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Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, and Rocky Mountain tend to top the list of national parks and monuments in Colorado, but with that fame comes crowds, lines, and stress.
Not so Yucca House.
Never heard of it? Yucca House National Monument is a small, little-known national monument barely an hour from Durango. Curious? Read on to learn more.
Yucca House was designated as a national monument in 1919 but has remained relatively untouched. There is no visitor center, campground, store, or interpretive trail. In fact, there’s barely even a sign for it, and to see it you park in someone’s yard.
The park is located south of Cortez off U.S. 491. Use GPS to find your way–signage leading you to the park is nearly nonexistent.
The site was surveyed in the 1870s and first excavated in 1910. When designated, the park measured just 9.5 acres. It was expanded to 33 acres in 1996 after a land donation. It’s managed by officials from Mesa Verde and does not have a separate administration. The park sees less than 1,000 visitors a year, which makes it less visited than some of the most remote parks in Alaska.
There are plans to further expand the park following a land donation. There has also been some access controversy due to an existing easement that has not been honored.
Yucca House is an ancestral Puebloan village site that was occupied from roughly 1100 to 1300 by a large number of people. One excavation report said that the pueblo had 600 rooms, 100 kivas, and several towers. The village has two settlement areas–the Western Complex, which is built around a spring, and the Lower House.
The site is just one of dozens that dot the McElmo Creek drainage, including many sites that are privately owned.
Today, visitors park adjacent to a farm house and pass through a marked gate. A short walk leads to the West Complex, which includes an impressive remnant building about 20 feet high. Below is Lower House, an L-shaped pueblo with a plaza and great kiva.
In contrast to many of the more famous sites in the Four Corners, which were built in a way that suggests there was a strong emphasis placed on defense, Yucca House is a valley house. Today, it’s surrounded by productive ag lands–which was likely the scene when the site was fully occupied.
Unofficial paths lead around the two sites and along some of the standing walls. Yucca House has never been excavated, so the site looks the same today as it has for centuries. A large amount of sherds may easily be seen while walking–take care not to step on any pottery and do not take any from the site.
Other Puebloan sites can be found near Yucca. The most intriguing are in the Ute Mountain Tribal Park, which requires a special guide. Other sites can be found in nearby Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.
Yucca House is one of the many incredible but unknown public lands near Durango.
AtDurango Outdoor Exchange, the used gear store in Durango, we celebrate public lands and access to them. Stop by the store to learn more and gear up for your next adventure.
If you do anyovernight backpacking, or even long distance hiking, there’s a good chance that at some point you may need to go Number Two.
Because of heavy land use and impacts to natural resources (not to mention water sources), this is not always as simple as doing your business and covering it with a rock or a handful of pine needles.
In fact, depending on where you go, you may be required to carry an approved pooping system even if you swear on your loaded lower intestine that you will hold it in no matter what.
Here’s a quick run down on backcountry toilet systems.
The time’s come. You’ve got your lightweight backpack, a comfy sleeping bag (of quilt), a sleeping pad that doesn’t (yet) leak air, a cool tent, a nifty little stove, and a hankering to get out and use it all. Let’s go!
Public lands need your help now. Durango Outdoor Exchange has compiled this handy list of regional organizations that you can support while federal budgets are slashed and land stewards are laid off.