Painted Hand Pueblo Register, Cortez, CO
Posted by: 
94RedRover
N 37° 26.658 W 108° 59.757
12S E 677279 N 4146047
Part of the Canyons of the Ancients historical park in Southwest Colorado, the Painted Hand Pueblo is a remote, yet great example of ancestral puebloan life before 1100 AD.
Waymark Code: WM5M0J
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 01/20/2009
Views: 6
This site is not easy to find on a map...from 491 outside of Cortez, take County Road BB and travel 6 miles to County Road 10. Turn south and go 11.3 miles. Turn left onto a rocky, dirt road for about one mile, and park. The rest of the trail is for hiking. Follow the trail marked with hand prints to the ruins in this area.
Before visiting, go to the Anasazi Cultural Center in Dolores, they have maps and lots of information on this site.
From the parking area, you can get a great shot of the Painted Hand Tower, giving these ruins it's name. There is an informative sign about the area and an enclosed box containing brochures and a trail register.
The signature piece, the tower, stands guard from a viewpoint that allowed the residents to see far and wide, any approaching visitors. The trail becomes narrow, making us squeeze through some crags, but everywhere we turned, there were dwellings snugged in the alcoves. On the boulders, there are painted pictographs of hands. Please, do not touch the pictographs, oils from the skin will ruin these ancients markings.
The trail can get a little steep and rocky, so please be careful. This is not a maintained, manned area. The whole time we explored these ruins, we were the only souls around. When we arrived, we were greeted at the trailhead by alocal jack rabbit. He looked us over, then literally led us down the trail to the ruins. He would hop ahead, turn and check that we were still behind him, and hop further more. I began to feel like Alice approaching the rabbithole.
From the point the rabbit leaves you, follow the trail marked with the rock cairns. The trail does get step in places, and one must squeeze through some tight spots.
The trail to get to the parking area for the Painted Hand requires 4 wheels drive, it was rough in most places,a nd I could see that the rock would get slick. If you were to continue past the parking area, a high clearance 4 wheel drive is REQUIRED. It is difficult terrain, but will lead you to the Cutthroat Castle Group Ruins (part of the Hovenweep National Monument).
Trail Name: Painted Hand Pueblo
Latest Entry: 9-17-08
Nearby caches: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please sign the register and tell us about anything interesting found in the log.