Anasazi State Park Museum

At this roadside state park in lovely Boulder, Utah, museum exhibits, an excavated village site, and a pueblo replica provide a look into the life of the Anasazi, or Ancestral Pueblan, people. The Anasazi stayed here and farmed for 50-75 years sometime between 1160 and 1235. The village population peaked at about 200, with an estimated 40-50 dwellings. Why the Anasazi left or where they went isn't known for sure, but a fire swept through much of the village before the Anasazi abandoned it. University of Utah students and faculty excavated the village, known as the Coombs Site, in the 1950s. A self-guided tour of the ruins passes a range of ...

At this roadside state park in lovely Boulder, Utah, museum exhibits, an excavated village site, and a pueblo replica provide a look into the life of the Anasazi, or Ancestral Pueblan, people. The Anasazi stayed here and farmed for 50-75 years sometime between 1160 and 1235. The village population peaked at about 200, with an estimated 40-50 dwellings. Why the Anasazi left or where they went isn't known for sure, but a fire swept through much of the village before the Anasazi abandoned it. University of Utah students and faculty excavated the village, known as the Coombs Site, in the 1950s. A self-guided tour of the ruins passes a range of Anasazi building styles — a pit house, masonry walls, and mud walls reinforced by sticks. Replicas of living areas and storage rooms behind the museum show complete construction details.

About the Expert

Judy Jewell and W.C. McRae are frequent collaborators: together they have written Moon Handbooks to Montana, Utah, and Zion-Bryce and updated the Moon Handbooks to Oregon and Coastal Oregon. Judy wrote the Compass American Guide to Oregon.