Hiking Kane Creek Rock Art - Moab

Overview

Tue

70° | 43°

Wed

74° | 44°

Thu

75° | 49°

Fri

72° | 48°

Sat

78° | 46°

( Rated 3.3 / 3 Ratings )

33 Todo Lists / 6 Ticks

RATING: Easy Hiking / Roadside

LENGTH: 2+ hours (Kings Bottom 1.9 miles, Moonflower 0.7 mile, Funnel Arch 0.8 mile)

MAPS: MOAB, UT;

SEASON: Any

GEAR: Standard Hiking Gear

WATER: None.

Tue

70° | 43°

Wed

74° | 44°

Thu

75° | 49°

Fri

72° | 48°

Sat

78° | 46°

Birthing Rock Area

Just a few minutes from downtown Moab, Kane Creek is a gem for those searching for rock art, with a liberal sprinkling of panels throughout the area. Moonflower Canyon Panel, Elephant Panel, Owl Panel, False Kiva, and Birthing Rock are just a few of the very popular and often photographed rock art sites to visit in the canyon. There is much to see and do, plan on at least a half day or even a full day to really enjoy all of the sights.

Much of the rock art in Kane Creek is either visible from the road or a short walk to visit, making this a family-friendly outing that I recommend to all. The road is generally easily passable to most vehicles, though can get muddy at times after recent precipitation.

Map panel near Birthing Rock in Kane Creek.

Getting There

From downtown Moab, head to south to Kane Creek Blvd. Turn right on Kane Creek Blvd. (This is currently where the McDonald's and Burger King are.)

Reset odometer as you turn onto Kane Creek Blvd. 12S 626362E 4269376N / 38°33'50"N 109°32'59"W

2.6 miles - Moab Rim Trailhead and Pit Toilet on the left. 12S 623455E 4268771N / 38°33'32"N 109°34'59"W

2.7 miles - King Bottom Campground 12S 623368E 4268646N / 38°33'28"N 109°35'03"W

3.05 miles - Moonflower Campground / Trailhead on the left and rock art panel. 12S 623137E 4268307N / 38°33'17"N 109°35'12"W

3.5 - Dirt road goes off on the left and up a hill. This is the Elephant Panel Trailhead. 12S 622637E 4267587N / 38°32'54"N 109°35'34"W

4.0 miles - Small Sheep Rock art panel next to the road on the left. 12S 622334E 4267010N / 38°32'35"N 109°35'46"W

4.3 miles - Small petroglyph panel next to the road on the left. 12S 622112E 4266521N / 38°32'19"N 109°35'56"W

4.6 miles - Pritchett Canyon Trailhead 12S 622059E 4266123N / 38°32'07"N 109°35'58"W

4.7 miles - Road turns to dirt with a big parking area on the right. 12S 622011E 4266036N / 38°32'04"N 109°36'00"W

5.1 miles - Small parking area and trail going up to a panel on the left. 12S 622546E 4265578N / 38°31'49"N 109°35'39"W

5.3 miles - Large parking area on the right. This is the False Kiva Trailhead, and also the Amasa Back Trail Parking area. 12S 622314E 4265360N / 38°31'42"N 109°35'48"W

5.8 miles - Amasa Back Trail. This is the Owl Panel Trailhead. 12S 621895E 4264888N / 38°31'27"N 109°36'06"W

6.1 miles - Birthing Rock on the right. Small parking area. This is also the trailhead for Map Panel. 12S 621821E 4264647N / 38°31'19"N 109°36'09"W

6.18 miles - Boulder with petroglyph on the right. 12S 621845E 4264524N / 38°31'15"N 109°36'08"W

6.2 miles - Parking are on the left just after cresting a hill and starting down the other side. This is the Funnel Arch Trailhead. 12S 621995E 4264439N / 38°31'12"N 109°36'02"W

6.9 miles - Spring Site Walk in Campground 12S 622505E 4264245N / 38°31'05"N 109°35'41"W

7.7 miles - Hunter Canyon Campground 12S 622319E 4263329N / 38°30'36"N 109°35'49"W

8.0 miles - Ice Cream Parlor Climbing Area on the left. 12S 622006E 4263348N / 38°30'37"N 109°36'02"W

9.5 miles - Ledge A Campground 12S 621541E 4261386N / 38°29'33"N 109°36'23"W

9.9 miles - Ledge B Campground 12S 621699E 4260561N / 38°29'06"N 109°36'17"W

10.3 miles - Ledge C Campground 12S 621920E 4260107N / 38°28'51"N 109°36'08"W

11.3 miles - Ledge D Campground 12S 622052E 4258687N / 38°28'05"N 109°36'03"W

11.4 miles - Ledge E Campground 12S 622055E 4258554N / 38°28'01"N 109°36'03"W

Moonflower Canyon Area Rock Art

Route Description

Rock Art and Historic Site Etiquette
Rock art and historic sites are fragile, non-renewable cultural resources that, once damaged, can never be replaced. To ensure they are protected, please:

Avoid Touching the Petroglyphs: Look and observe, BUT DO NOT TOUCH!
Stay on the Trails: Stay on the most used trails when visiting sites, and don't create new trails or trample vegetation.
Photography and Sketching is Allowed: Do not introduce any foreign substance to enhance the carved and pecked images for photographic or drawing purposes. Altering, defacing, or damaging the petroglyphs is against the law -- even if the damage is unintentional.
Pets: Keep pets on a leash and clean up after them.
Artifacts: If you happen to come across sherds (broken pottery) or lithics (flakes of stone tools), leave them where you see them. Once they are moved or removed, a piece of the past is forever lost.

Moonflower Canyon
The first stop is Moonflower Canyon. This is a walk-in BLM campground that offers a lot of shade, making it a great summer camping spot. At the entrance to Moonflower Canyon, on the right, is a large panel. Just to the left of the panel is a crack where logs were wedged in years ago to create a slippery ladder up to a viewpoint. The logs are slippery and widely space and the moves a little tricky. Not recommended!

If you have time, wandering up through the campground to the big dryfall at the end of Moonflower is a great 20 minute round trip.

Elephant Panel Trailhead
There isn't much parking here, so besure to park off the highway and to not block any of the private property. The hike follows the dirt road up the hill. Once up the hill, stay left at the junction to continue following the road. The road has a right of way, but much of the land to the west is private.

When the road nears the cliff face, leave the road and follow the cliff face. There are several interesting petroglyph panels here, including the Elephant Panel. If time allows, I recommend following the cliff band all the way to where you can overlook Moonflower Canyon, then following the jeep road back to the trailhead. (2-2.5 miles round trip)

5.1 Mile Panel
The trail climbs up steeply here to the base of the wall. Once at the wall, most of the rock art is to the left, including some very large and impressive panels. As you reach the wall, and turn left. Keep an eye out for an Owl Petroglyph. It is very unique and interesting.

False Kiva Trailhead
From the False Kiva Trailhead, look east. A canyon is just to the right of a cliff point. Though a well-worn trail goes up the canyon bottom, look for a social trail going up the ridge directly to the cliffs. Follow this up to the cliff. Right on the end of the cliff is a False Kiva, and rock art. Follow the cliff band east to visit more panels.