Johns Canyon , Mexican Hat, Ut

 
47 miles, April 18, 2016

We headed north from Mexican Hat on Hwy 163, turning to the left (towards Gooseneck State Park) on road 261, for a short distance, then left on 316 a tar road. Turn right at MM 3. which is Johns Canyon road. There are 2 boondocking spots, the second one is flatter.

We headed out at 9:30 am directley onto Johns Canyon Road.  The first part of the road is flat with a bluff off to the right.  As you head on the trail travels closer to the rim of the San Juan River and the mountain/bluff
We came to the waterfall at GPS #  Is is a hard rock ledge with water flowing over. Just past this is the Y, to the right is Johns Canyon.  This is where the creek flows to the waterfall.  We didn't  go very far and came to a dead end, a wilderness study area.  Too bad because there are numerous petroglyphs along the creek/canyon.

We went back to the Y and took a right.  We saw numerous petroglyphs along this trail.
We came to the massive rock slide (see photo below), the trail has been cleared. We kept going enjoying the petroglyphs, rock formations and the creek at the bottom of the ravine. We arrived at the end of the trail and the odometer was at 25.  It was 8 miles back to the Y and at the end of the trail we had gone 47 miles at 5pm 

We took a side trip to Gooseneck State Park

INFORMATION>
LOCATION>   NEAREST CITY= Mexican Hat, Ut 5 mi  DIRECTIONS= north from Mexican Hat on Hwy 163, turning to the left (towards Gooseneck State Park) on road 261, for a short distance, then left on 316 a tar road. Turn right at MM 3. which is Johns Canyon road.
AREA >   TYPE OF LAND=-desert, , OWNER=  BLM
QUALITY >  Pro-beautiful terrain / Con-non /  Length of stay-1 / Rating-stars3
TERRAIN>  MILES OF TRAILS, 47 miles with dust / water crossing /    TRAIL MAINTENCE   / SQ. MILE AREA -yes/  NEAR BY TRAILS- Bluff, Ut River house ruin
REGULATIONS> Permit required / Campin /whip / helmets req. / width req.-None
FEE> Camping -RV park in Blanding, 42 mi or Boondocking at Johns Canyon
KEY SERVICES> Camping boondocking on Johns Canyon road /  Water, Diesel, Gasoline- 5 miles away at Mexican Hat /  First Aid-Blanding, Ut-42 mi /  Dump-Campground in Bluff / Food=Blanding, Ut 42 mi
GPS POINTS>
SIDE TRIPS> Gooseneck state park
CONTACTS>BLM