In my opinion, Cave Towers is one of the best adventures in Cedar Mesa.  You won’t find impressive rock art panels here, but you will find an example of an ancient tower that is still standing, albeit broken down.  There aren’t too many circular towers still standing in Cedar Mesa and Comb Ridge, which is why this is such a fun adventure!

The trail is right off of Highway 95 near the House on Fire Ruins Trailhead – just on the other side of the highway.  You will need to go through a metal gate (open and then close it), and then drive down a dirt and slickrock road for a few hundred feet until the trailhead.  I recommend a high-clearance vehicle to get through this part, even though I got through in my car just fine.  I needed to go very slow and deliberate through a few spots though.

Once at the parking lot just find a spot and park.   If you have a truck or Jeep or something with 4-wheel drive then you can continue to drive down to the actual ruins.  I parked here though at the first parking lot.

I recommend reading the sign to learn more about this land and ruins.  Keep in mind that this area does have hidden cameras, so please make sure you are obeying their rules.  We should be respecting the ruins and this land anyway, but it’s always a good idea to give yourself a refresher on how to respect the archeological sites and land.

From here, the trail is pretty easy.  It winds through juniper trees for about 1/2 mile until you come to the Cave Towers area.  You will see a log fence that encircles all of the ruins.  You will need to go through another gate to enter the area.

I continued hiking south to the main tower that overlooks Mule Canyon.  This is the same Mule Canyon where the Lower Mule Canyon Ruins are located.  The Cave Towers are just at the upper portion of this same canyon.

The main tower is such a great example of what all of these towers used to look like!  It’s still very tall even though it has fallen down or been destroyed on the other side of it.  Do not enter it, but just admire it from the outside.

Scan all around you.  You will see many other ruins all over the place!  Even down into the canyon, you will see so many other ruins.  If you want to hike down below into Mule Canyon, you’ll need a permit, which you can get at the House on Fire Ruins fee station.

I meandered to the other ruins and found that this particular spot had several large towers and other structures.  There is an actual cave where you can still find water.  I heard water trickling during my entire visit.  You can see a large pool of water too by the upper cave.   The original ruin structures were created with a type of mortar that used water from this very spot (I’m guessing of course, but seems obvious).

As I was hiking around the trail, I saw a headstone to a grave.  There isn’t any information about it or indication on who is buried here.

The other side of the canyon there are very large ruins.  It was fun to explore around here and I even found a few pottery shards hidden in the bushes!  Just make sure to never take any artifacts or relics.  It’s illegal to do so.  Just admire this incredible place with your eyes and camera!

I spent about an hour here exploring around.  If you want to extend your stay than you can get a permit and hike down into Mule Canyon to some of the other ruins.