Sand Canyon and Rock Creek Trailhead

Chris Wilson

The Sand Canyon trail is a great hike if you want to get to some of the lesser visited archaeological sites in this region and get a nice hike in while you view them. Distance between the two trailheads and Sand Canyon is 6 miles. We opted to hike in about three and a half miles and hike back out. The archaeological sites are located within the first three miles of the trail. The portion that we hiked is a moderate hike, with little elevation changes. It is well worn and pretty well marked with cairns so we didn't have any difficulty following the trail. The trail is fairly exposed so if you're going out on hot days it would be best to go early morning. It took us about 2 and 1/2 hours and we took time to stop and take pictures and really look at the sites and the scenery in this canyon.

natalie A

Just a beautiful hike. Breathtaking. Spotted a lot of ruins. It gets hot quickly so bring water. Peaceful. Pets are welcomed. No bathrooms available, so bring a shovel. Different path can take you to little surprises. Please be kind to the area.

Adventure Krewe

Wow some amazing hikes out here were you can get up close to pueblo ruins. Trail may be difficult with fresh snow or you need a lot of water in the summer. Starting early or going a few hours before sunset provides some amazing light on the clouds. Spring and fall are best times to hike. Trails are fairly well marked with spurs to see the sites. Follow @adventurekrewe For more reviews and travel trips.

Matthew Brown

Great place to see some classic beautiful southwestern landscapes! The trail we took was hard to follow to the end. We somehow got off the trail we were on and couldn't find any markers to identify what trail we had wandered on to. We found some cliff dwelling ruins we weren't expecting to find, which was great! Even though they weren't much, they were the first ones I'd ever seen. The difficulty of the trail wasn't as hard as we expected it to be, but it was very hot.