Round Trip Distance: 1 mile
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 6069 - 6103 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: Hawkins Preserve
Fee: none
Attractions: pueblo ruins
The Hawkins Pueblo is located in the Hawkins Preserve in Cortez, Colorado. The pueblo sits on top of the bluffs on the north side of McElmo Creek. In the cliffs below the pueblo there are several caves that also show signs of previous habitation.
For turn-by-turn directions enter Hawkins Preserve into your driving app.
A good trail map can be found at the main kiosk that shows where the pueblo is located less than a half mile from the parking area.
The most direct route is to follow the paved path for 0.15 miles. Enroute the trail passes several interesting static displays.
At the 0.15 mile point go to your left and begin following the Ruins Road.
The pueblo, which is covered by a large metal roofed canopy, is on the right after another quarter of a mile.
The various rooms of the pueblo are outlined with stones that were probably restacked to give visitors a better idea of how the structures once looked.
The Pueblo II ruins were built on top of previous pithouses.
The room block was sufficient for the habitation of 50 - 100 people. A single kiva is said to accompany the room block.
Other remnants of ruins and rock shelters can be found by exploring the cliffs below the mesa to the south of the pueblo. Exploring that area of the Preserve, where there are no established trails, requires a lot of scrambling and route finding. Most of the caves and overhangs are heavily graffitied.
There are restrooms marked on the map near the Hawkins Pueblo that take intimacy to a whole new level. They must have had tongue in cheek when they marked these restrooms on the trail map. The gaps in the slats expose anyone that is inside and as you can see there is no toilet paper or anything that would induce anyone but the most desperate to make use of them.
If you would like to see the Hawkins Pueblo for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.
