes into a well built trail. I’m thinking of Walter’s Wiggles in Zion National Park, but also The Precipice in Acadia and now White House Trail in Canyon de Chelly. When you hike this trail, think of the level of effort required to make it. But also notice how the trail disappears into the rock face in which it is carved. That is the sign of a well built trail: that it allows easy access over steep terrain while minimizing visual impact. From the bottom of the canyon, looking up, if you don’t spot a person on the trail, I don’t think you can find the trail.

A view of White House Trail from the canyon rim

Another trail view with 3 visible switchbacks

White House Trail is carved into the rock

There are 2 tunnels along the route

A lizard along White House Trail

View of the White House ruins from the end of the trail

Square Tower Trail (Hovenweep National Monument)

Hovenweep National Monument in northeastern Utah is not near anything, but if you’re in the Four Corners area and looking for a great trail, I’d suggest making time for this small but significant public area. It’s only a 1.75 mile trail, but the close up views of numerous towers built over 800 years ago are second to none. These towers are mainly constructed on top of boulders, most of which are precariously perched on the edge of a deep canyon. It would take nerves of steel to just enter some of these towers. But can you imagine building them? Such an incredible expenditure of time and energy was required, and we really have little idea why. I particularly enjoyed the twin towers, skillfully constructed such that the walls of the disparate towers are within a foot of each other for the entire height. This is the work of people who were experts at their craft.

Hovenweep’s Twin Towers

Square Tower Trail travels through Juniper and sage

The Square Tower

Hovenweep Castle

The trail descends and ascends the canyon on steep rock steps

Another section of trail traveling between boulders

Sand Canyon Trail (Canyons of the Ancients Nat Monument)

Any trail that begins by climbing up a huge expanse of tilted slick rock is ok by me, and this is such a trail. The entire trail is 6 miles long and can be hiked starting from either the north trailhead or the south trailhead. We opted to start at the south. This trail is contained within the 275 square mile Canyons of the Ancients National Monument managed by the BLM near Cortez, Colorado. There are a number of other intersecting trails that can be used to make a 5.5 mile loop, which is what we did. The main trail is marked by orange paint on signs placed in rock cairns, while spur trails (which lead to either ruins or viewpoints) are marked with white paint. We also saw green and blue trails as well.

Sand Canyon trail climbs over slick rock from the south trailhead

Rock formations along Sand Canyon Trail

Sand Canyon

Sand Canyon Trail

I recommend trying some of the spur trails as you may find a hidden gem, such as an up close visit to an ancient ruin. The number of ruins in the southwest is staggering, there must be thousands. Most people visit just the well known ones, such as at Mesa Verde or Canyon de Chelly (which are both definitely worth your time). But start walking around lesser visited BLM land and you’ll discover ones hidden in canyons all over the Four Corners region — and you’ll likely enjoy them with zero other people.