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Plan a Road Trip > Explore America > National Parks > Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument |
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HC 68, Box 100, Silver City, NM 88061
Phone: 505-536-9344 or 505-536-9461
Fax: 505-536-9461
Open All Year
Overview. As early as 4000 B.C., the Mogollon people, possible ancestors of some modern Pueblo Indians, settled near the Gila River. The communities thrived for centuries, eventually expanding from pit houses into pueblos and, by the 1270s, one such pueblo village was built in lofty caves. By 1300, though, this site was abandoned. What happened? Archaeologists still don't know.
What to see and do. Your first stop should be the visitor center in Silver City, with its museum of pottery, baskets, tools and other artifacts found in the area. Pick up one of their detailed pamphlets, and begin your winding, 44-mile journey on State Highway 15, along mountainsides and through canyons to the cliff dwellings themselves. Allow a couple of hours for the drive. Once there, park at the trailhead and take the one-mile, self-guided trail up and into the cliff dwellings. You will be awed by the variety of habitations at the Cliff Dwellings, and also by the pictographs and small cave dwelling at the nearby Trail to the Past.
The visitor center and ranger station, one and a half miles from the Cliff Dwellings, is open from 8 AM to 5 PM in summer, and from 8 AM to 4:30 PM in winter. They have a bookstore, and you can go in there to see a 15 minute interpretive video. The trail to the Cliff Dwellings is open from 8 AM to 6 PM in summer and 9 AM to 4 PM in winter. In bad weather call ahead to make sure the road is open to the monument. The fees for the Cliff Dwellings are $3 per person 12 years and up, $10 per family; the first day of the month is free. The monument is closed on Christmas and New Year's Day. Facilities for picnicking, camping, hiking, and fishing are available nearby in the Gila National Forest. Pets are not permitted in the monument, but free kennels are supplied for your pets while you're visiting. Call for more information about the kennels and the monument's handicapped accessibility.
Note: NM 15 between Silver City and the junction with NM 35 is steep, narrow, and winding. Trailers longer than 20 feet should be brought by an alternate route, such as Hwy 35 through Mimbres.
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Please call ahead to confirm details. We do our best to give you current information, but facts can change. Please let us know if you find something's changed.
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