Cross Canyon | Colorado

The Cross Canyon Wilderness Study Area, located within Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, protects a sweeping network of stair‑stepped canyons ranging from 300 to 900 feet deep. These canyons cut through a broad, gently southwest‑tilting plateau that rises to about 6,500 feet along the area’s northeast boundary. Throughout this rugged landscape, ancestral Puebloan sites are common, adding deep cultural significance to the dramatic geologic setting.

The mosaic of deep canyons that carve through the plateau - including Cross Canyon and its tributaries, Ruin Canyon and Cow Cove Canyon - reveal vivid exposures of Dakota Sandstone and the Morrison Formation. Thick stands of pinyon pine and Utah juniper cloak the uplands, while sagebrush, rabbitbrush, and cottonwood-lined canyon bottoms support wildlife ranging from deer and black bear to mountain lion, coyotes, and lizards.

Things to Do

Opportunities for exploration include hiking, backpacking, camping, hunting, horseback riding, photography, and other similar activities. With no recreation infrastructure, visitors must rely on backcountry skills to navigate the rugged terrain and remote desert environment.

When planning your visit, please keep the following regulations in mind:

• Primitive Recreation: Motorized equipment and equipment used for mechanical transport are prohibited on all federal lands designated as Wilderness. This includes the use of motor vehicles (including OHVs), motorboats, motorized equipment, bicycles, hang gliders, wagons, carts, portage wheels, and the landing of aircraft including helicopters, unless provided for in specific legislation.
• Camping: Dispersed camping is allowed for up to 14 days.

Wilderness Ethics​

To help ensure that everyone has a positive and inspiring experience in wilderness, visitors should practice wilderness-friendly outdoor ethics, including the seven principles developed through the national Leave No Trace program:

• Plan ahead and prepare​
• Travel and camp on durable surfaces​
• Dispose of waste properly​
• Leave what you find
• ​Minimize campfire impacts​
• Respect wildlife​
• Be considerate of others​

Wilderness Act​

Wilderness, as defined in the Wilderness Act of 1964, is land "protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable."