Horse Collar Ruin Trail At Natural Bridges National Monument
The Horse Collar Ruin trail is a 0.6 mile roundtrip hike located in Natural Bridges National Monument near Lake Powell, Utah.
This short hike only has around 50 feet of elevation gain. The trail is lined with rocks making it easy to follow. This is an easy hike for the whole family just keep a close eye on kids near the edge of the canyon.
You will travel over the slickrock of a mesa top to an overlook on the edge of White Canyon.
From the overlook you will be able to view ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in the alcove near the bottom of the canyon. The ruins got it’s name from the uniquely shaped doors of the two round granaries. Granaries were used to store food for the village.
A kiva is located to the left of the granaries.
Kivas were primarily used by the community for ceremonial rituals. The kiva was also occasionally used for political meetings and casual gatherings of the men in the village. This square kiva still has most of it’s roof intact which is extremely rare for these structures.
These ruins are believed to have been built by ancestral Puebloans, who left the area more than 700 years ago.
They are some of the best ruins we saw while exploring this entire area and trust me we saw a lot. A guardrail and a couple interpretive signs are located at the overlook. These signs provide more information on the ruins and people who built them.
Natural Bridges National Monument may be known for it’s amazing bridges, but make sure you take the time to check out the Horse Collar Ruins while visiting the park.
