Tusayan Ruin at the Grand Canyon

Located on the southern rim of the Grand Canyon on the road between the Desert View Watchtower and the Grand Canyon Village is a small piece of ancient history, the Tusayan Ruin.

How to get there:

The ruin is not hard to find since it is located between the the Village and the Watchtower and there are signs showing where it is. We passed it on our way West to the Village from the Watchtower, but we were in a hurry to get to our campsite and hike so we decided to stop later on our way out. Either direction it is not hard to get to and has it own parking lot. 

What you will see:

At the site there is a small building that it is best to visit first. There is a small museum inside and there you will find out when the next ranger tour of the ruins is beginning. The museum is of artifacts related to the people who lived in the pueblo. The museum is interesting but the main event is to see the ruin. We went on a ranger tour to learn about it and that is what we would recommend doing to get the best experience, but you can just go wander on your own. A path encircles the entire site.

Low portions of the building walls are still in tack and have been excavated so you can get a feel for the size of the pueblo. There are three buildings, the main u-shaped living and storage building and two round kivas, thought to be for religious meetings. The ranger tour will help you to think about what life would have been like for the people who lived here and teach what archeologists best guesses are.

The tour takes about half an hour. On the other side of the museum building you can also see a garden  that shows how and what the people who lived here would have farmed.

Sum Up:
This site is a fun change of pace from the normal hiking in the Canyon. It is also a great educational experience, especially if you have children. The ranger we had was very friendly and engaging. It is definitely worth the time to check it out.