3 Miles Roundtrip : <2 Hours

Mildly Difficult Scrambling Down Ledges & Pour-offs

Wonderfully Preserved Kivas in a Beautiful Canyon

If you’re on Cedar Mesa and you’d like to quickly hike around 3 miles and see some easy to find and enjoy Anasazi/Fremont Ruins, Seven Kivas in Road Canyon off Cigarette Springs Road is the perfect spot. It’s got beautiful sandstone formations, an easy path, very little ledge climbing, quiet scenic beauty, and plenty to wonder at once exploring the kivas that still have their original roofs and plaster!

A little more than 9 miles south of the Kane Gulch Ranger Station on 261, turn east onto Cigarette Springs Road. After 6 miles, turn left! You will most likely need 4WD or at the very least, high clearance for this section of the road. And if it’s been raining or will rain, remember, it is impassable. Then travel another bumpy mile until you reach the clear parking area. From the parking lot you’ll need to head to the north side for the start of the hike. There are other hikes that start at this parking lot like the Citadel Ruin, which starts at the south side and goes for 2.2 miles. Don’t take that if you wanna see Seven Kivas.

From the north side, follow the trail and the ledges one after another for a half mile or so down an easily traversable path with pour offs. Don’t worry, this doesn’t require too much danger and it’s okay for kids if you keep an eye one em. After descending 500 feet, you’ll then his the floor of Road Canyon, your destination. You’ll then follow the well worn path surrounded by sandstone walls eastward for around a mile. You may be tricked into exploring giant alcoves that seem just perfect for Anasazi ruins but there actually aren’t too many in this Road Canyon. Regardless, bring your binoculars!

After a few bends and turns, the kivas will easily appear on your left, the south facing wall in a shallow and exposed alcove. They’re pretty identifiable. It’s amazing that they still have their roofs, and that’s something I have rarely come upon. Usually they’ve been weathered down to rubble, they were burned before leaving by the occupants or their enemies, or they’ve been reconstructed by modern archaeologists. So be very careful when walking around the amazing ruins.

If you’d like more information on these meeting house kivas (they may not have been as ceremonial as we think) and the people that lived in the Four Corners, listen to my history podcast on the Anasazi/Ancestral Puebloans!

When I did this hike down Road Canyon, I didn’t even know they were there so finding them was exciting! I was actually trying to go to Citadel. I took the wrong path, but in the end, it worked out.