Colorado National Parks
Chimney Rock National Monument
Experience Colorado's Chimney Rock National Monument
Welcome to Southwest Colorado where the remains of sophisticated pre-contact Puebloan communities are scattered throughout the region. Chimney Rock is such a place, it connects architecture, ceremony, astronomy, human ingenuity, and community; long before Colorado had mountain highways, mining camps, ski resorts, or modern towns.
Ancestral Puebloans built a high-mesa ceremonial complex above the Piedra River Valley. More than 1,000 years ago, people constructed homes, ceremonial buildings, a Great Kiva, and a distinctive Chacoan-style Great House Pueblo beneath the towering spires of Chimney Rock and Companion Rock.
Like the world's great ancient places, Chimney Rock invites visitors to look beyond the ruins and imagine the people who built them: a community that gathered for ceremony, maintained far-reaching connections across the four corners region, and watched the movements of the sun and moon from this remarkable mountaintop setting. The monument is one of the largest Pueblo II-period communities (dating from around 900 to 1150 AD) in southwestern Colorado and a northern outlier of the Chacoan world.
The story of Chimney Rock did not end when its ancient buildings fell quiet. This high mesa remains a place of deep spiritual significance for modern Pueblo and tribal communities. Here, descendants of Ancestral Puebloans and tribal members maintain traditional and spiritual connections to the land, honoring their ancestors and gathering native plants used for food and medicine. The towering spires, ancient structures, open sky, and sweeping Piedra River Valley are not simply remnants of the past; together, they remain part of a living cultural landscape. As you walk in the footsteps of the Ancestral Puebloans, take time to enjoy panoramic views and appreciate the enduring connections that make Chimney Rock much more than an archaeological site.
Chimney Rock offers two ways to experience the archaeological sites: explore independently at your own pace, or join a tour led by trained guides. At the Visitor Cabin/Gift Shop purchase a park pass and volunteers help you selecting guided or self-guided experience. You'll then drive your vehicle up a steep, winding gravel road to the upper-mesa parking area, where the interpretive trails begin. NOTE: Guided tours and special programs have separate ticket costs.
Chimney Rock's guided tours introduce visitors to the archaeological discoveries, ancient structures, and the sky knowledge of this remarkable high-mesa community. Additional programs include: full moon experiences, night-sky programs, sunrise, summer-solstice, and autumnal-equinox tours, “A Day in the Life of the Ancient Ones” family program, “Chimney Rock Through the Ages,” a 2-1/2-hour natural and cultural history tour, and birding and music-at-twilight programs.
A self-guided visit lets you explore Chimney Rock at your own pace. Drive the internal road to the upper-mesa parking area, then choose one or both interpretive trails. The Mesa Village Trail takes about 30 minutes round trip and leads past the Great Kiva, pit house, excavated structures, and overlooks of the Piedra River Valley. Allow about one hour round trip for the Great House Pueblo Trail, which leads toward the Great House Pueblo and the towering spires of Chimney Rock and Companion Rock, with sweeping views from the upper mesa. Pick up an interpretive brochure at the Visitor Cabin, or download the San Juan National Forest app before arriving; your Visitor Cabin purchase provides the access code for the phone-based tour.
HOT TIP: Dogs are not allowed on the monument's interpretive trails, except for certified service animals. Do not leave pets in a vehicle, as there is little shade. Free shaded outdoor kennels, locks, and water bowls are available at the Visitor Cabin.
Ancient skies still shine over Chimney Rock's high mesa, offering a remarkable view of the heavens. More than 1,000 years ago, Ancestral Puebloan people carefully watched the moon's slow journey along the horizon and recognized its long, repeating cycle. Every 18½ years, the moon reaches the farthest north point of that journey. For about three years, it rises near the same place before slowly beginning its journey south again.
At Chimney Rock, this rare Major Lunar Standstill creates occasional nights when the rising moon appears between the towering spires of Chimney Rock and Companion Rock, as viewed from the Great House Pueblo. The placement of the Great House at this viewing point, along with construction phases that coincide with lunar-standstill years in AD 1076 and 1093, suggests the importance of this sky knowledge to the Ancestral Puebloan community. The most recent Major Lunar Standstill season ended in 2025; the next viewing opportunity is in 2044, mark your calendar. (I'll be 77.)
Today, visitors can still look into the same clear night sky that inspired this ancient community. In December 2025, DarkSky International named Chimney Rock National Monument an International Dark Sky Park, Colorado's 19th certified dark-sky destination. Its remote setting, far from city lights, helps protect the stars, moon, and Milky Way for visitors to enjoy during seasonal night-sky programs and special astronomy events.
Explore the Larger Ancestral Cultural Landscape
This site is one chapter in a much larger story that unfolds across Southwest Colorado and the Four Corners region. For generations, Ancestral Puebloan people built homes, villages, ceremonial spaces, towers, cliff dwellings, great houses, and roadways across a landscape that includes Chimney Rock National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Hovenweep National Monument, Aztec Ruins National Monument, and Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
Together, these remarkable places reveal a world of ingenuity, trade, ceremony, architecture, sky-watching, and community, one whose cultural connections continue to hold deep meaning for Indigenous peoples and Tribal Nations today.
Fun Things To Do - Chimney Rock National Monument
Guided Great House Tour: CRIA offers a guided tour everyday that the monument is open. Check-in at the plaza kiosk is at 10am with the tour beginning in the upper parking lot at 10:30am.
Mesa Village Trail: A paved, wheelchair and stroller-friendly route of about 0.33 mile. It includes the reconstructed Great Kiva, an excavated pit house, other structures, and overlooks the Piedra River Valley. A shorted paved loop with the Great Kiva, pit house, and Piedra River Valley overlooks. Pick up the printed guide for its numbered stops.
Great House Pueblo Trail: A more challenging and available as either a self-guided or guided walking tour. It's an unimproved uphill trail with uneven footing to the Chacoan-style Great House Pueblo. The trail climbs about 0.33 mile, gains roughly 200 feet, and reaches about 7,600 feet in elevation. It includes exposure to heights and some sections beside steep drop-offs.
Overlook Trail: A 0.50 mile+, kid-friendly nature trail that meanders through the meadow near the Visitor Cabin with views toward the amphitheater.
Picnic on the Valley Floor: The designated picnic area south of the Visitor Cabin offers tables, shade, restrooms, and trash cans, is a peaceful place for a packed lunch before or after exploring the mesa.
An Afternoon Picnic: After the archaeological walks and high-mesa experience at Chimney Rock, Navajo State Park offers a change of pace: shade, water views, picnic tables, restrooms, fishing, and room for your family be playful. Navajo Lake is the park's centerpiece, and the park supports boating, fishing, sailing with Boat and paddleboard rentals and Two Rivers Marina Store.
Know Before You Go - Chimney Rock National Monument
Chimney Rock National Monument is open seasonally, from May 15 through September 30, daily from 9am to 4:30pm. Access to the upper-mesa road closes at 3:15pm, and all guests must exit the monument by 4:30pm. Please, allow enough time for the internal road and hiking before upper-mesa access closes.
Purchase a Chimney Rock National Monument Day Use Pass before or upon arrival. To purchase online in advance, visit Recreation.gov. A Chimney Rock activity pass gives visitors five days of access, making it easy to return for a guided tour, a self-guided walk, or a special evening program during the same stay.
A few helpful thoughts. . . Begin at the Visitor Center Cabin, where staff and volunteers can help you choose a tour and explore a pit-house model and artifact display. You will find books, gifts, souvenirs, picnic tables, restrooms, and parking nearby. BRING WATER: There is no running water. Wear sturdy shoes, bring sun protection, and keep an eye on changing weather.
Help Protect this Ancient Place: Practice “Leave No Trace,” do not walk on walls, move rocks, touch or remove artifacts, or climb Chimney Rock or Companion Rock. These sites are fragile, nonrenewable resources and remain spiritually significant to Native Americans.
Helpful Downloads - Chimney Rock National Monument
Chimney Rock National Monument Visitor Guide
(Map provided by the U.S. National Park Service)
Location and Driving Directions - Chimney Rock National Monument
Chimney Rock National Monument is between Durango and Pagosa Springs, Colorado and just few miles south of US Highway 160. It is a scenic day trip from Bayfield, Ignacio, Vallecito Lake, Hesperus, Lemon, Arboles, and Navajo Dam, New Mexico.
DRIVE TIMES: 30 minutes from Pagosa Springs; 50 minutes from Bayfield; 65 minutes from Ignacio; 70 minutes from; Arboles and Durango; and 90 minutes from Hesperus, Lemon and Vallecito Lake and Navajo Dam, New Mexico.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS: Chimney Rock National Monument is in southwest Colorado, 48 miles east of Durango and 27 miles west of Pagosa Springs.
From Durango, take US Highway 160 east. From Pagosa Springs, take US Highway 160 west. Turn south onto Colorado Highway 151 and continue about 3 miles; the entrance will be on the right.
Visitor Center, Entrance Address: 30841 State Highway 151, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147.
More Local Information
Durango, Colorado includes: Bayfield, Hesperus, Ignacio, Lemon, Vallecito Lake
Navajo Lake, Colorado includes: Arboles, Navajo Dam
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