Sunday marked the end of our beer adventure and the start of our Southern Utah adventure. The Federal Government still had parks closed, but the state of Utah had opened up their parks so we were thrilled to be able to go with our original second-week plan through Canyonlands, Capital Reef, and Zion.
We woke up early, took our last shower for a week, and checked out of the hotel before heading over to a nearby Safeway to stock up the cooler with supplies. The week’s plans split the nights between established campground camping and dispersed camping, so simple dinners were on the menu. Mmm snausages.
Trip Report
Finally we turned west, ready to kick off the return leg of our journey. It was a long drive from Denver to the Islands in the Sky district of Canyonlands and I had plans for an afternoon hike. Driving in towards the park on Sunday afternoon I was a bit surprised at the traffic. It was the pent up demand from the parks being closed all week! I had hoped to snag a campsite at the Willow Flat campground but it was full, so we continued on to my hike and decided we’d just find a spot in the BLM land outside of the park.
False Kiva, Canyonlands
The hike that I was so eager to do? It was to False Kiva, a historic and photogenic site in the Islands in the Sky district of Canyonlands. It is a class II archeological site, meaning it enjoys certain protections such as not being listed on maps. However, there is a use trail to reach it and it is not a challenge to find if you’ve done some research. I’ve heard that rangers will also provide directions if asked. I had a GPS track and waypoints that I easily found online.
False Kiva, Canyonlands
The False Kiva is a native human built ring of rocks tucked in a cave below the rim of Canyonlands. I have read that the name refers to the unknown reason for the rock formation, not that is a fake (recent) formation. I’ve wanted to visit this site for years, ever since I saw it in a photograph. Long-gone Americans once found this place special for unknown reasons, and I wanted to feel what it is like to be there and see what drew people to this place to begin with.
There is no marked parking for the False Kiva, but there is a nearby trailhead where you can park your vehicle and walk the shoulder of the road to the trail. The trail, though unmarked, is well worn and obvious once found. It continues about a mile across the desert before dropping down over the rim to a scrambly approach to the cave.
The Path to False Kiva
Many trip reports mention being unable to find the Kiva because the waypoint leads them to the rim of the canyon. That is true – if you go to the waypoint directly you’ll end up about 500 feet above the Kiva with a vertical rock wall between you and it. But if you find the trail it will lead you down a shallow canyon and over the rim wall on a well-worn path.
Dropping over the rim at the end of the shallow canyon
Shortly after dropping over the rim, the cave holding the Kiva is visible across the wall. The trail continues to drop and passes well below the cave on a small set of rock tiers. It’s sandy and loose – some people loose their nerve from exposure here.
The Kiva is in the cave in the middle, to the right of the shadow
The ‘trail’ breaks into a few smaller use trails that cut up through the gravel to the overhang next to the kiva’s cave. From under this overhang, it is a few more steps of scrambling through rocks to get into the False Kiva.
Crossing the ‘shelves’ below the Kiva
When we popped into the cave there were about eight other visitors, mostly photographers waiting for the best afternoon light. One guy was there with an overnight pack and intended on spending the night there to photograph it. I don’t know how the backcountry permit system (if any) works in Canyonlands, but something tells me that wasn’t quite legit. One other visitor took a reverent approach and asked if everyone could be quiet and enjoy a shared moment of silence in this special place.
False Kiva in the afternoon
We spent a while there and then headed back up the trail for the quick hike back to the truck. The afternoon light was fading and since we weren’t able to snag a campsite we wanted to see Mesa Arch before heading back out of the park to find a dispersed campsite.
Mesa Arch, Canyonlands
Mesa Arch was packed with giggling European visitors climbing all over the place so we didn’t linger, but it was a gorgeous view of the canyon below!
Canyonlands, Islands in the Sky
After exploring some side dirt roads we found a spot to crash just as it was getting dark. Some clouds were building and we watched lightning in the distance. Just as we crawled into the back of the truck to sleep the rain started coming down, but fortunately it didn’t last too long and we stayed warm and dry. I hoped it cleared up since the next day’s plan included a lot of dirt roads and a hike down a canyon!
