The parking area at Honanki is rather small and made smaller since a few spots are reserved for Pink Jeep Tour vehicles. Pink Jeep sort of runs the show there as they are the concessionaire for the site. The very pleasant lady on duty indicated that if we got our group together quickly that she could get us on the trail before the next paid tour came through. I guess they try to space out the visitors to alleviate the congestion and perhaps the stress on the site. So we herded the cats once again, got the general overview and safely briefing and then all meandered down the trail to the ruin site. This is just a short little loop trail, less than a mile in length. There is a decent view of the overall site just a short distance from the entrance station and then the trail dips down into a wooded area and turns toward the ruins. There is a short climb up some rock stairs to get to the site, but this is not a strenuous trail at all. The herd was scattered all along the trail, so there was not much of a crowd at the ruins. I think that some of the group when clockwise and some counterclockwise around the loop which further reduced the number of folks at the ruin at one time. There was a small Pink Jeep group there when I arrived at the site, so I was able to listen in on the guides spiel about the place. Honanki and the related Palatki sites were the largest cliff dwellings in the area between about 1150 and 1350. The structures here at Honanki were two stories tall and had as many as 70 rooms. They were built by the Sinagua, same culture that was around Montezuma Well. There were probably around 200 people living at Honanki at any one time. The Sinagua were ancestors of the Hopi. Honanki means Badger House in Hopi. There is no access into the ruins, but the trail runs just below the ancient cliff dwellings so it is easy enough to see the old structures and the surrounding rock art. After completing the loop back to the entrance I walked back down the trail to get a couple additional shots of the ruins from the trail, something I did not do on the first pass as I thought there would be a better vantage point a little closer but the trail dips down below the trees. Once getting the photo I headed back to the parking lot to wait for the herd to reassemble.

Walking

Sedona, Arizona, Honanki Heritage Site, Native American Ruins, hiking, National Park

Arizona, United States

time : Oct 10, 2015 1:59 PM

duration : 0h 32m 46s

distance : 0.8 mi

total_ascent : 308 ft

highest_point : 4695 ft

avg_speed : 1.4 mi/h

user_id : OhioHick

user_firstname : Allen

user_lastname : Arrington

The parking area at Honanki is rather small and made smaller since a few spots are reserved for Pink Jeep Tour vehicles. Pink Jeep sort of runs the show there as they are the concessionaire for the site. The very pleasant lady on duty indicated that if we got our group together quickly that she could get us on the trail before the next paid tour came through. I guess they try to space out the visitors to alleviate the congestion and perhaps the stress on the site. So we herded the cats once again, got the general overview and safely briefing and then all meandered down the trail to the ruin site. This is just a short little loop trail, less than a mile in length. There is a decent view of the overall site just a short distance from the entrance station and then the trail dips down into a wooded area and turns toward the ruins. There is a short climb up some rock stairs to get to the site, but this is not a strenuous trail at all. The herd was scattered all along the trail, so there was not much of a crowd at the ruins. I think that some of the group when clockwise and some counterclockwise around the loop which further reduced the number of folks at the ruin at one time. There was a small Pink Jeep group there when I arrived at the site, so I was able to listen in on the guides spiel about the place. Honanki and the related Palatki sites were the largest cliff dwellings in the area between about 1150 and 1350. The structures here at Honanki were two stories tall and had as many as 70 rooms. They were built by the Sinagua, same culture that was around Montezuma Well. There were probably around 200 people living at Honanki at any one time. The Sinagua were ancestors of the Hopi. Honanki means Badger House in Hopi. There is no access into the ruins, but the trail runs just below the ancient cliff dwellings so it is easy enough to see the old structures and the surrounding rock art. After completing the loop back to the entrance I walked back down the trail to get a couple additional shots of the ruins from the trail, something I did not do on the first pass as I thought there would be a better vantage point a little closer but the trail dips down below the trees. Once getting the photo I headed back to the parking lot to wait for the herd to reassemble.