Mule Canyon Ancestral Puebloan Ruins

This eight mile roundtrip hike follows a clear trail along a mostly flat desert wash. Along the way you will find several Anasazi ruins built into the cliffs. The wash is shallow at first, but the cliffs rise as you get further into the canyon. Deeper into the canyon are larger pools of water and cottonwood trees.

Some ruins are accessible by following paths marked with cairns up the sides of the canyon. Others are inaccessible by foot but can be seen from the trail.

You will start to see ruins as soon as 0.9 miles from the trailhead. Gives you the ability to cut the hike shorter if time or circumstances require.

The trailhead is located on Co. Rd 263 which is about halfway between Blanding and Natural Bridges National Monument, near mile marker 102 on the north side of the Highway 95. If you’re coming from the west it’s very easy to find - you will see a sign for ‘Mule Canyon Ruins‘ - this is NOT where the trailhead is located: this is a developed site with a paved parking lot and a pit toilet. As soon as you pass this, the turn for the trailhead will be your next left. If you’re coming from the east, it’s the next right after mile marker 102.