FEBRUARY 2018
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| PAINTED HAND RUIN |
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| CUTTHROAT CASTLE |
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| PAINTED HAND RUIN |
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| CUTTHROAT RUIN |
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| INSIDE CUTTHROAT CASTLE |
While the traiheads for the Painted Hand Ruins and Cutthroat Castle Ruins are only about a half-mile apart from each other, they are technically located in different national monuments. The Painted Hand Ruins are located in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, while the Cutthroat Castle Ruins are part of Hovenweep. To access them, you will travel east on highway 10 approximately eight-and-a-half miles past the main entrance to Hovenweep until you see a dirt road coming off to your right. There's a large parking area located at the beginning of the road that I parked at and walked the mile down the road to the Painted Hand Trailhead. A review I read on-line said this road was rough and to park here if you have a low-clearance vehicle. However, this road was not bad at all. Pretty much any vehicle should be able to get to Painted Hand just fine.
From the Painted Hand Trailhead, it is only a .7-mile round-trip hike to the ruins. There is a loop trail at the end that will take you by a couple cool ruins. One of the dwellings has a faint hand print on the wall, which is apparently how it got its name. Once back at the trailhead, it is only about a half-mile down the road to the main Cutthroat Castle Ruins Trailhead. This stretch of road is a bit rough. So you will probably want to leave your vehicle at the Painted Hand Trailhead if you don't have a high-clearance vehicle. If you have a really rugged vehicle, you can actually drive down the road another half-mile or so to another trailhead that will get you even closer to the ruins. However, from the upper trailhead, it is still only a 1.4-mile round-trip hike to the Cutthroat Castle Ruins. This is an impressive group of ruins made up of several structures. After visiting all of the ruins, it was a peaceful evening stroll back down the road to my vehicle.
