Horseshoe and Hackberry Groups

Horseshoe Tower is the first structure you'll see when visiting Horseshoe and Hackberry. Enjoy the view of canyon country behind it.

NPS photo

 

Horseshoe and Hackberry are two separate Hovenweep units located within the same NPS boundary. Both units sit around a canyon head – the main drainage and west fork of Hackberry Canyon.

Horseshoe is known for its impressive views of surrounding canyon country. Time has altered the physical appearance of Hackberry, but the largest complex in the monument is still a sacred and fascinating place. A primitive trail leads along the canyon rim to both units.

 

 

Visiting Horseshoe & Hackberry

Getting There

Stop at the visitor center for updated road conditions, directions, and a map.

Horseshoe & Hackberry units are located down an unimproved BLM road off of County Rd 10, 4 miles north of Hovenweep’s visitor center and campground. High clearance vehicles are strongly recommended.

Hiking is required to see Horseshoe and Hackberry. The trail to Horseshoe is 0.64 mile (1 km) roundtrip. Hiking the entire trail to Hackberry and back is 1.44 miles (2.32 km) and usually takes 30 minutes to an hour.

Available Services

There is no restroom, campground, visitor center, trash receptacle, or water available at the Horseshoe/Hackberry site, so come prepared. All of these services are available at the visitor center.

 

Visit With Respect

Hovenweep protects significant cultural sites. These places continue to be an important part of the Pueblo peoples' culture. When you visit, be respectful, and follow the regulations that help protect this special landscape.

• Stay on defined trails at all times.
• Do not touch or enter any structure or archeological site.
• Leave everything where you found it. If you do find an artifact, leave it be and tell a ranger.

 

Horseshoe is named for Horseshoe House, a double-walled, D-shaped stone structure perched at the head of Hackberry Canyon.

NPS photo

What’s in a Name?

Horseshoe was named for the structure on the canyon rim whose D-shape reminded archeologists of a horseshoe. Hackberry was named for the profusion of hackberry trees growing around the site. Both units are located along Hackberry Canyon, which was also named for these trees.

Hackberry has changed in the past 700 years, and it might be tempting to use words like "ruin" and "rubble" to describe this place. Today's Hopi, Pueblo, and Zuni people do not think of this complex as abandoned, ruined, or confined to the past. To these descendants of the people who built Hovenweep, Hackberry is still sacred and important. They may come here to connect with their ancestors, pray, and conduct ceremony. Because Hackberry is still significant to so many people, we try to use more accurate words to describe this place.

Features & Archeology

Horseshoe/Hackberry is located within a 137-acre unit in the juniper-sage vegetation zone on Cajon Mesa. Each complex has a spring at the head of the drainage. Look for trees and other vegetation, telltale signs of water. Beginning around 450 CE, we see evidence that people lived here and used the springs as a water source. Around 1200 CE, the springs may have become important ceremony sites for the ancestral Pueblo people who built the large stone structures.

Horseshoe

Horseshoe is dominated by Horseshoe House and Horseshoe Tower. Horseshoe House is a two-story, D-shaped and double-walled building oriented so that its straight wall runs along the rim of the canyon head. The interior of Horseshoe House is divided into four rooms around a circular, kiva-like room. Still visible are the remnants of a wall extending from the building out along the edge of the canyon and a two-story round, kiva-like building under the canyon edge overhang below Horseshoe House. Horseshoe Tower is located approximately ½ mile south of Horseshoe House at the end of the point where the two forks of Hackberry Canyon meet. The tower site includes a walled-off tower and a room block on the mesa beyond the wall.

 

Hackberry has fewer standing structures that other units, but the number of stones here show the immense size of this complex.

NPS photo

Hackberry

The physical appearance of Hackberry has changed in the last 700 years, but its spiritual significance has not. This is the largest group in the monument and a sacred place for modern Native people. If you visit, you can witness the sheer size of this site and the stones of towers, rooms, terrace walls, and check dams.

Life at Horseshoe & Hackberry

Corn and other staple crops, like beans and squash, play a major role in the diet and culture of today's Pueblo people, and they were essential to the ancestral Puebloans. Intense drought in the 1100s and 1200s threatened the survival of these crops. Tribal consultants from some descendant communities suggest that Horseshoe, Hackberry, and the other complexes at Hovenweep may have been places to pray for rain and protect ths agricultural lifestyle.

Tribal consultants explain that for Pueblo, Zuni, and Hopi people, water is connection. Water can carry prayers to faraway destinations, but only for people who understand where the water is going. Tucked between mainland Mexico and Baja California, the Sea of Cortez is an important source of moisture for this region. The prevailing southwest wind means much of the water that evaporates from the Sea makes its way here, where it condenses into clouds and falls as rain. This would be an essential destination for prayer during drought. Tribal consultants suggest that through trade and travel, the ancestral Pueblo people may have learned the importance of the Sea. They may also have learned that the springs in Hovenweep's canyons flow into McElmo Creek, which feeds the Colorado River, which empties into the Sea of Cortez. This connection, and the Puebloan philosophy that water carries prayers, may be the reason we see so many structures clustered around springs at Hovenweep. To many descendants, these structures imply their ancestors possessed a remarkable understanding of the region's water flow and weather patterns.

Part of the Park

Horseshoe and Hackberry were included in the 1923 Presidential proclamation that designated Hovenweep as a national monument.

 

---

Other Places to Go

 

Hovenweep's Home Base

Square Tower Group