Ballroom Cave Ruins and Target House Ruins share the same trailhead.  Make sure you pay the hiking fee and head on out!  Most people hike both Target House and Ballroom Cave at the same time.  They are located somewhat close to each other and make this hike an incredible adventure!  We already have a Trek for Target House, so please click here to read more about it.

To get to Ballroom Cave, you will be following the wash for less than 1 mile and turn left (west) into the actual cave.  You will be hiking under tall cottonwood trees during this time and we quite enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  The ruins are located about 1/3 mile beyond Target House Ruins.

Initially, we had a little trouble trying to find Ballroom Cave.  We kept exploring in all these other alcoves and caves until we saw rocks stacked up to make an ancient wall.  Feel free to use my Trail Map so you can get right to the ruins.  Although, in many of the caves and alcoves in this canyon there are hints of ancient structures, so it might be worth it to you to explore those too.

At just under the 1 mile mark you will see Ballroom Cave on the left.  It’s obvious that the Ancestral Pueblo wanted to conceal the entrance to the cave to make it seem like there wasn’t anything worth seeing back there.  This tactic worked because we were still unsure if this was Ballroom Cave until we hiked right up to the rock wall and then saw the cave entrance.

Please do not hike or climb over the rock wall.  There is another entrance on the north side of the cave where you don’t need to climb.  After you safely get over the wall, the cave entrance is back to the southern side.  There are many boulders to navigate through this part and take notice because many of them have carved steps on them.

The cave is a true cave.  It goes in over 100+ ft!  Make sure to bring a flashlight.  We saw many broken structures in here and even corn cobs.  Be careful where you step so you aren’t walking all over ruins and ancient relics.  You will need to be more than self-aware to be a respectful hiker.  Make every step a deliberate one.  This used to be home to many people and you are a visitor here.

Back outside the cave we explored on the northern side where we found more structures and even another cave!  We didn’t have too much time to explore in the cave since it was getting dark, but we did take a few pictures of the incredible ruins that still had some of the original wooden roof supports!  Be mindful of the ropes and fencing and do no cross those.

Scan the walls for rock art!  I discovered that I missed a lot on our visit.

There are a few more granaries up the canyon, but we didn’t have enough light so we came back home.