Sego Ghost Town ~ Utah

The Sego Canyon Rock Art Site was featured in a previous article and as mentioned, by following the main road through Thompson Springs this destination is easy to find. The dirt road is smooth all the way to the rock art, but Sego Canyon Road does get a bit rougher going further on to the old west ghost town, so a high ground clearance vehicle is a better choice. There is daily traffic in this canyon during the warm weather seasons, so being stranded out in the middle of nowhere is not a concern. With this in mind, the Sego Canyon is a nice option for National Park tourists wishing to escape from the big crowds.

The ancient indigenous rock art in Sego Canyon is famous worldwide, yet relatively few people visit this site each day because two very busy National Parks are located right next door. Even fewer people venture further into the vast Book Cliffs wilderness. The Book Cliffs region is a world of deep back country adventure and a trip to Sego Ghost Town is a good primer course. This old west ghost town actually is only a few miles beyond the petroglyphs, but the location is in a very desolate place that is a million miles away from the modern world.

Sego Ghost Town has an interesting history surrounding the discovery of a pocket of coal. What started as a cattle ranch coal mine ended up evolving into a big stock market funded operation. A small infrastructural town sprouted up and a railroad spur was routed to the coal processing mill in the early 1900s. Even more expansion was planned, but the mining operation completely dried up the underground water table. With no local water, the operations ceased and the mining camp eventually turned into a ghost town that is now called Sego.  

Some of the old building framework remains in old Sego and there are several stone block buildings on the hillside. Remnants of the short line railway can also be seen in the canyon and the foundations of the mining operation sites can be seen along this trail. Care must be taken when walking around the buildings because there are rotting floors and tons of rusty junk that add to the natural hazards. Other than that, the shade of the old cottonwood trees sure is inviting, so be sure to chalk up Sego Ghost Town on the day trip picnic destination list!