Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
by Jerrold VanNocker

North of Silver City New Mexico is a small Group of remarkable 13th Century ruins known as the Gila Cliff Dwellings.  Through much of the 20th century, there was a lot of speculation as to who might have occupied this site. Even today, there are more questions than definitive answers for why people occupied these Cliff Dwellings for 30 years and then abandoned them.

Completely missing the road to the Visitor Center we arrived at the Cliff Dwelling’s trailhead.  It is here we are to make payment for our visit. As I study the instructions on the “pay at the box” sign, a man with a broom approaches me. Exchanging greetings, I am told, “ The canyon is cold this morning, you will need a warm jacket or coat. Once you hit the cliff wall you will be carrying them; it is nice and warm there”. “Why the broom?” I ask. “Oh, I have been up sweeping the trail of leaves” he replies.  I soon learn the man with the broom and the other guides we will meet today are all volunteers. 

When I was last here we crossed the river by way of a large log (you can still see it next to the visitors center) but now a regular footbridge has replaced it. In the 1976 visit we were escorted across the river and directly into the cliff dwellings; gaining access to them by way of a ladder. Today, we are told our tour is self-guided. From the canyon trail you can enter the dwellings without climbing any ladders but you will climb a few rugged stairs.

Crossing the bridge we veer to the left taking the canyon trail upward.  In the frozen soil we see the deep tracks of those that have ventured here in previous days.  We think back to the volunteer we had talked to at the trail head, his words “once the path warms up it can become very slippery”; now were understood.

The trail to and from the cliff dwellings is approximately one mile. The first part of the trail takes you along a small tree lined creek.

We start our assent upwards and receive our first peeks of the dwelling.  Taking the rough stairs up the slope we are soon bathed in sunshine. It is much warmer here; the caves are well suited for taking advantaged of the morning sun.

When I think of cliff dwellings, high up on a canyon wall, my immediate reaction is to think of them as defensive structures. The buildings in this cliff can be reached by walking up a slope; these Dwellings were not necessarily built for defense.  In fact, I will learn most cliff dwellings would not have been good places to ward off attacks as they lacked a source for long-term water storage or supply.