-->

Paiute Cave

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 200 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 5339 - 5358 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 45 mins.
Trailhead: 36.57080, -113.04433
Fee: none
Attractions: pictographs




Paiute Cave is located in the Arizona Strip south of Colorado City, Arizona. Found within the volcanic cave are several dozen, mostly red and yellow, Paiute pictographs.


To get there from Colorado City, turn off of AZ-389 onto County Road 5 and follow it for 30.5 miles before turning left. CR 5 is mostly a very good road during dry weather but if there has been a lot of rain there are low places that turn into lakes. An alternate route that is usually good even during wet weather is to turn off closer to Fredonia on CR 109, follow that for 40 miles to its junction with CR-5, turn right, and drive north for ~9.5 miles before turning right toward Paiute Cave.


After turning off of CR-5 continue on what is normally a 2WD road for just under 1.5 miles. At that point go to the right and the trailhead will be less than 500 feet away.


The side road ends at an official trailhead for Paiute Cave where there is a sign-in register.


Next to the trailhead there is a large bowl shaped depression where the cave is located. It is only about 100 feet from where you park to the opening of the cave.


The first pictographs are on a lip of the ceiling at the mouth of the cave.


These include 2 little red anthropomorphic figures and a snake.


To get to the rest of the images you have to scramble down a slope of boulders. There is actually a pretty good route on the left that isn't too difficult to manage. All you have to do is take care not to fall into any gaps between the rocks.


The first image on the left is of some concentric circles that probably served as a solar calendar.


Next to the concentric circles is a vivid red and yellow rainbow. It is one of the first images that catches your eye when you first look down into the cave.

The central set of images is a group of a half dozen little anthropomorphic figures that were made using red, white, and yellow paint.

These figure all have the same basic body shape that is differentiated by its own pattern of coloring.

The zigzag line beneath this figure starts out red on the left but changes to yellow on the right. You've got to wonder what that was meant to signify. Was it just an artistic choice or did it express a special meaning.

Here is a closer look at a few of the other images that are higher up.

All the way off on the right you will find these images. A legless anthropomorphic figure and a red zigzag with a yellow outline.

There is plenty of light inside of the cave other than in a couple of dark corners where there didn't seem to be anything. The only level spot is the flat top of one of the boulders. If the people that made the images had wanted to inhabit the cave I'm sure they could have made some good level places by bringing in some of the rocks from outside the entrance. The cave probably served some spiritual purpose. The light shining into the cave lights up the images like an electric light does a billboard.


At one time the location of Paiute Cave was probably more well known as you will find its exact location marked on some topo maps. The trail register shows people have been coming from all over the country to visit it on a regular, but not daily, basis. It should go without saying that you will need to treat the cave with the respect that it deserves and not do anything that might damage the images. If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.