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Pro
You can get up close and personal with the dwellings ...
Con
... but you will need to be fairly fit to do so
In a nutshell
A strong sense of the past lingers here
toonsarah Says: After checking out the Visitor Centre you will need to return to your vehicle and drive the two miles to the main parking lot for the dwellings themselves. It is not possible to view the cliff dwellings from the road so you will need to be able to walk a short-ish distance...
toonsarah Says: What makes the Gila Cliff Dwellings special is not their size (several other places, such as Bandelier or Chaco Canyon have bigger groupings) but the fact that you can explore inside the caves and buildings, and can do so if you want to on your own. This makes it easier, I...
toonsarah Says: Before driving to the cliff dwellings themselves, do make the short detour to the Visitor Centre. There are interesting displays of Mogollon artefacts from the Gila Cliff Dwellings and surrounding area and an exhibit on the Chiricahua Apache who consider the wilderness to be...
painterdave Says: Actually climbing down is worse.HA HA. Those Indians had real faith in those leather bindings and their handiwork.
Basaic Says: There is a building containing natural histort exhibits in the parking area for the Cliff Dwellings Trail.
Views From the Cliff Dwellings
Basaic Says: The views from the cliff dwellings are very nice and are probably very similar to the view in the 1200s.
Basaic Says: The cave dwellings were built by the Mogollon People around 1276. these ruins indicate a lot of contact between the Mogollon and other peoples. Pottery used by the Mimbres People were found near the dwellings as were feathers from birds indigenous to Central America. The...
Basaic Says: The park includes part of Gila Creek. the famous Apache, Geronimo, was born near the headwaters of Gila Creek in the early 1820s.
Basaic Says: You can get close to the ruins in caves 1 and 2, and can actually enter caves 3 through 5. Here is some of what you will see when you look inside or enter the caves.
Basaic Says: The trail leading to the cliff dwellings is a 1 mile loop trail. There is a viewpoint for the dwellings at the 1/4 mile mark that is easy to get to. I saw a lady in a knee brace do it. The trail gets pretty steep and rocky after that point. If you climb up into the dwellings...
Helpfulness
One hour from the nearest gas station, then nearest town, you would not expect food that is tasty, presented well and so many choices.
If you like barbecue beef sandwiches, this is the place. They make their own sauce.
Breakfast is also served.
Favorite Dish: Great Pie!
Written Nov 4, 2006
Address: Where the road forks/Silver City or Lake Roberts
Helpfulness
The only road to the cliff dwellings is Highway 15. It is a very winding and for the most part narrow road – the stretch between Pinos Altos and the Highway 35 turning in particular, with no central stripe. If you drive the 43 miles from Silver City you will see a sign soon after leaving town, warning you that the journey time to the cliffs is about two hours. Don’t ignore this. It may be only 43 miles but at the speed you will need to drive this road (SLOW) it will take close to two hours.
This section of Highway 15 is not recommended for RVs over 25 feet or trailers over 20 feet. You need to use Highway 35 as an alternate route to avoid the most “adventurous” section of Highway 15 if you’re driving one of these, or if you’re nervous about narrow roads. But if you don’t mind giving it a go, this is really a lovely drive with lots of stunning views along the way.
If you don’t have a car then unfortunately you’re going to find the Gila Cliff Dwellings pretty difficult to get to. There is no public transport and I haven’t seen anything to suggest that there are any organised tours either. Your best bet would probably be to ask around in Silver City (perhaps where you are staying or in the friendly Buffalo Bar) to see if anyone is heading this way and would like a passenger willing to pay towards gas ;-)
My photo shows a typical view from Highway 15.
Updated Oct 23, 2011
toonsarah Says: We didn't come across any snakes here but the warning signs are there for a reason. This is rattlesanke country. So watch where you are walking and stay on the paths - certainly you should avoid walking anywhere where you can't see the ground in front of you. It's a good...
toonsarah Says: The trail to the cliff dwellings, which is the only way to view them, is described as being a mile in length, but we felt that it was probably longer than this, though it’s hard to judge when you’re stopping frequently – either to catch your breath on the steep parts, to...
A Very Remote Setting in the Gila Wilderness
Stephen-KarenConn Says: This is more of a forewarning than a danger. From Silver City, the closest town, it is 44 miles to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument via NM-15, however the travel time is approximately two hours due to a narrow road over twisting and winding mountain terrain. An...
toonsarah Says: If you take Highway 35 on your way either too or from the Gila Cliff Dwellings you might like to stop off at lovely Lake Roberts, its deep blue waters a surprising sight in this rocky landscape. The lake was created in the early 1960s by damming Sapillo Creek, but it nestles...
Stephen-KarenConn Says: Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is REALLY off the beaten path, with only one dead-end, narrow, steep, twisting mountain road leading in and out. Just a couple of miles before we got to the cliff dwellings, we crossed the Catron County Line, which was a real personal...
Helpfulness
The Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and the surrounding National Forest and Wilderness area offers almost limitless opportunities for the casual hiker or serious backpacker. There are literally hundreds of miles of trails which lead from the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert to the brink of Alpine Tundra, through 4 of earth's 6 life zones.
Two of the better known trails are the historic one-mile-long Catwalk National Recreation Trail and also a portion of the Continential Divide National Scenic Trail, which stretches along the backbone of America all the way from Canada to Mexico.
For a map and descriptions of the trails contact the Gila National Forest through the web link below.
Updated Jan 2, 2005
Phone: 505-388-8489
Website: www.fs.fed.us/r3/gila
painterdave Says: These cliff dwellings are a miniature version of Mesa Verde National Monument. What makes them unique is that there are far few visitors due to where these cliff dwellings are located.Surrounding the cliff dwellings is the Gila Wilderness. Don't get lost in this place--they...
Stephen-KarenConn Says: The Gila River rises in the pinyon and spruce forests of the Elk Mountains near the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The river, draining 58,000 square miles (150,000 sq km) flows 630 miles (1,014 km) west and southwest over desert land to the Colorado River at Yuma,...
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
My Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Page has:
19 reviews
21 photos
What makes the Gila Cliff Dwellings special is the fact that you can explore inside the caves and buildings. This makes it easier, I think, to conjure up images of the people who once lived here......
Basaic Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Page
The trail leading to the cliff dwellings is a 1 mile loop trail. There is a viewpoint for the dwellings at the 1/4 mile mark that is easy to get to. I saw a lady in a knee brace do it. The trail gets...
Gila "IS" A Real Wilderness Setting
The man who discovered and wrote about these dwellings was Adolph Bandelier in 1884. There is another native American dwelling place near Los Alamos which is named after Bandelier. This area has been...
Worth a visit, if you do not mind to take 1.5 hrs to drive 38 twisting miles from Silver City...even without traffic ahead of you!
Build your own Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument page
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