Mule Canyon's Cave Towers Travel Guide.

Cave Towers, also referred to as Mule Canyon Towers or The Seven Towers, is named for seven large Anasazi, or Ancestral Puebloan, stone towers that were built around 1200AD at the head of a deep gorge.  It is speculated that they are a defensive position protecting a spring in Cave Canyon, as well as granaries and puebloan ruins along ledges.

• Location is 43.9 miles from Monticello; take Hwy 191 south into and through Blanding, 24.6 miles, until the junction of State Hwy. 95, make a right onto Hwy. 95 and travel 19.3 miles.

• Make left turn onto dirt road that has a gate across it; open gate, close after passing through. Travel 4/10ths of a mile to reach a parking area with information board. Access to trailhead is 4/10ths of a mile further along a dirt and slickrock trail that can be hiked, or accessed by 4-wheel drive vehicles with high clearance only.

• Round trip walking distance to ruin sites is 1.6 miles; walking slickrock at canyon’s rim, granaries and pueblo ruins can be seen along the canyon’s ledges.  Approximate visitation is 1-2 hours.

• Difficulty: Easy; there is a steep walk to tower ruin on right side of trail.

• Facilities: None

• Admission: Free

• Camping: Allowed, check informational board at parking area for locations.

• Pets: Allowed, owners are expected to clean up after pet (s).

Walking along the ledges, looking out at the Pueblo ruins, and the surrounding scenery, is mind blowing.

Mary Cokenour

Mule Canyon Roadside Ruin Travel Guide.

Mule Canyon Roadside Ruin

Mule Canyon Roadside Ruin is an open Anasazi habitation site consisting of both above-ground and below-ground dwellings. This site was initially occupied briefly about 750 AD, reaching its peak between 1000 and 1150 AD.  Pueblo ruins consists of 12 rooms, a reconstructed Kiva, and remains of a tower.

·        Location is 44.8 miles from Monticello; take Hwy 191 south into and through Blanding, 24.6 miles, until the junction of State Hwy. 95, make a right onto Hwy. 95 and travel 20.3 miles.  There will be a sign indicating the turn off into the parking area.

·         Round trip walking distance is ¼ mile along a concrete walkway; approximate visitation is 30 minutes.  Informational boards are at the Kiva site.

·         Difficulty: Easy

·         Vault toilets, parking area; but no drinking water available.

·         Admission: Free

·         Camping: Not Allowed

·         Pets: Allowed, owners are expected to clean up after pet (s).

    

 The concrete walkway, and short distance, makes this ruin site very accessible to those with walking disabilities or are wheelchair bound.

 Mary Cokenour

Return to Mule Canyon Cave Towers.

I've previously posted about the first time visiting the Cave Towers at Mule Canyon with Four Corners Adventures, so here is the return visit the next day.  On that first visit, I mainly stayed on the left hand side of the canyon area; this is about the right side.  The high winds were gone, the sky clear and sunny; walking the ledges was a piece of cake, and no holding the camera with one hand, while the other held onto a tree for support.



Now, how to find the Cave Towers (aka Seven Towers), from Highway 191, going south from Blanding, go 19.3 miles along State Highway 95.  On the left hand side of the highway you'll see a dirt trail with a gate across it; just open the gate, go through and make sure to reclose the gate.  About 2/10ths of a mile, you'll reach a parking area with an informational board; the ruin site is only 4/10ths of a mile further on, so you can either hike to them or drive.  If you drive, make sure you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle with high clearance, skid plates would be a beneficial addition.

View from Parking Area.

As I said in my previous post on Cave Towers, the seven towers are distributed along the rim of Mule Canyon.  Roy and I climbed to the partial tower seen on the right hand side; use a walking stick for extra leverage on the sandy upward trail.  Within this tower is still one of the original wood beams, and a view of the puebloan ruins along the canyon's wall ledges.

Mule Canyon Wall Ledges with Pueblo Ruins.

Some of the towers are completely collapsed, but as you travel from one tower to another, you will notice that the other six are in view to each other.  Their placement protected the canyon, the secret spring that ran within this area, and watch guards were in sight of each other.  Smart strategy!

Ruin on Ledge Below Collapsed Tower.

The advantage to being able to walk the ledges, along the right hand side, is being able to better view the ruins tucked into cave openings and along the wall ledges.  A zoom lens on the camera is a huge help in seeing them properly, and we also had binoculars.

Pueblo Ruins Along Wall Ledges

 

 

 





Ruin Near Mesa Top.

My previous post on the Cave Towers included photos of Mule Canyon, so here I concentrated on pillars, pinnacles and walls.

 

 



Walking back to our vehicle, we found two interesting things, well interesting to us at least. The first was a stone which seemed to have a circle with lines radiating from it; was this a carving of the sun, or simply natural weathering from sun and rain?  The second was a gathering of dried juniper berries on the path itself.  The nearest juniper bush was about 10 feet away; the wind might have blown them there, but they were so neatly together.  More than likely, they had gathered by a bird or small creature.

Like the rest of Mule Canyon, this area is quiet, serene and beautiful; come visit, however, leave it as clean and complete as when you first entered.

Mary Cokenour

Half Day Tour with Four Corners Adventures.

Four Corners Adventures

254 East Center Street (Hwy 191)
Blanding, Utah, 84511

Phone: (435) 678-2628

Website: http://www.riversandruins.com/

Jared Berrett, Owner
Spring Berrett, Owner
Dallin Tait, General Manger, Lead Guide

Dallin Tait, foreground; Jared Berrett,  background

On November 10, I wrote about my adventure, with Roy, at Upper Arch Canyon Overlook.  Imagine my surprise when I went into work and was told, November 17th; trip with Four Corners Adventures with welcome center people from Monticello, Blanding, Bluff; Utah's Canyon Country staff; and members of Utah.com.  On the agenda was Upper Arch Canyon Overlook, Cave Towers (aka Seven Towers) in Mule Canyon, and maybe House on Fire.

The morning of the 17th began with snow, only about 1/4 of an inch, and about 35 to 40 mile/hour winds; but would this cancel our trip?  Oh hell no!  8:30am our ride showed up at the Welcome Center and away to Blanding we headed; last ones to arrive at the Four Corners Adventures office, but anxious to get going nonetheless.  One of the owners, Jared Berrett, gave us a brief update on what the plans were for the half day; we also were introduced to lead guide, Dallin Tait; and a guide up from Kayenta, Louis.

Into two, heavy duty, travel vans we packed in and off to Upper Arch Canyon Overlook we headed along State Highway 95.  Once we turned onto Mule Canyon/Texas Flat Road; Dallin stopped the van to show us the trailhead to House on Fire.  Might as well tell you now that we didn't get to hike to it this day; between the snow on the ground and the cold, high winds, many of the group didn't feel up to it.  Don't be disheartened; the next day it was much warmer, no wind, so Roy and I made the trek and I'll be doing a post about that on a later date.   Back to this story...

Upper Arch Canyon Overlook looked very different from when I'd been there on the 10th; snow kissing the red rocks, dense cloud cover blocking out the mountains, and a good amount of the canyon beyond Cathedral and Angel Arches.  Jared and Dallin warned everyone to stay away from the peninsula's edges because of the high winds.  It wouldn't do for anyone to go flying off into the canyon, and with a parachute!  Of course Jared had to put shock into us all when he took a group photo; there he stood, up on a boulder, mere inches from the edge.

Upper Arch Canyon Overlook

Members of the group walk the peninsula.

Cathedral Arch

Cave Alcove Across from the peninsula.

Foggy Upper Arch Canyon.

 

 

Next stop on our trek was a mere 3/10ths of a mile east of Mule Canyon/Texas Flat Road.  There is a gate across the dirt trail; simply open the gate and make sure to close it behind you.  Another 3/10ths of a mile and we were at the parking area for Cave Towers aka Seven Towers; the choice is to walk the 350 feet to the ruin site, or drive.  With the severe cold the winds brought, driving was a great choice, but beware, this is one heck of a rocking and rolling trail ahead over slickrock and deeply rutted road.

 
 






At the site there is a single grave, fenced in, but no information listed anywhere; not at the grave site, not even on the information boards.

The trail to the ruins is not that difficult; sometimes climbing up onto rocks, and the dirt trails are loose dirt with small stones.  For extra leverage, a walking stick is a handy tool to carry.  Along the way, a hidden spring can just barely be seen down from a rocky ledge; we couldn't hear it though because of the wind.

The seven towers (3 partially standing, 4 collapsed) are along the short side of the oval surrounding Mule Canyon.  To the left, this trail is on less of an incline; the trail to the right climbs up higher and the trail is very narrow.  Walking the ledge, pueblo ruins, including a kiva can be seen along the northern wall ledges.  There are granaries tucked here and there along the wall ledges also.

Side note:  The next day, after visiting House on Fire, Roy and I went back to Cave Towers.  We found all 7 towers, could hear the hidden spring, and walking the ledges was a dream.  As we went further along the oval, we could make out more ruins along the wall ledges, and didn't have to worry about getting blown off the edge by the wind!  I will be writing up two separate blog posts, one on House on Fire, the other of the second visit to Cave Towers.  Make sure you're a Follower of my blog, and you won't miss a thing!

Cave Towers aka Seven Towers

What a View!  Tables of the Sun in the far distance.

Cave Alcoves below.

Pueblo and Kiva Ledge Ruins.

Upper Ledge.

Lower Ledge

Granary tucked into a corner.

 Views of Mule Canyon.

Thankfully, Jared and Dallin had hot chocolate and granola bars waiting for us back at the vans.  Let me tell you, after one hour of hiking, climbing and photographing; I could no longer feel my hands or face.  Back home though, I admired the fresh, pink skin; imagine, women pay thousands of dollars to go to spas for the same result.  All they needed to do was walk around cliff ledges, in 35-40 mile an hour winds for an hour.  Who knew!?!

Ah Louis, I'm not forgetting Louis; he was a pleasure to speak with; very knowledgeable as a guide, but better yet....he and I got to discuss Native American foods!

Anyway, back at Four Corners Adventures main office, we said our goodbyes and headed back to our respective visitor centers or offices.  It was also a pleasure to meet the folks of Utah.com; whom I often share links of my travel blog adventures with.  This was a most awesome half day adventure with Four Corners Adventures.

If you're interested in one of their guided land tours which includes:

ANASAZI RUINS & ROCK ART
JEEP ADVENTURES
HUMMER TOURS
RZR EXTREME EXCURSIONS
CANYONEERING
BACKPACKING EXPEDITIONS
MOUNTAIN BIKING

-  OR  -

RIVER TRIPS (1/2 DAY TO 10 DAY)

Give Jared, Spring or Dallin a call to help you make the best choices for your adventuring.

Mary Cokenour