Wildhorse Window

One time my husband rented “Encino Man” for the kids while I was at a meeting.  Ever since they have been obsessed with cavemen.  Rather than fight it I decided to go with it and found a really cool hike to do in the San Rafael Swell that ends with real live petroglyphs.  Even though we hike all the time they are still little kids and love to complain about it so the idea of seeing actual caveman writing was enough to get them going.

See that little cave opening at the top of this picture?  That’s the spot.  There’s no actual trail, although there are some cairns occasionally.   Mostly you just have to keep as straight a line as you can towards that cave.

The website I found said it was about a mile hike but we didn’t keep as straight a line as we could have because we ended hiking about  2 ½ there and about 3 back.

Not that anyone was complaining though.  It hardly even feels like a hike because you just kind of wander all over this amazing slick rock.

So we just kept making our way towards the cave.  Sometimes in view sometimes not.  When suddenly we found ourselves in a wash.  Sand can perk up even the weariest hikers!

At the very end of the hike up to the cave there are several of these rain catcher low spots.  Such a fun change of scenery.

It’s an enormous caves full of echoes and centuries of water stains.   Such a cool place.  But we did come to see the caveman stuff.  

So cool.  I haven’t been to “Newspaper Rock” in Canyonlands but I’ve read that these are pretty comparable.  It was fun to see them up close and personal.

Definitely worth a “peeps” break.

The Wildhorse Window cave gets it’s name from this massive hole in the ceiling of the caves which makes the most haunting noise as the winds roars through it.  

We loved this hike.  Lots of variety, plenty of lizards and cool plants along the way, and a really astounding cave at the end.  This is a must next time you’re near Goblin Valley!

And if you’re really lucky, you may even get a little lost on the way back to the car like we did and find yourself the mini secret slot canyon!

 

HOW TO GET THERE:

Wildhorse Window

From Green River, Utah follow I-70 west for 11 miles to Exit #149 and Highway 24.  Follow Highway 24 south for 24 miles to mile maker 136 and the signed turn-off to Goblin Valley State Park.  Follow the Goblin Valley road west for 5.2 miles to Temple Junction and a BLM information kiosk.

      At Temple Junction, the road heading west (straight ahead) leads to the Temple Mountain Pictographs and other destinations. Take the road heading south (left) and follow it for 0.3 miles to an unsigned dirt road heading west (right). Follow the dirt road for 0.3 miles to its end overlooking Temple Wash. This is the Wild Horse Window Trailhead.