Aztec National Monument

The visitor center has an information desk, exhibits and video programs. Rangers occasionally give talks during the summer months describing the life and history of the Anasazi. There is also a Junior Ranger program for children.

Allow at least one hour to visit the visitor center museum and walk the self guided trail. The interpretive trail is about 1/4 mile long and winds through the West Ruin, a pueblo of 450 interconnected rooms built of stone and mud.

Quick Tips:

In winter, days are relativaly mild with occasional snow but evening temperatures can drop to below zero. Summer temperatures range from the upper 80's to the low 90's but are prone to thundershowers. Wear comfortable walking shoes and clothes to suit the weather.

The best time to avoid crowds and enjoy the scenery in the area is spring or fall. There are no services at the Monument so plan lunch or hotel elsewhere.

Best Way To Get Around:

To get to the Monument, travel about 1 mile north of US Hwy 550 on Ruins Road (County Road 2900) on the north edge of the city of Aztec. There are walking trails within the park.

This newly constructed inn is comfortable and clean. There are ceiling fans in the rooms and the hotel offers room service, a gift shop, 24 hour shuttle service, poolside restaurant and lounge, and guest laundry. Across the street you can stroll or run the River Walk Trail along the Animas River.

Aztec National Monument was named because it was thought that the inhabitants had been related to the Aztec. This could not have been true as the rise and fall of Aztec culture occurred centuries before the Central American peoples.

The earliest known reference to the ruins appeared on a map of the Domingue-Escalante expedition of 1776-77. A local archeologist named Earl Morris excavated and worked on the ruins for 7 years. He dug out the main portion of the Western Ruins and returned later to restore and replicate the roof of the Great Kiva (underground ceremonial chamber). The American Museum of Natural History purchased and donated the site to the federal government. Aztec National Monument was established by Warren Harding and Morris became its first custodian. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1987.

The Monument preserves the ruins of a great Native American Pueblo community in the valley of the Animas River. The main ruin, built about 1100 around a central plaza, has been largely excavated and stabilized. Constructed of masonry and timber, the pueblo was three stories high and contained some 500 rooms and 36 kivas. The Pueblo Anasazi was an agricultural community, irrigating its land from the river. It is believed that people from Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde had relationships to this site along with being implemental in its building.