Chimney Rock National Monument
A thousand years ago this was home to the ancestral Puebloans. They built extraordinary structures and watched the sky. They traded with other villages up to 150 miles away, and they worked, played, and raised their children here. While much is known about their lives, much more remains a mystery.
The Chimney Rock National Monument encompasses 4,726 acres of the San Juan National Forest between Durango and Pagosa Springs, Colorado. At Chimney Rock you can imagine the landscape as it was a thousand years ago, with cultivated fields and settlements extending from the valley floors to the mesa tops. Chimney Rock represents one of the largest Pueblo II (900-1150 AD) communities in southwestern Colorado and is considered a Chacoan cultural “outlier.” The Chaco phenomenon was a complex system of dispersed communities bound by economic, political and religious interdependence centered in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.
The area continues to hold special significance for today’s Native American peoples. More than 150 documented archaeological resources grouped into eight clusters at Chimney Rock date back to the Pueblo II period. Architectural structures include pit houses, great kivas, and great houses.
The pinnacles that give Chimney Rock its name frame multiple astronomical alignments. The Ancestral Puebloans incorporated their knowledge of astronomy into the design of their community. Today Chimney Rock is one of the best recognized archaeo-astronomical resources in North America, with alignments with the northern lunar standstill, summer solstice, equinoxes and Crab Nebula.
Operating Hours and Seasons May 15th through October 15th from 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Road access to the upper mesa is closed at 3:15, daily, in order to ensure the public is off the mesa by the site closure at 4:30. Please arrive no later than 3:15pm. This is the minimum amount of time needed to visit the main site and visitor center.
Chimney Rock National Monument is day use only and is available on a first-come, first served basis. Due to parking limitations at the upper parking lot, customers may occasionally need to wait at the visitor center.
Interpretive Programming Chimney Rock Interpretive Association (CRIA) promotes public education, interpretation, and stewardship of culture and history through guided tours and special events of the Chimney Rock National historic site.
Guided Great House Tour: CRIA offers a guided tour on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday each week that the monument is open. Check-in at the plaza kiosk is at 10:00 a.m. with the tour beginning in the upper parking lot at 10:30 a.m.. Reservations can be made through Recreation.gov or its call center (877-444-6777). Walk-ins are welcome if room allows, and tickets can be purchased at the Gift Shop. Tickets are $12 for ages 13 and up, $6 for ages 5-12, under 5 free. Bring water, hat, sunscreen, bug repellant, and good walking shoes for the rough Great House trail.
Activity Pass All vehicles and motorcycles will be subject to a activity pass fee - $20.00 / $10.00 (respectively). The activity pass fee provides 5 days of access to the Chimney Rock National Monument.
To purchase your required activity pass you can:
- Purchase your activity pass in advance at Recreation.gov
- Download the Recreation.gov Mobile APP
- Purchase your pass in advance through the app OR
- Make your payment easier! Arrive on site and use the app to provide payment (Android or iOS) by scanning on site QR code.
- Arrive on site and pay cash
- Interagency, Access, Senior, Military, and 4th grader park passes are accepted for National Monument access.