Sand Caves — Attraction in Four Corners States

Love these caves! They’re really easy to find, about a mile before the Moqui Cave heading from Kanab. You can park at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary parking area, and access the trail to the caves from there. It’s about a 20 minute walk on an easy trail until you get to the red rocks that lead to the caves. At this point, it can get a little tricky for people who aren’t familiar with red rock sandstone climbing/hiking. There are many spots you can start climbing, but you’ll want to scout it all out to find the best route that you feel comfortable with. Please be careful! It’s sandy and can be slippery and dangerous, especially if you’re attempting with regular shoes (hiking boots or approach shoes are best practice). Once you get to the top, there’s a small 3-4 minute walk on the ledge to the caves. Again, be careful! It’s still very dandy and easy to slip and fall. Once you make it to the caves, it’s easy to walk around inside, but there are multiple “widows” openings that have immediate drop offs, so be careful around those openings, as it would probably lead to death or serious injuries if you were to fall. Be prepared for crowds during peak hours of the day. It took a lot of patience to get pics without people in them lol. Please don’t carve into the walls! There was so many names carved into the cave walls, and it’s just so disrespectful. Be careful when you’re ready to descend! I sat on my butt and spider crawled down the steeper part...

I read about this place, so we stopped when we left the North Rim at Grand Canyon. There is a road sign for Moqui Cave which is NOT what this Sand Cave is. This Sand Cave is BEFORE the Moqui Cave. Turn at the Best Friends Parking Lot sign. There is a gravel parking lot on the left with a port-a-potty. The trail is not marked well and once you start out on the sand path, there are limited (I saw 2 small signs the entire time) hiking trail signs. You just have to follow your instincts and keep along sand dune cave walls as you meander toward the caves. The caves are actually above and you have to climb like Spider-Man/Spider-Woman to reach them. The climb is not marked and is VERY rugged. Look for rocks marked with graffiti carvings and an AA (have no idea what this marking means) and start the steep ascent. It is not for the inexperienced and you must have good hiking/climbing shoes and plenty of water. Take double what you think - it is that treacherous. My husband and I are in good shape and hike moderate trails relatively easily and this was difficult. As we hiked back, we saw people totally unprepared wearing sandals and not much water and we told them it was rugged and difficult. Be careful with this one. Not sure why local community doesn’t mark this sand cave and provide extreme caution. Maybe by not marking they are not liable for injuries which I believe probably occur...

I agree with another reviewer, this is NOT for small kids (4 and under). You park across the street and walk over. There's sort of a trail that takes you to the sandstone rock wall, then it's up to you where to try to go up. If you head left at the sandstone wall, the ascent isn't quite as steep. I had a 5yr old and a 22mo old and we gave up after climbing about 10ft off the ground (I was carrying the 22mo old in my arms most of the way). The 5yr old probably would have made it to the top. NO WAY was I taking the 22mo old once I saw the slant of the rock wall! There are parts where you have to sort of flatten yourself against the slanted wall and slide across to get back to stable footing. If you fall it's a 20+ft drop. Probably no problem for me to do on my own. Would have been very challenging for my 5yr old. Impossible while carrying a toddler in your arms (or even a baby carrier/ backpack, IMO). Guess we'll have to come back when the baby's a little older! One of the local tour guides who has a niece the same age as my baby recommended this to us. Maybe there's an easier way up that we missed?!? It looked SO cool, I was bummed to have to skip it, but better safe than sorry when kids...