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Activities

Archaeologist-Guided Hiking
Explore Ancestral Puebloan ruins,
both restored and unexcavated, in the new Canyons of the Ancients National
Monument.
Learn to recognize
ruin sites and artifacts while hiking through scenic beauty, accompanied by
a professional archaeologist.
Experience the personal touch
--with answers to your questions about what has been and what can be learned
by studying Puebloan ruins.
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What is a kiva?
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Who were the Anasazi and where did
they go?
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How do archaeologists know where
to dig?
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What are the great mysteries of
the prehistoric civilizations?
Our staff archaeologists can
accommodate groups or individuals having most all levels of ability. The
archaeologist will provide a detailed narration about the terrain and ruin
sites along the trail.
Pricing
Half-day,
$125/up to 4 persons.
(about 4 hours, 4 to 5 miles
hiking)
Full -day,
$195/up to 4 persons.
(about 8 hours, 5 to 8 miles, with
a packed lunch)
Each
additional person:
Add $15 for half-day or $30 for a
full day, including the packed lunch.
Notes
We recommend hiking shoes or
sneakers for these trips. A large water bottle and a snack for the
half day trips is appropriate. We have small back packs and "fanny
packs" available if you do not have hiking gear. You should have sun
screen and plenty of water and perhaps additional snacks as needed for the
full day hike. A packed lunch is provided but must be carried. A
liability waiver must be signed and returned to the Kelly Place staff
before a hike can begin.

Typical hiking itinerary
Beginning on Kelly Place
property, you may hike to some of the ruins we have on-site. This may
take 60 to 90 minutes. You can visit a fully restored kiva and its
associated 13-room pueblo. You may visit a second kiva which is
structurally restored but not fully surfaced.
You may continue along the old
McElmo roadbed near a cliff face and see ruins left by early
European/American settlers and some structures built by George Kelly.
You will also pass below an Anasazi cliff-style grain storage site.
You will enter the Canyons of the
Ancients Monument via a small red-rock canyon at the Kelly Place northern
boundary. Canyons of the Ancients was designated a National Monument
by President Clinton in 1999. It encompasses 164,000 acres and has the
highest known density of Ancestral Puebloan ruin sites. To date, we
are the only guiding agency permitted to conduct hiking tours into the
Monument.
The trail leads gently upward
along a ridge between two canyons until you reach an upper cliff face--the
White Rim. Several cliff-dwellings built into the White Rim can be
visited on your tour. Kelly Place has partnered with the BLM and
volunteer groups to stabilize some of these ruins, so that
the sites will be maintained in their present condition for future
generations to enjoy.
If you are taking the full day
hike, your guide will find a shady place near the ruins to have lunch.
Half day hikes will return via the same trail to the lodge.
The afternoon session is
comprised of either continuing up the canyon and seeing other ruin sites or
returning to Kelly Place and heading to Sand Canyon and hiking to
ruins there. The lower Sand Canyon trailhead is a short drive from
Kelly Place (about 2 miles).
Full day hikes may optionally
proceed on a longer loop trail which heads west from the lunch location and
covers several canyons and more ruins to the west.
Make Your
Reservation Today
Advance notice is required for the guided hikes. Hiking in the Monument is
not recommended for physically impaired persons. Some climbing over
broken rocks and narrow trails should be expected. You will typically
travel from 5,500 feet above sea level to 6,900 feet in two miles.


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