Paria Townsite / Ghost Town

KANAB, UT

I learned about this place through a little insider tip from my White Pocket tour guide. After she dropped me off at my car, she told me to drive toward Kanab, take my first right at the "Paria Townsite" sign, and go all the way to the end of the road. I would know when I got there.

She was right.

It was one of those things where I came up over a hill and bam! I front of me were hills striped with ribbons of color.

The rocks have alternating layers of red, white, purple, and grayish-blue strata, part of the petrified forest member of the Chinle Formation.

There were dozens of known attempts at settlement in this valley over the centuries, the last started in 1869 and at one point was home to a general store, a church, several sandstone houses, log houses, a post office, and a failed gold mine. The population was as large as 47 families.

After just 40 years, the town was abandoned. Like other attempted settlements at this site, the frequent floods from the river made the land inhabitable, hence the "ghost town" designation. You can still see a few rock foundations.

All these photos were taken from my car - this is the scenery along the little pitted road that winds into the valley.