by Two Outliers 
Driving through southern Utah and looking for a quick stop to stretch your legs? Check out the Moqui Caverns (a.k.a Kanab Sand Caves) a quick, half-mile hike located off Highway 89 near Kanab, UT. Originally, the Moqui Caverns were created as a sand mine, but today they offer a fun, short adventure with nice views looking through the “windows” to the rocky, orange cliffs in the distance.
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Article Contents
- Moqui Caverns: Kanab Sand Caves overview
- Where are the Moqui Caverns
- Are the Moqui Caverns worth visiting?
- Moqui Cave Museum
- Moqui Caverns hike
- Highlights and lowlights
- How difficult is the Moqui Caves Hike?
- When is the best time to visit?
- Things to know before you go
- Moqui Caverns hike details
Moqui Caverns: Kanab Sand Caves
The Moqui Caverns, a.k.a. Kanab Sand Caves, are a series of man-made sandstone caves carved out of the side of a cliff in southern Utah. Located just minutes from Kanab, Utah on Highway 89, the Sand Caves are easy to access via a short half-mile round trip hike.
The Moqui Caverns are man-made, and are actually the remnants of a sand mine from the 1970’s. The sand mined from the caves was melted down to create glass products.
If you are wondering how the name “Moqui” came to be, the title refers to the Hopi tribe of Native Americans (previously known as the Moqui Native Americans) who inhabited the area centuries ago.
Remember to Leave No Trace. Pack out what you pack in, stay on trail, be well-prepared, leave nothing behind, take only photos and memories with you, treat the area with respect and help preserve this beautiful spot for generations to come.
Read more about Kanab
Where are the Moqui Caverns?
The Moqui Caverns are conveniently located just 7 minutes outside of Kanab, UT. The Sand Caves are just under an hour from the Zion National Park Visitor Center and about 35 minutes from East Zion. If you are driving from Page, Arizona to Zion National Park, you will go right past the Moqui Caverns.
The southern section of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, which is one of our favorite federal lands, is also located nearby. We highly recommend checking out the Toadstool Hoodoos, which are about 45 minutes from the caverns.
The Belly of the Dragon, which is a massive man-made tunnel carved out under the road, is also located under 15 minutes from the Sand Caves. Belly of the Dragon has become fairly “Insta-famous” but wasn’t our favorite stop.
Are the Moqui Caverns worth visiting?
We personally thought the Moqui Caverns were a bit overrated, made famous by cute pictures on Instagram.
That being said, they are quick and easy to access and worth a stop if you are driving through the area. We wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to get here.
Visiting the Moqui Cave Museum
The Moqui Caverns/Kanab Sand Caves are not to be confused with the Moqui Cave Museum, located just down the road.
The museum, which is itself a cave, houses a collection of artwork, fossilized minerals and rocks, a set of dinosaur tracks and various Native American artifacts. Even on hot summer days, the interior of the Moqui Cave Museum doesn’t exceed 65 degrees, making it a great spot to cool off!
- Entrance to the museum is $5 per person, and you can find more information here.
Overview | Moqui Caverns Hike
- Hiking distance | 0.5 miles
- Elevation gain | 100 feet
- Total time | 1 hour
- Epic-ness rating | 5
- Difficulty | Easy
- Fees | None
Find this hike on AllTrails: Moqui Caverns
Please note that the trailhead for the Moqui Caverns on the AllTrails link above is NOT correct. While the destination is accurate, the parking lot is actually just across the road from the caves.
How difficult is the Moqui Caverns Hike?
The hike to Moqui Caverns is about 0.5 miles round trip and gains nearly 100 feet of elevation. Because of the short distance, we’ve rated the hike as easy. However, be aware that there is a bit of scrambling to get up to the caves. The rock is sandy and a little slick, so you will want a pair of hiking boots or shoes with good traction.
Once you climb up, you will walk along a somewhat narrow sandstone ledge, which may be troubling for those with a serious fear of heights.
Highlights
- Easy, short hike
- Cool views looking out the caves
- Interesting patterns along the sandstone walls
Lowlights
- Interior of the caverns is covered in graffiti
- Short rock scramble required
Warning: Hiking to the Moqui Caverns requires crossing Highway 89 from the parking area to reach the trailhead. Please use caution when crossing this busy road, especially if you have children with you, as cars often speed.
When is the best time to hike?
For milder temperatures, the best time of year to visit Moqui Caverns is during the spring and fall. However, since it’s such a short hike and the caves offer some shade, visiting during the summer would be doable despite hot temperatures. In the winter, the trail may be covered in snow making the scramble up to the caves more challenging and dangerous.
Things to know before you go
Below are a few important details to be aware of before you visit the Moqui Caverns in Kanab.
- Unfortunately, the inside of the caves is covered in grafitti. Plus, the caves are man-made. If you are looking for an escape into nature, this is not it.
- This is a popular spot, so expect crowds.
- You can see the sand caves from the road. The parking area is just across Highway 89 from the caverns.
- Technically dogs are not prohibited, but we wouldn’t recommend bringing your four-legged friends due to the scramble required to reach the sand caves.
Moqui Caverns Hike Details
In the section below, we’ll give you the details on the hike to the Moqui Caverns/Kanab Sand Caves.
Our experience
We ended up visiting the Moqui Caverns after our plans to hike Buckskin Gulch fell through due to recent snow, making the road to the trailhead impassable.
Since we were in the Kanab area, we were looking for things to do and had seen photos of the Moqui Caves so we decided to check them out! We thought the sand caves were pretty and a nice way to spend half an hour in Kanab.
That being said, we probably wouldn’t go out of our way to return.
Parking and getting to the trailhead
Finding the parking area for the Kanab Sand Caves can be a bit confusing.
If you search for Moqui Caverns on GoogleMaps, it will take you to the parking area for the Moqui Cave Museum. AllTrails will take you to the same spot. This is NOT the trailhead and you cannot park here – parking at the Moqui Cave Museum is for paying guests only.
The correct parking area is a small dirt pull off located just across the road from the Moqui Caverns. To find the right spot, search for “Sand Caves” on GoogleMaps and then look out for the pulloff across the street. Alternatively, we’ve provided the rough GPS coordinates here:
- Kanab Sand Caves: 37.11679, -112.56268
Map of Moqui Caverns
The map below displays the location of the Moqui Caverns/Kanab Sand Caves, the parking lot to start the hike, and the Moqui Cave Museum. Kanab and Zion National Park are also marked in yellow as reference points.
- To view more details about each location, click on the marker on the map.
- To save this map for future use, click the star next to the title. From your phone, open the Google Maps app and click the “saved” tab, followed by the “Maps” icon. From your Gmail account, navigate to Maps –> “Saved” –> “My Maps” –> “Maps” tab.
- To email this map to yourself, click the three dots in the upper right corner.
Starting the hike
From the parking area, you can see the Moqui Caverns carved out of the cliff face across the street. To start the hike, cross Highway 89 and look for a sandy trail that leads to the base of the cliff. From there, you will have to scramble up the rock until you are level with the Sand Caves.
There are a couple different routes you could take to get up, but the most popular option seemed to be climbing up to the left until you are level with the caves, and then walking across the sandstone ledge until you reach the caves.
If you have a really bad fear of heights, this may be a bit tough for you, but the good news is that you are never very high up. Take your time and you’ll be just fine!
Exploring the Moqui Caverns
Once you arrive at the Moqui Caverns you can spend some time exploring the different sections.
The floor of the caves is sand and there are several carved out windows with nice views of the orange cliffs below. The cave continues back until you reach a dark dead end.
We were a little bit disappointed by the amount of graffiti inside the cave. That being said, there are also some really beautiful natural patterns and colors along the sandstone walls!
Moqui Caverns packing list
In addition to your standard hiking gear, below are a few items to make sure you pack for hiking the Moqui Caves.
- Sun protection (sunscreen, chapstick and sunglasses) | The desert sun is intense!
- Hiking boots | It’s good to have some traction on your shoes for climbing up the sandstone cliffs.
- Snacks, lunch and water | I always hike with my Camelbak Helena – it’s the perfect size for storing the essentials for a day hike and comes with a 2 liter bladder.
Other hikes nearby
Planning a road trip through Utah? Be sure to check out these other great hikes nearby:
- Red Hollow Slot Canyon | 20 minutes from Moqui Caverns
- Toadstool Hoodoos | 45 minutes away
- Belly of the Dragon | 10 minutes away
- Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch | 45 minutes from away
- Figure Eight Loop in Bryce Canyon | 1 hours 10 minutes from the Moqui Caverns
- Fairyland Loop in Bryce Canyon| 1 hour 15 minutes away
Looking for more great hikes in Kanab? We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the best hikes in the area here:
Read More
Have you visited the Moqui Caverns in Kanab? Questions about visiting the Sand Caves? Let us know in the comments section below!
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Crossing Highway 89 to go to the Sand Caves is very dangerous. People drive 89 way too fast. I run a Tour business going up the canyon out of Kanab. I go every day and witnessed some very scary close calls. Use extreme caution Crossing the highway
Hi Ken, thanks for your note! It’s a good point. I’ve added a warning about crossing the highway to the article.