Off-road & Hike to Cajon Group, Hovenweep National Monument, Utah

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The parking area / trailhead for Cajon is located down a dirt road that is 9.2 miles from the park visitor center. High clearance is strongly recommended. Stop by the visitor center for directions and road conditions. Most of the journey is paved, 2.9 miles are maintained dirt road, and the last ¼ mile stretch is unmaintained two-track. Some walking is required to see Cajon. Visitors park at the trailhead and take the short, unpaved trail around the area. The trail is 0.2 miles roundtrip. Cajon is the least-visited area of Hovenweep and typically quiet. The trail from the parking area is primitive but flat, mostly crossing slickrock. The trail curves around the head of the canyon and around the structures clustered there, dead-ending just past the last structure. Looking out past Cajon, the canyon opens up into a large valley below, with sweeping views of canyon country. On a clear day, you can see Sleeping Ute Mountain in Colorado, Shiprock in New Mexico, the Carrizo Mountains and Monument Valley in Arizona, and Bears Ears and the Abajo Mountains in Utah. Return to your vehicle on the same trail. Cajon Group is part of Hovenweep National Monument in Utah. The group consists of a small village constructed in the same configuration as Hackberry, Horseshoe and Holly. The surviving structures are situated at the head of a small Allen Canyon, and evidence indicates that 80 to 100 people may have lived here. Under a ledge in the canyon below are several small structures that may have been built to protect and store water from the spring. On the western slope of the canyon stand the remains of a remarkable circular tower (shown in photo above) that conforms perfectly to the shape of three large, irregular boulders. This round structure on a completely uneven surface demonstrates the skill and determination of the ancestral Puebloans that lived at Hovenweep. There are up to seven kiva depressions around the spring. Remnants of wall alignments below the rim on the talus represent possible terrace farming. There is no rest room, campground, visitor center, trash receptacle, or water available at the Cajon site, so please come prepared. All of these services are available at the Hovenweep Visitor Center.

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