Round Trip Distance: 1.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 6389 - 6506 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 1 hr. 30 mins.
Trailhead: 36.47178, -107.52862
Fee: none
Attractions: pueblito
The Largo School Ruin is located in the Dinetah area east of Bloomfield, New Mexico. Found at the site is 'a small pueblito of two or three rooms which overlooks Largo Wash (BLM kiosk).
For turn-by-turn directions to the trailhead enter 36.47178, -107.52862 into your driving app or simply continue past the Hooded Fireplace Ruin for another half mile. The trail begins as a single track that travels along the side of the road.
As it crosses the sage covered bench toward Largo Wash it follows a deeply rutted old 4WD track.
Once you reach the edge of the canyon you will want to hike to the left along the rim until you come to the pueblito. There are a few faint, hard to follow, trails back from the rim in the trees but at present there isn't an official well defined trail.
The pueblito sits on a promontory overlooking Largo Wash.
Like most of the other similar sites in the area this one has an information kiosk with a map of the ruins and some interesting information.
Looking at the main room from the inside shows a partial roof and a surprising amount of interior space.
This may have been another room or a parapeted work area. It certainly has a commanding view of Largo Wash and the mouth of Ice Canyon.
We noticed a mano on one of the rocks. It would have been used for grinding corn, seeds, and such. Be sure to leave all artifacts where you find them for others to enjoy while remembering that it is illegal to remove artifacts from archeological sites. And since anywhere that an artifact is found makes that an archeological site you mustn't collect anything from anywhere on public property.
Below the ruin in Largo Canyon can be seen the old Largo School which at one time served the families of local ranchers. I believe that today it might be called the Mustang Camp. Among their livestock we noticed a few burros, horses, and a zebra.
The Largo School Ruin is small but it is interesting to see how it was adapted to its location on the promontory and imagine how life would have been carried on from day to day at the site.
If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.
