Catacomb Rock and Wind Cave Moab Utah

I love adventure and discovering the extraordinary, especially in the beautiful red rock desert of Moab, Utah. On a recent trip to Moab's stunning landscapes, I was with a friend equally passionate about exploring the outdoors. The friend jokingly commented about wanting to "climb every rock in Moab." While impossible in one weekend due to Moab's vast and breathtaking rock formations, we aimed to explore some of the most impressive ones. After a little preplanning, I felt like a trip to Catacomb Rock on the way to the Chicken Corners trail would be the most exciting adventure for a Moab first-timer.

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Our trip to Catacomb Rock led us down Kane Creek Road and out past Hurrah Pass to Chicken Corners. If you have never been to Chicken Corners before, get set for an all-day adventure. The trail is a nonstop adventure through a huge canyon along the Colorado River. There are thousand foot cliffs on all sides that enclose the snaking Colorado River on its way to the sea. In my opinion, the best way to access the area is with a UTV, although the area is also very popular with Jeeps and other types of off-road vehicles. You will know when you get to Chicken Corners as it is a really narrow squeeze around a cliff edge across from Dead Horse Point State Park. The cliff edge is many hundreds of feet above the Colorado River and can be nerve-racking for new drivers. The trail itself is easy; it is the trail's location that makes crossing it so scary. If you still have nerves left, you can take the Chicken Corners hiking trail out past the end of the Off-Road trail.

So, sticking to our word, after hiking around Chicken Corners and going out the Chicken Corners hiking trail, we climbed back up and over the rocks to get back to our UTV, and we started the long ride back towards town. With so many rocks around we really felt like we were missing all of the good climbing rocks until we spotted this really huge pile of rocks out in the middle of the desert.

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The rock pile is known as Catacomb Rock. I had been there before and thought it was a really neat place. I knew my friend would love to explore the rock's hidden caves. I knew we would have plenty of rocks to climb on there. There are many short little caves or tunnels in the rock that give the rock its name, but I didn’t know there was actually a tunnel that would go all the way through the rock and come out on the other side.

To give you an idea of the size of the rock pile, think of the size of an NFL stadium. The rock formation has lots of openings around it base that offer lots of exploring. After a few dead ends, we found one tunnel that just kept going and going. We thought it would surely be a dead end, but it just kept going. The cave eventually got so narrow and so deep enough that you couldn’t see any light, but we just kept crawling. We eventually started to see some light and made it to the other side but not before scaring a bat, or maybe he scared us?

The far end of the cave is much different than the side from which we started. Instead of a huge opening, the far end is a jumbled mass of car-sized boulders you will have to crawl over and through. You will soon emerge from a small gap to an expansive view of the Chicken Corners / Lockheart Basin area. It is important to remember where you emerged from as it is very easy to lose the spot. The spot we emerged from was only big enough to barely squeeze through. I would suggest marking your exit spot by leaving a hat or something behind that you can grab on your way back. The cave is a great place to take capable kids who like adventure.

Kids and adults, for that matter, will love exploring the cave and its interesting rock formations. There are no big drop-offs, so just be sure to bring a light with you. A cell phone light will work, but I would suggest something brighter. The cave is also a great spot to stop for lunch on a hot day as it provides much-needed shade.

Catacomb Rock and Chicken Corners are so far from town it would be a mistake not to explore both areas on the same trip. I highly recommend bringing lunch with you on this trip as the trip takes all day. Also, don't forget to bring lots of water!

If you are looking for a great location to go overlanding in Moab, this might be the perfect spot. It is outside of Canyonlands National Park, so you don't need to get any special passes. The rock has the same, if not better, views as the parks, but the crowds are much smaller than in the National Park. To be exact, there are no crowds here. The above video is of my second trip to the Wind Caves with a group that was less adventurous, which is why this video is a solo adventure. If you are like me and are always looking for a slightly more odd adventure than the normal tourist sees, check out some of my other videos. My videos showcase many of the unknown adventures of the Moab area. Are you heading to Moab? Well, you are going to need a place to stay. Why not check out https://www.moabadventurecondo.com