Grand Gulch
A winding canyon cut into Cedar Mesa, known for Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings and rock art, entered on foot with a permit.
Grand Gulch is a serpentine canyon entrenched in the gently sloping surface of Cedar Mesa, draining south to the San Juan River in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The BLM says it is famous for Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings and rock art, some perched high on ledges and under overhangs, in miles of winding canyons that sheltered people in the past.
The gulch is a Wilderness Study Area within the BLM’s Cedar Mesa Special Recreation Management Area, run under an agreement with the National Park Service. A permit is required to hike or backpack. The main trailhead is beside the Kane Gulch Ranger Station on SR-261, about four miles south of SR-95; Kane Gulch is a major side canyon and the usual way in. Other trailheads are on dirt roads, many suitable only for high-clearance vehicles.
The sites are fragile and protected. Look without touching, stay out of structures, and leave everything where it is.