About this place
The Mansard Trail is about five miles there and back. You start from the Vermilion Cliffs Estates subdivision, east of Kanab.
It climbs the Vermilion Cliffs to an alcove. On the sloping sandstone floor of that alcove are petroglyphs, pecked and carved into the rock somewhere between 870 and 1,070 years ago.
The climb is about 950 feet on switchbacks. The views over Kanab and the plateaus of northern Arizona open out the whole way up.
At the top of the cliffs there is a short run of rough stone slabs. You may need to use your hands.
After that the trail crosses a sandy plateau and arrives at the base of the White Cliffs, where the alcove is.
The images there come from the Pueblo II period, roughly 950 to 1150.
Native American groups call images like these rock writing. They were a way of passing on a message.
This is a walking trail. Horses are allowed, but the stone scramble is a serious obstacle for them.
Dogs are allowed too, and they may need a hand on the steep part.
An ATV can reach the site by BLM104. That is a hard four-wheel-drive road.
The trailhead has a graveled parking area and nothing else.
The Kanab Visitor Center has maps and more.
The facts
- Cost
- Camping fee not confirmed
- Roads around it
- A graveled parking area at the trailhead. An ATV can reach the site by BLM104, a hard four-wheel-drive road
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Rules and restrictions
- Bicycles and motor vehicles are not allowed on the Mansard Trail.
- Keep dogs on a leash and away from the alcove. Take their waste out with you.
- Never touch, trace, slide on or deface the rock writing. Skin on the rock wears the images away for good.
- Do not add markings or a signature of your own anywhere around the site.
- Leave the sand where it is. Do not dig holes and do not brush off the panel.
- Do not step or climb on the rock surface in the alcove. Watch what you do with hiking poles.
- Do not camp, eat or go to the bathroom near the site.
- Damaging, defacing or removing any artifact or rock writing on public land is a crime. It can bring a fine or a prison sentence.
- Report damage or vandalism to the Kanab Field Office on 435-644-1200, or to the Kane County Sheriff’s Department on 435-644-4916.
Getting there
Start at the Kanab Visitor Center. Drive east on Highway 89 for 4.9 miles and turn left onto Vista Avenue. After 0.1 mile, turn right onto Vermillion Avenue. Follow Vermillion Avenue 0.6 miles, then turn left onto Coyote Canyon Way. After 0.3 miles, turn left onto Rock Ledge Lane. Rock Ledge Lane turns from paved to gravel and becomes BLM105M. After 0.25 miles, keep right at the Y to reach the trailhead.
Coordinates 37.03500188, -112.4233048
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
A few more of our own spots are within reach of this one, along with some better-known places.
- Pipe Spring National Monument Directions
- The Wave Directions
- Cottonwood Point Wilderness Directions
- Canaan Mountain Wilderness Directions
- Zion National Park Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Kanab, UT Directions
Kanab is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
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Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026.