By Jon Crowley
If you have a chance to go to Coral Pink Sand Dunes, I highly recommend it. Be sure to check out our guide to the dunes below.
But don’t forget that there is so much more to explore beyond the dunes! In this article, we explored the area to the east of the dunes. You can get to the “start” of the trail either from the dunes or from Hancock Rd. From the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, you’ll want to navigate to the start of the trail at GPS Coordinates: 37.07591, -112.66500. You CANNOT drop out of the dunes and onto the trail anywhere south of this point! This is where you’ll meet up with Sand Springs Road (BLM 050) that starts at Hancock Rd.
Finding your Way
We used onX GPS Off-Road Map App to guide us on this adventure. All the trails are well laid out and it was easy to pinpoint where we were.
Trails in the Moquith Mountain WSA are clearly detailed in the onX GPS app.
The terrain is this area is made up of sandy trails with some light rock crawling. We were driving in our Can-Am Maverick R which made easy work of the area, but a full-size vehicle will take a bit more work. 4-wheel drive and lowered air pressure in the tires are a must.
South Fork Indian Canyon. If you look closely, you can see the trailhead and the walk way to the pictographs.
The top three destinations in the map shown above:
South Fork Indian Canyon Pictographs
South Fork Indian Canyon Pictographs – This stop is the easiest to access, the most popular and for us, it was the highlight of this day trip.
South Fork Indian Canyon Pictographs Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 37.06542, -112.65194
The hike to the pictographs is about 1/2 mile and steep in a few spots, but definitely worth the trek.
Hell Dive Canyon Pictographs
Hell Dive Canyon Pictographs – Previously known as the Water Canyon Trail, Hell Dive Canyon will have you driving over sand and some bumpy roads to get to some amazing pictographs.
Hell Dive Canyon Pictographs Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 37.04430, -112.64033
Metate grinding stone
The hike to the alcove is fairly short, not well defined and takes a bit of scrambling but it is worth the effort. The spot is also known to locals as Medicine Man Cave because of the colorful symbolic pictographs. There are many figures across the wall as well as tiny feet and the fertility God Kokopelli, giving the indication that it may have been a birthing spot for women. Huge rocks with deep grooves created by metate grinding sit at the edge of the cave. This means the space was likely used for food storage and preparation.
Drone view from Coral Pink Sand Dunes Overlook
Coral Pink Sand Dunes Overlook – The dunes are formed from the erosion of pink-colored Navajo Sandstone surrounding the park. High winds passing through the notch between the Moquith and Moccasin Mountains pick up loose sand particles and then drop them onto the dunes as a result of the Venturi effect. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park was established as an Utah state park in 1963 and covers 3,370 acres.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes Overlook GPS Coordinates: 37.02357, -112.71143
Moquith Mountain Wilderness Study Area
Moquith Mountain WSA is located in southwestern Kane County just north of the Arizona state line, about 4 miles west of Kanab, UT an just east of Coral Pink Sand Dunes. What is a Wilderness Study Area? A Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is an undeveloped area of federal land in the United States that has the potential to be designated as Wilderness. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages WSAs to preserve their natural conditions until Congress decides whether to designate them as wilderness. Congress has acted on many of the BLM’s recommendations, either by designating lands as wilderness or by releasing lands from further wilderness consideration. BLM is currently looking to close the route to Hell Dive Canyon as part of their Trail Canyon Travel Management Plan. Follow the link for more details on what you can do to help keep this trail open!
Pictographs vs. Petroglyphs
There are two types of Native American rock art. Pictographs, which are drawings or paintings made on rocks, and petroglyphs, which are images carved into the rock.
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