The Sand Caves are a fun stop along Hwy 89 about five miles north of Kanab. They are sometimes called Moqui Caves. (That is how they are labeled on the map below). They are just south of the commercial Moqui Cave museum/ruins.

It is fun to climb up the sandstone and explore the caves. There is an obvious parking area on the west side of the highway. The caves are on the east side and are clearly visible from the road. There are multiple routes that lead up to the caves but the easiest approach is to climb up the ridge immediately across from the parking and then follow the contour over to the caves.

Kids over about age nine should be able to do the hike without help. Smaller children will need a hand. The climb up to the cave contour is steep but not as bad as it may look from the road.

This is a popular hike year-round. The area receives little snow during winter. In summer, afternoons are hot but mornings and evenings are usually very pleasant. Even during the heat of the day, it is not bad doing the short hike to the cool caverns.

Most people spend 1-2 hours in the area.

Kanab Tourism officials say the caves are man-made. Years ago a company mining for sand pulled it out of the sandstone ridge. We haven’t found additional details. In some areas, the caves have black on the ceiling from campfire smoke. Many people have carved names into the sandstone in the caves and along the ridge.

These are the coordinates for the caves. The parking area is on the west side of US 89.

Latitude: 37.117154

Longitude: -112.560454

It is worth stopping if you are in the area.