NOVEMBER 2021
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| JOHNS CANYON RUINS |
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| JOHNS CANYON RUINS |
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| JOHNS CANYON RUINS |
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| JOHNS CANYON RUINS |
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| JOHNS CANYON RUINS |
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| JOHNS CANYON RUINS |
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| JOHNS CANYON RUINS |
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| JOHNS CANYON RUINS |
The West Fork of Johns Canyon, located just two miles off Highway 261, contains a well-preserved set of ruins that can be accessed via a relatively short three-to-four mile roundtrip hike. The road to the parking area is in good condition and is accessible to low-clearance vehicles. I parked about a half-mile from the canyon rim on a pull-off along the main road to be safe, but you can drive up even closer if you like following a spur road, which didn't look to be too bad.
Once you find the canyon, just work your way to the bottom and follow it for a mile or so until you come to the first major side canyon coming in from the left. There are supposed to be some ruins along this stretch that I was unable to find. Just after turning up the side canyon, you will see some ruins up on the canyon wall to your left near the junction. This first set of ruins wasn't overly impressive, however, from a review I read, it sound like there may be more structures located on the ledge above that I was unable to find a way up to.
However, if you continue on up the canyon a bit further, there will be a large, well-preserved set of dwellings along the left side of the canyon. I actually wasn't able to see this set from below, but after hiking past them, I backtracked along the top of the ridge until I saw a trail leading down to them. Because they are tucked behind a ridge along the canyon wall, they can't be seen from the bottom of the canyon. After exploring the area a bit I made my way back to the top of the ridge between the two canyons and found an on-again, off-again trail leading all the way back to the canyon entrance.
I ended up having the entire place to myself when I visited in November over Veterans Day weekend. I had never heard of this canyon until just before leaving on my trip to Cedar Mesa, and decided to add it to my list. I was actually a bit frustrated at first with the difficulty I was having finding the ruins in this canyon, but stumbling upon the trail to high-quality set just before I was about to turn back really saved the trip for me.