NOVEMBER 2021
 |
| SADDLEHORN PUEBLO |
 |
| CORNCOB HOUSE |
 |
| DOUBLE CLIFF HOUSE |
 |
| SUNNY ALCOVE |
 |
| TUCKED AWAY TWO STORY HOUSE |
 |
| HOUSE WITH STANDING CURVED WALL |
 |
| EAST ROCK CREEK ARCH |
 |
| EAST ROCK CREEK ARCH |
 |
| EAST ROCK CREEK ARCH |
Sand Canyon is a pleasant hike located in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, just outside of Cortez, Colorado that passes by several well-preserved ruins. I began my hike from the southeast trailhead, and went up the Sand Canyon Trail about four miles and turned around. The trail actually goes for six miles, terminating at the Sand Canyon Pueblo. But as there are no ruins for the last two miles, and I didn't have a strong desire to visit the Sand Canyon Pueblo, which has its own trailhead you can drive to from the north, I decided to instead save my energy for a detour into East Rock Creek Canyon.
The ruins along the trail are all really nice, and well-marked so you will have no trouble finding them. With this being a National Monument, you are not allowed to go up to the ruins, but will be able to get close enough for some good photos. On the way back down the trail, I toot a connector trail to East Rock Creek Canyon, and turned right at the junction. About a half-mile or so past the junction, you will see the impressive East Rock Creek Arch to your right. I decided to continue on the East Rock Creek loop trail, and will admit I was a bit let down. While the canyon is pleasant, I didn't see anything of note from East Rock Creek Arch to the trailhead. There may be other ruins on this stretch, but I wasn't able to see any, and didn't come with any detailed information on the canyon.
I hiked this in November over the Veterans Day holiday, and only saw about 10 other people. However, judging by the size of the parking area, it looks like this area can see a lot of visitors. Most of the trails here are open to mountain biking, which probably makes it even more popular than it would be otherwise.
