nine mile canyon ranch

We tent camped at the ranch campground on our way north from Moab. The ranch is set in the upper reach of Nine Mile Canyon and is perfectly located to allow day exploration of the canyon's rock art. The camp site's are situated in a cottonwood grove along Nine Mile Creek. Each site has a grassy tent pad, a picnic table and fire pit, drinking water is available. The owners are friendly and accommodating. While we did not stay at their cabins, they are rustic and would be a nice stay if it were cold out or if your not interested in camping out. For $10 per site, this place is worth it in an area devoid of other good camps. The road in from Route 6 is easy and completely paved. If you can, call ahead to let them know you are visiting.

We went to the Duchesne Chamber of Commerce to get information on Nine Mile Canyon and were delighted with what we found. The Chamber of Commerce is in the same building as Roosevelt Crossroads Senior Center (50 E. 200 South). A man there told us how to get to Nine Mile Canyon and suggested we buy the senior lunch for $3 each and take it to the Daddy Trail picnic area in the Canyon for lunch. We bought the lunch and off we went. It wasn't easy to follow the instructions to get to Nine Mile Canyon (we missed a turn) but later righted ourselves and off we went. The newly paved road is dotted with oil wells. Roosevelt is "energy central" and has lots of oil and gas (and oil and gas workers). We weren't sure we were on the right road but it turned out that we were. We had maps that the Chamber of Commerce gave us with lots of explanation. We saw none of the road marks until we got to the first intersection and turned left (still on a paved road). We went to the picnic area that was recommended and started on the first Daddy Canyon Trail to see petroglyphs. We saw some but not the ones photographed in one of our brochures. The Daddy Canyon Trail seemed to end abruptly at a big rock so we turned back. We had our Roosevelt Senior Center lunch in our car because it was so windy. The lunch was: The lunch was great: pork roast in gravy, baked potato and sour cream, bread, mixed vegetables, pea salad, canned pears and chocolate cake. The Senior Center lunch counter had "meals on wheels" boxes and expertly packed our lunch.Across from the Daddy Canyon day use campground is a Bill Barnett plant with huge modern equipment. Quite a juxtaposition with the 1000 year old art across the street. We went on to see the other petroglyphs on the road. We saw the most famous one "The Great Hunt" at mile 45.9 and were impressed with the quality and also how easy it was to access it. We felt we missed a lot by not hiring a guide to come with us. Our round trip mileage was 116 miles and we got to milepost 45.9 on the Nine Mile Canyon Road.

Ben provided a tour of the canyon that was most enjoyable. The Native Art is of high quality and the quantity is impressive.Camping in our RV at Ben and Myrna's Nine Mile Canyon Ranch was very relaxing with nice grass, restrooms, fire pits and picnic tables. The accommodations are rustic but add to the experience.Definitely on the return visit list!

A must for any outdoor oriented traveler. Ben is the original guide in this canyon,with local knowledge. Rustic cabins are charming or camp out by creek.

As a kid I wanted to live on a ranch......it didn't have to be fancy like an LA Dude Ranch or a big ol' Resort ranch......just cows and horses and good people.Ben and Myrna Mead at Nine Mile Ranch are hard-working generous ranch people. Camping at their place was like a fun journey back in time...they work hard but always have time to help you out with directions, tips on what to see and do in the Canyon,etc. Ben even gave us directions to a couple of special petroglyphs that were not in our book......beautiful and special. When we pulled into their campground, we inadvertently had arrived at dinner time and they had a table full of friends and family....no matter, Myrna buttered up a couple of delicious home-made rolls for us.....really!! What a treat I didn't feel like I was intruding at all.Their CG was once greener and nicer but a winter flood from up-canyon a while back just roared through and ruined all their work...however it still was great for us, we came for 3 days and stayed for more than a week. We travel with two cats and they LOVED it....I was sad to tell them we had to move on. There are Utah prairie dogs, in addition to lots of birds because of the creek. We even saw a badger in broad daylight.....never thought I could be so lucky. They DO have flush toilets and showers and an RV dumpsite. We pulled our 29 ft. 5th wheel up there ( usually we try to stay on paved roads but we are rock art fans). We had no problems. The first 12 miles is paved and a good road. The 2nd 12 miles (they are in about 24.5 miles) was a good graded dirt and gravel road.We were there in June 2012.....the road is being improved and by Spring of 2013 it might all be paved. There's no longer a store up there, so gas up and get food in Wellington....but its only 25 miles up so you're not really in the outback, it only feels like it.We viewed 40 miles of native american art (from 400 years old to possibly a few thousand years old or more) along the road and a few spots where we hiked in a little ways. We also had a couple of nice hikes around their property and one great bike ride on a dirt road that was the last 5 miles of Nine Mile Canyon (don't let the number fool you, it is 40 miles long and the 9 mile moniker comes from some surveying transect of the Powell Expedition).I loved the simplicity and beauty of this place.....I would go again and hope to come when we can join in on a cattle drive. That had a small drive while we were there.....they moved the herds to some different pastures, but we missed out as we were off looking at rock art.GO there if you like this kind of stuff. If you like the Bellagio at Las Vegas you probably won't want to go here....(well, that was arrogant, I love the Bellagio and the french bakery there and I like this place too, so what am I saying?) If you like my description, go to Nine Mile Ranch, that's all.Diane

There's a lot more there than you might think. Very nice camping or picnic area, cabins, group areas, restrooms, showers...everything you need.

We plan a family adventure every December to celebrate a December birthday away from the holiday chaos. For 2011, we chose Nine-Mile Canyon and made our reservations for the pioneer cabin at the Nine-Mill Canyon Ranch. Prior to our arrival, Ben and Merna had packed down a driving path to the cabin (there was about a foot of snow), built a fire in the cooking stove (night-time temps were around zero), cleared a path to the outhouse (we brought a porta-potty but never used it - we found the wood seat in the outhouse was far more comfortable than plastic or metal seats in more "modern" outhouses), and shoveled out the fire-pit!! Rustic but comfortable. Our sincere thanks to Ben and Merna for making this birthday adventure weekend accessible and warm.

On our way from Dinosaur National Monument to Moab, we decided to take the Nine Mile Canyon National Backcountry Byway, instead of driving around on route 191. What an adventure. This area is beautiful and out of the way. Nine Mile Ranch is really the only place in the canyon to get a warm meal and a soft bed. We requested to have dinner as well as breakfast when we made our reservation and that was an excellent idea! The food was home cooked and delicious camp fare. This ranch is not on the electric grid and made their own electricity. If you are the type to wake up during the night and read-bring your battery powered reading light. Once the generator gets turned off tor the evening, there are a few low level night lights about but nothing strong enough to read by. Our cell phones did not work here and there was no internet. It was nice to get warm by the wood stove downstairs by the guest rooms. Room was comfortable, neat and clean. Had a good night sleep until about 6:30am when the big trucks started rolling by to work on the road. Otherwise had a great nights sleep!

Ben and Myrna MeadNine Mile Canyon RanchP.O. Box 212Wellington, Utah 84542(435) 637-2572kcole@xmission.comBen and Myrna Mead operate the Bed and Bunk at Nine Mile Canyon Ranch which is 25 scenic miles from the turn at Wellington. The rustic ranch sits on lovely property with the creek running alongside its ground. Myrna and Ben’s warmth and hospitality make you feel right at home.Ben grew up exploring Nine Mile Canyon as a boy and is the perfect guide to point out the often hard-to-find petroglyphs, the historic sites (which have no markers) and brings the canyon and its inhabitants alive with the stories of the past and current ranches. Ben’s memories and insights make this a unique experience. In the mainhouse there are comfortable rooms with private baths. Breakfast is included. Dinner is made with advance request.There are also campgrounds and a bunkhouse.