Upper Jenny Canyon Ruins

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 1.6 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 5719 - 5798 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 3 hrs.
Trailhead: Jenny Canyon Walk-in
Fee: none
Attractions: cliff dwellings

Jenny Canyon is located about 4 miles due east of Blanding, Utah. This post is for a half dozen ruins that can be found in the upper portion of the canyon. Five of the ruins are cliff dwellings that are located beneath overhanging cliffs. A sixth ruin is the rubble pile remains of a once freestanding structure.

If coming from the north turn off of US-191 on the east side of the dam for Recapture Reservoir and follow CR #215 as it angles up the hill to Mustang Mesa. At the 2 mile point from US-191 turn right onto the Mustang Road. Continue for another 6.8 miles and turn right, passing through a gate, and follow the 4wd road that heads west on the south side of the fence. The land on the north side of the fence is private property.

The 4wd road crosses several minor washes as it parallels the fence heading due west toward Jenny Canyon. Between these washes and the hump between the ruts a high clearance vehicle would be the best. It never hurts to bring a shovel on roads like this. Right before the end of the 4wd road there is a 4-way intersection. At this intersection turn right onto a more primitive 4wd road and follow it for about a half mile to where it ends near the rim of Jenny Canyon. On the right hand side of the turn around area at the end of the road there is a wide path that leads down into Jenny Canyon.

Once you get down into the canyons wash go to the right where you will be confronted with a wild looking fence that is stretched across the wash to keep cows from getting into the upper part of the canyon. We found that the easiest way of proceeding is to get down and go under the fence.

From the fence it is a pleasant and easy hike up the wash. Just before the half mile point there is a fork in the canyon. Three of the smallest ruins are on the left side of the wash at this point and the rest are further up the left hand fork. For this post we are saving the three smaller ruins for after we hike up the left fork. We did hike up the right fork but didn't find any ruins.

The left fork has multiple obstacles that require some minor scrambling to get around.

As you continue past the first couple of obstacles you should notice an almost inaccessible cave on the right side with a heavily blackened roof that indicates signs of habitation. Rather than wall off the opening they probably needed all the ventilation they could get.

The next site is a small cliff dwelling that sits on a bench between the bottom of the wash and the rim of the canyon. There is a small arch just to the left of this ruin that could actually be used as a drop in point for the upper part of Jenny Canyon. To get up to this bench from the wash requires scrambling up a short section of cliff. If you wanted to drop into the canyon through the arch you will have needed to climb out of the canyon back where it forks and followed the rim to this point.

If you are making use of our downloadable GPX file this will be the waypoint labeled 'Arch Ruin'. This well intact wall tapers all the way down to the back of the alcove. It's kind of neat to look at.

From the Arch Ruin you can work your way on around the cliff heading up the canyon without going all the way back down to the bottom of the wash. There are a few patches of poison ivy to avoid. The stalks were short so we actually trod them under foot as we walked around the corner to the next ruin.

This west facing ruin is the largest ruin in the upper portion of Jenny Canyon.

We counted what seemed to be 5 rooms stretched out along the wall beneath the shallow overhang.

The next ruin is beneath a spillover at the head of the canyon. The front of the cave that this ruin is in has a very dense growth of brush that has a mix of poison ivy in its midst. The easiest access is all the way on the left side of the cave where the wall of brush is the thinnest.

Heading back down the canyon there are 3 more sites that are worth taking a look at on the west side of the canyon back at the fork. The first one is just a little above the bottom of the wash. There are a few stub walls remaining and some shards of pottery.

Just south of that ruin is a pile of rocks where at one time there was a free standing pueblo type ruin with at least one room.

This is a sample of some of the pottery found around the pile of rubble.

Straight up the side of the hill from the rubble pile ruin is one more little cliff dwelling that is beneath an overhang. The overhang is visible from the wash but the shoulder of the hill mostly hides the ruin..

The ruins in the upper end of Jenny Canyon are much less impressive than those that are downstream near Corncob Hollow. They are worth visiting to get a more complete picture of how Jenny Canyon was once utilized. Both upper Jenny Canyon and the ruins down toward Corncob Hollow could be visited on the same trip and from the same trailhead. If you would like to see them for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.