Kanab Dinosaur Tracksite

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 1.2 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 5041 - 5305 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: Port of Entry
Fee: none
Attractions: Dinosaur tracks

The Kanab Dinosaur Tracksite is located on the point of a cliff that overlooks US Highway 89 and the Port of Entry in Kanab, Utah. The relatively easy site to access has tracks in close proximity that were made by a variety of different species of dinosaurs.

The trailhead is in the southeast corner of the Utah Port of Entry's parking lot. There aren't any trail signs but they did paint stripes showing where to park and they even provide a porta-potty.

There is an obvious trail to follow as you first leave the parking area but as you get away from the trailhead there are a number of confusing side trails. The main trail heads off to the left where it finds an easier place to get up on the short cliff at the base of the hill. Most of the side trails lead directly over to the cliff where there are a couple of more adventurous scrambling routes.

However you go about it the goal is to reach the very top of the point of the cliff that juts out into the valley.

A little more effort is required to get up the last part of the hill where the trail gets steeper.

Some of the easier tracks to spot once you get on top of the hill have cairns and rings of rocks around the tracks. This particular track looks like a probable sauropod.

This theropod (three toed) track doesn't have a cairn or a ring of rocks but it is still easy enough to spot.

Here's a slightly different theoropod impression.

This track is right on the edge of the cliff. Directly in front of the track are a lot of indistinct partial tracks. It's probably the case that in high traffic areas it is the last track made that has the best chance of being completely preserved.

Yet another track.

There is at least one trackway on these flat slabs. One pair of theropod tracks appear to be parallel with the track shown above that was right on the edge of the cliff and traveling in the same direction.

It's interesting that the track site here by the Port of Entry doesn't really have an official name. Those that stop at the Visitor Information Center in Kanab and ask about dinosaur tracks will be told first of all about the Bunting Hill site where there is a boulder with a couple of theropod tracks. That is where we learned that the site by the Port of Entry doesn't have an official name. It has a good assortment of tracks though and is well worth taking the time to visit if you have an interest in dinosaur tracks. If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.