Homolovi State Park

Homolovi State Park Specialty Pueblo Tours

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Join Ranger Chad at Homolovi State Park for a tour of Homolovi IV, one of the park’s archaeological sites not usually open to the public. The pueblo consisted of approximately 150 masonry rooms built in a step-wise fashion down the sides of a small butte on the west side of the Little Colorado River. It was occupied for a short time in the late 1200s, but the site also includes petroglyphs from a much earlier time. The Homolovi Research Program excavated this site for the first time in 1989.

Homolovi IV tours will take place this fall on the following dates: September 24, October 1, October 2 (in conjunction with Flagstaff Festival of Science), October 8, October 15, October 22 and October 29, weather permitting. The tours will begin at the Homolovi State Park Visitor Center at 10:00AM and be finished by 12:30PM and are limited to 15 participants. Please call the park to reserve your spot on the tour of your choice (928) 289-4106.

Normal fees apply for special events/day use: $7 per vehicle with up to 4 adults, and $3 for each additional adult. Camping fees are $18 if you do not use the electricity and $25 if you need the electricity. For more information call Homolovi at (928) 289-4106, located five miles northeast of Winslow, Arizona off of I-40 (exit 257 on State Road 87). The park campground is convenient to I-40 and accommodates large rigs, as well as tent camping. For more information about the 30 State Parks, statewide hiking opportunities, off-highway vehicle trails, and other outdoor recreational and cultural opportunities in Arizona, call (602) 542-4174 (outside of the Phoenix metro area call toll-free (800) 285-3703) or visit AZStateParks.com. Visit AZStateParks on Facebook and Twitter or you can load the “Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder” mobile app for your smartphone. The link is: http://www.ohranger.com/app/parkfinder.

Help rename Homolovi State Park

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[Source: Scott Kilbury, KOLD]

Arizona could soon name a new State park.  It’s land that  already has the state park designation but operating under a different name.

According to the Arizona Parks Board, the state recently entered into a contract agreement with the Hopi Tribe for the operation of Homolovi Ruins State Park.

With the pending State Parks/Hopi Tribe partnership to launch the grand re-opening of this park on March 18, the State Parks Board has directed staff to seek public comment regarding dropping the word “Ruins” from the name of the park as requested by the Hopi Tribe.

The State Parks Board is open to any suggestions the public may have to offer about this name change and will discuss this at the March 17, 2011 public Board meeting in Winslow City Council Chambers.

Public suggestions about changing the name of the State Park may be directed to the Arizona State Parks website “Comments” section at AZStateParks.com or letters can be mailed to Arizona State Parks Public Information Office, 1300 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ  85007.  All comments must be received by March 1.

These Hopi ancestral villages at Homolovi Ruins State Park include four major pueblos, numerous smaller structures and site features ranging in size from one-room pithouses or simple artifact scatters to a 1200-room pueblo, and panels of petroglyphs with numerous depictions of katcina and clan symbols. The sites date from AD 620-850; AD 1050-1225; and AD 1260-1400.

For more information about the Arizona’s State Parks Board Homolovi Grand Re-opening, the State Historic Preservation Office or State Parks recreational grant programs, call toll-free at 800-285-0373 or visit the website.

Suvoyuki Day, Hopi culture events begin Saturday at Homolovi State Park

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[Source: Navajo-Hopi Observer]

Suvoyuki Day has been set to start on Saturday. The event will be a celebration of Hopi culture and the archaeology of Homolovi State Park even though the park, like many Arizona state parks has been closed because of the lack of funding. The event will also be held in part at the Winslow Chamber of Commerce located in the historic Hubbell Trading Post Building at 523 West Second Street in Winslow.

Suvoyuki is a Hopi word meaning “joint effort.” The celebration will be in two parts, one in and near Winslow at the Hubbell Trading Post/Chamber of Commerce and Homolovi State Park and the other on the Hopi Reservation at Second Mesa.

Tours of Homolovi State Park will be conducted by archaeologist Rich Lange and will originate at the Hubbell Trading Post/Winslow Chamber of Commerce Building at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Hubbell Trading Post/Winslow Chamber of Commerce Building contains many exhibits worth seeing for tourists who have not been there recently. This building was the home of one of the oldest trading posts in the Southwest and was the home of the largest Navajo rug known to exist.

There will be a second day of the Hopi Culture celebration on Sunday at Second Mesa. Plans for this event have not been announced but last year there was a race early in the morning at Second Mesa followed by tours of the mesa, displays of art by Hopi artists and traditional food. There are charges for this part of the celebration but details regarding charges and events are not yet known.

Persons wishing to attend the Suvoyuki Day events are advised to use their own vehicles for the tour of Homolovi State Park. It should be noted that the tour will be accessible by wheelchair.

As Homolovi State Park is officially closed, attendees are to be aware that they may visit the park only during the tours and must not stray from their group.

Anyone seeking more information is encouraged to call the Winslow Chamber of Commerce at (928) 289-2434 for more details. It is possible that more may be learned of the Second Mesa part of the celebration on Sunday may also be learned.

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