Hidden Canyon Ruins are an amazing location near Blanding Utah.  The ruins are hidden away in a side canyon that can’t be seen from any road.   In fact, you can’t see them until you are about 1/4 mile away from them.

The trail begins alongside an old cattle trail.   The trail has been overgrown and so it’s a little tricky in spots.  You will pass by plenty of cactus and thorn bushes, so if you have any pets with you, make sure to watch where they step.

We found many side cattle trails that could be distracting and lead you astray.   It isn’t difficult, but if you aren’t paying attention to the trail, you may accidently get on a spur trail.  The trail is nice and flat up until you come to the slot canyon area.

This is where I climbed up to test it out.  This part is tricky and not for everyone.  I was wearing my approach shoes and didn’t have trouble doing the short climbs up the slot canyon, but since my friend Kevin had his dog, Maggie, we decided it would be best if they hiked around to the north.

They added about a 1/4 mile to the overall trip and we found a nice place for both of them to get on top to where I was.

From here, we could see the ruins in the distant alcove.  We still probably had another 1/4 of a mile and it was really neat to see the ruins finally!

We got right up to the ruins and discovered that they were still in good condition!  The alcove that they were built into is shallow and steep on the edges.  The walls are ancient and could be easily toppled over if you are with someone who isn’t really self-aware of where and how they place their feet and hands.  We took every precaution when entering the ruins to not touch the walls or even brush by them with our shoulders or knees.  You are required to do the same.  One careless act could easily push over a wall or damage the structure.

It’s somewhat difficult to enter in the structures.  It is VERY steep and if you fell, you would easily break an arm or a leg.  We recommend not going inside and just enjoying these from a distance!  It’s fascinating to see how the ancient Puebloan peoples created these.  You can see how they used branches as structural supports or as a sort of frame, followed by a mortar type of material and then carefully cut stone.  These have withstood time and erosion for 1,000+ years!  Please be respectful so they can last another 1,000+ years!

A little ways from the ruins are some Moki Steps.  Moki Steps are hand carved steps in the rock for the Pueblo people to access above and below.  They were mesa top farmers, so it’s highly possible that they used this path here to get to their farm land above.