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The head waters of the Dolores River are in the Lizard Head Pass area along Highway 145, south of Telluride in southwest Colorado. There are many trails in the area including a main trail head a little south of the Pass. Groundhog Stock Trail The Groundhog Stock Trail starts at the Cross Mountain Trail Head, about two miles south of the Lizard Head Pass in the San Juan National Forest in southwest Colorado. After about ten minutes on the Cross Mountain Trail, the Groundhog Stock Trail branches off to the left and travels to the southwest along the edge of the Lizard head Wilderness Area. This area has three of the Colorado 14ers, plus the unique Lizard Head formation. The first mile of the trail passes through thick spruce and fir forest. There were some mud ... read more

Spruce Tree House at Mesa Verde is the third largest cliff dweller ruin and is a favorite as it is located near a variety of visitor services including the Chapin Mesa Museum, gift shop, and food service. There is a paved trail leading down into Spruce Tree Canyon. This trail also is the starting point for two hiking trails, the Petroglyph Point Trail and the Spruce Canyon Trail. Many of the common plants growing in the canyon are also identified along the paved trail, making this a Botany Trail also. Some of the key plants in this area are: The Pinon Pine is one of the most common trees growing in the southwest. Every three to seven years it produces a crop of tasty nutritious nuts. These nuts are popular even today. The logs of the ... read more

The Windows Loop and Windows Primitive Trail is a short loop that goes around the Windows formations in Arches National Park in southeast Utah. The Windows Section is a popular stop and is a place with wide views a number of large arches in compact area. Going counter clockwise, the first part of the trail goes behind the South Window. The Primitive Trail is not lined with easy steps like the main Windows Trail. Continuing around there are views of "The Spectacles" from behind. This view is lacking the large nose like formation that you see well from Turret Arch. There are more than 2000 arches inside the park, a surprising number at first, but they are counting a lot of small ones. Keeping an eye out there appears to be a small one high above ... read more

Short Trails at Chaco Canyon Historical Park Una Vida Trail The Una Vida Trail is a one mile loop to a 100 room, 5 kiva ruin site at the east end of the remote Chaco Canyon Historical Park in northwest New Mexico. The trail head is in the parking lot of the Visitor Center, the first hiking opportunity when arriving. This site is in a natural state of preservation, having experienced little excavation or vandalism. Una Vida is thought to be located along an eight mile straight line that includes the Great Houses of Pueblo Bonito in the center and Penasco Blanco on the west end of Chaco Canyon. The structures are on a slight hill on the north side of the canyon. Roads connected the sites and perhaps there was line of sight communication. The ... read more

The Chimney Rock Archaeology Area is an unusual Chaco Canyon influenced site located between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs in southwest Colorado. An unusual rock formation that is thought to have been helpful in astronomical observations may have played an important role in the history of this site. There are two short trails on the tour of the Chimney Rock area. Visitors sign in at the small visitor center and caravan up a gravel road for two miles to the trail head area. The lower barrier free looped Great Kiva Trail is 0.33 miles visits several lower village sites that are associated with Pueblo People whose building style doesn't show influence from the Chaco Canyon area. The upper more primitive Pueblo Trail climbs steeply to a site that shows definite Chaco influence and approaches the mysterious Chimney ... read more