Homolovi Ruins State Park

Our next stop was Homolovi Ruins State Park. This area was the home of the Anasazi people in the 14th century and the Hopi Indians still consider Homolovi as part of their homeland. It was a very nice park.....only complaint was the horrible roads that had cuts across them which were very jarring.

It's a desert campground but the campsites were very nice and well spaced with quite a few pull-throughs or maybe pull-offs would be a better description. The back-in sites were double wide so easy in and out too. The bathrooms were very nice. It was interesting when we arrived and went to the Visitor's Center to register. The main stairway down to the front side was roped off and closed due to rattlesnakes. We had to walk around a pathway. The ranger told us that rattlesnakes were actually more of a problem at the Visitor's Center than they ever were at the campground area. The park has an elevation of 4900 feet and is 4000 acres total. "Homolovi" is Hopi for "Place of the Little Hills".

One of the main reasons for establishing the park was to preserve the ruins. It serves as a center of research for the late migration period of the Hopi from the 1200s to the late 1300s. There are two areas of ruins but II is the best one to visit because you can see more.

The scenery on the road to the Ruins II site was very interesting.

There are three hiking trails: Nusungvo (Place of Rest), Tsu'vo (Path of the Rattlesnake), and Dine. In addition, there are two ruin sites open to the public: Homolovi I and Homolovi II. Homolovi II has a lot more to see and easy access even for wheelchairs on a 1/2 mile paved trail and is the largest of the Park's archaeological site.

What you will see are remains of rooms.

There are large holes in the area which are the result of illegal digging by treasure hunters and vandals.

This is a description of a kiva....a ceremonial structure used for religious purposes.

Use your imagination to see the kiva as it once existed based on the remains below.

Throughout the ruins on many flat stones, you will see pieces of pottery. I don't know if they were gathered by rangers for us to view or by other visitors. If you visit, please follow the roles carefully and do not take anything away from the site.

You can see parts of designs on many of the pieces. I have seen similar designs in museums.

You can touch the pieces....just remember to take nothing but photographs and memories when you visit.