Painted Hand Pueblo, Cortez, Colorado
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: WM3F0G
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 03/26/2008
Views: 33
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.
From the parking area, you can get a great shot of the Painted Hand Tower, giving these ruins it's name. 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 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.
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.
Visit Instructions:
Please provide a photo of you and/or your GPS at the site.