Highlights:
Inter-linked caverns near the top of a Kayenta sandstone cliff along Three Lakes Canyon north of Kanab; formerly site of a sand mine. Recently popularized as an easily-reached, photogenic location
Nearest city with hotels:
Kanab, 5 miles
Management:
BLM
Location:
Seasons:
All year
Rating (1-5):
★★★★★
Weather:
Featured Hotel
Best Western Red Hills
Two story Kanab hotel in the middle of town along Center Street (US 89), with fine views north over the red sandstone of the Vermilion CliffsCheck Rates
The Sand Caves are a recently-popularized location alongside US 89, five miles north of Kanab in Three Lakes Canyon - a group of interlinked caverns near the top of a sandstone/siltstone cliff of the Kayenta Formation (Tenney Canyon Tongue). The caves are artificial, site of a short lived mine, established in the 1970s to extract sand, for use in glass-making, its location being chosen on account of the softness of rocks and also since it was relatively easily accessed, via a rock slope, which is now used as the walking route to the caves.
The softness of the sandstone is one reason why many of the interior walls are covered with carved graffiti, left by visitors, and the place is a certainly not an unspoiled, natural landscape, yet the views from the cave openings are good, and the rocks have rich colors, shades of red, yellow and brown, crossed by darker, wavy veins of iron oxide. The hike is best in late afternoon, when sun is shining into the passageways.
The caves are also known as the Moqui Caverns, moqui being an old term for Native Americans; not to be confused with Moqui Cave, a larger cavity a quarter of a mile north, which houses a museum, including fossils, minerals and historic artifacts, and is adorned with replica adobe brick walls at its entrance.
The two main openings of the sand caves are clearly visible from Hwy 89 - on the northeast side, 80 feet above the canyon floor, which is 700 feet across at this point, with a usually dry streambed, and a flat floor covered by bushes. Originally, the caves were accessed from a small parking place nearly opposite, a site subsequently deemed too dangerous due to the fast-moving traffic and ever-increasing visitor numbers, so now people are meant to use a new, larger lot a third of a mile southeast, on the same side of the road as the caves. The level trail runs from here through the bushes across sandy ground to the base of the rock slope just beyond the caves; the last part of the route is diagonally up here, to a flat, constructed ledge at the cavern entrance. The caves are almost at the top of the Kayenta Formation; above is a less steep slope of Navajo sandstone then above that is an extensive plateau covered by wind-blown sand.
The softness of the sandstone is one reason why many of the interior walls are covered with carved graffiti, left by visitors, and the place is a certainly not an unspoiled, natural landscape, yet the views from the cave openings are good, and the rocks have rich colors, shades of red, yellow and brown, crossed by darker, wavy veins of iron oxide. The hike is best in late afternoon, when sun is shining into the passageways.
The caves are also known as the Moqui Caverns, moqui being an old term for Native Americans; not to be confused with Moqui Cave, a larger cavity a quarter of a mile north, which houses a museum, including fossils, minerals and historic artifacts, and is adorned with replica adobe brick walls at its entrance.
The Caves
The two main openings of the sand caves are clearly visible from Hwy 89 - on the northeast side, 80 feet above the canyon floor, which is 700 feet across at this point, with a usually dry streambed, and a flat floor covered by bushes. Originally, the caves were accessed from a small parking place nearly opposite, a site subsequently deemed too dangerous due to the fast-moving traffic and ever-increasing visitor numbers, so now people are meant to use a new, larger lot a third of a mile southeast, on the same side of the road as the caves. The level trail runs from here through the bushes across sandy ground to the base of the rock slope just beyond the caves; the last part of the route is diagonally up here, to a flat, constructed ledge at the cavern entrance. The caves are almost at the top of the Kayenta Formation; above is a less steep slope of Navajo sandstone then above that is an extensive plateau covered by wind-blown sand.
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