Off-road & Hike to Moon House Ruins, Cedar Mesa, Utah

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NOTE: Moon House is the only day hike that requires a permit instead of a day hiking pass. Moon House permits are limited to 20 people/day. Moon House (sometimes written as Moonhouse) is a Pueblo III-period cliff dwelling located in southeastern Utah on Cedar Mesa. It was created by the Anasazi or Ancestral Puebloan peoples between 1150 and 1300. The hike is 3.2 miles (round trip) to Moon House. Three sections of the Moon House complex are identified by Bloomer (1989); M-1, M-2, and M-3. These are discussed briefly. Structures from the M-1 cluster yield tree-ring dates from between 964 and 1267, with most rooms clustering between 1125 and 1250. Structures from the M-2 cluster date from between 1109 and 1268. Structures in the M-3 cluster date from between 1044 and 1266, with most dates between 1150 and 1255. Both Dean and Bloomer postulate different rooms served different functions,and each section of the Moon House complex had a different function. M-1 seems to represent a residential area, with approximately 5 households, while M-2 primarily functioned as a storage area and M-3 as a ceremonial unit dominated by a large kiva. It is interesting to note that Bloomer found no other kivas within the canyon where Moon House is located, indicating that perhaps Moon House served as a local ceremonial center, servicing the ceremonial needs of the residents nearby in the canyon as well as possibly from the mesa tops. Moon House derives its name from the unique pictographs located within Room I within the M-1 cluster.

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