Hikes - Poushuouinge

Images courtesy of Greg Lewandowski

​Poshuouinge
distance .5 mile, well marked 
Santa Fe National Forest

Poshuouinge (pronounced "poe-shoo-wingay") is a large ancestral pueblo located on U.S. Route 84, about 2.6 miles south of Abiquiu. Its builders were the ancestors of the Tewa Pueblos who now reside in Santa Clara Pueblos and San Juan Pueblo. Poshuouinge was built on a high mesa, some 150 feet above the Chama River, around 1400. There are two springs located about 500 feet to the south of the ruins which are believed to have been the main water sources for the habitation. It is accessible by a United State Department of Agriculture  Forest Service trail.

Abiquiu and surrounding areas provide almost limitless year round hiking opportunities from beginner hikes to difficult one.  One such hike is to the overlooks above Poshuouinge Ruins.

This moderately steep, scenic half-mile ruin trail, has two vista areas and interpretive signs that overlook the Chama River Valley.  There is no water.  The trail rises approximately 220 feet from the parking lot to the hilltop overlook. The principal ruins included a large pueblo with over 700 ground-floor rooms surrounding two large plazas and a large kiva.  Tree ring dates and the knowledge of local pottery designs indicate people lived at the site around AD1420 and abandoned it by the late 1400s.  One tree ring date of 1391 suggest part of the village may have been built a generation or so earlier.   If you want to explore a little further you can walk back on the mesa.
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2.6 miles from the Abiquiú Post Office, south on Hwy 84. Approximately 18 miles south of Ghost Ranch.

The trail is short but steep.   Take only pictures and please stay on the trail.