Pipe Spring National Monument

April 18, 2013

The weather was chilly, so a water hike was out of the question. It had been a couple of years since I had been to Pipe Spring, and I had to this point never blogged about it, so Liz and I thought we better make the hour drive out there and do some exploring.

We left Hurricane, Utah at 10:00am and got onto Hwy 59 (100 south in Hurricane) heading east toward Colorado City. As we started up the Hurricane Cliffs, we saw a sign indicating that Pipe Spring was 44 miles away.

The Drive was actually a bit reminiscent as I passed by some trail heads of hikes that I had gone on in the past, such as Hurricane Canal and Gooseberry Mesa. After about a half an hour we made it to the Colorado City/Hilldale area, which is also the Utah/Arizona boarder. About 10 miles later, after 41.2 miles on Hwy 59, we came to the signed turnoff for Pipe Spring.

Visitors Center

We took a left on Pipe Spring road, and followed the signs for .25 of a mile until we saw the Pipe Spring Visitors Center on the left. We turned in the parking lot, parked, and headed into the Visitors Center to check in with our annual National Parks Pass.

The Visitor's Center has a self guided tour area that contains some neat artifacts and a history of the area and the people who populated it. We spent time walking through this area at the end of our visit.

First, we wanted to go on the hike, of course! The hike is only .57 miles and has many

Liz, on the trail

informative signs along the way. It makes a loop, beginning and ending right by Windsor Castle, the main attraction of Pipe Spring. We started our hike by heading south-west, overlooking the highway that we just came in on.

We read all the signs as we made our way along the edge of the cliffs, and then followed the trail as it turned back north-east toward Windsor Castle. The trail was an easy walk, but helped give us a feeling and idea of what some of the early inhabitants had to work with as far as edible plants and the surrounding terrain.

Windsor Castle

When we got back to Windsor Castle, a Ranger guided tour of the Castle was just ending and one was getting ready to begin (the tours are every half hour). We met the ranger at the massive wooden doors and Liz and I were the only two people there at the time, so we got our own private tour. The Castle was built back in 1870 to safeguard the settlers living in the area from the frequent raids of the Navajo Indians, who just 4 years earlier had killed James Whitmore and his ranch hand while Whitmore was trying to recover his stolen livestock.

A spring (Pipe Spring) actually runs through the Castle and was used for, among other things, a method of refrigeration of food. Also in the Castle was a Telegraph outpost, who's first operator was Eliza Louella Stewart. The Castle also housed many travellers on their way to St George, and elsewhere.  

Retaining Ponds

Retaining ponds were build to hold water from the spring once it exited the Castle and the water was used for watering the livestock and irrigating the garden and orchard. The National Monument is also made up of two additional buildings - the East Cabin and the West Cabin - which housed people from Explorer John Wesley Powell to the Mormon Militia.

It was a very enlightening hike and visit to a very remote, but inviting place.


A look at the Ranch from just outside of the Visitors Center

Trail Sign

Liz, on the trail and under the old telegraph wire

A look at the Arizona Strip from the trail

A plaque on Windsor Castle

The Parlor inside Windsor Castle

The kitchen in Windsor Castle. The stove is the original stove.

This is the room were telegraphs were sent and also the bedroom that the operator lived in.