Fort Bottom

Fort Bottom was named after a tower-like structure that was built above the river bottom by the Anasazi Indians some 750 years ago. It isn?t clear what the tower was used for, but many such towers have been found throughout the Southwest. Often they are located on mesa tops with lines of sight between them, which suggests that they may have been used for signaling between Anasazi settlements. If you have sharp eyes the Fort Bottom tower can be seen from the trailhead: it is located on the top of a butte in the center of the bend in the river at about the same elevation as the road. The fertile bottom was also used by cattle ranchers before it became part of Canyonlands National Park in 1964, and a relic of the cowboy era can still be seen in the form of an old line cabin that was built near the river by one of the ranchers. The cabin was probably built in the late 1890s by a carpenter/ cowboy named Mark Walker who moved to Moab in 1884. The cabin is in remarkably good condition after all these years, although its willow and mud roof has long since washed away. Perhaps the greatest attraction of this hike is the terrific views of the Green River that can be seen from the trail. The trail follows a long ridge from the road to the center of a huge bend, where the river makes a 230-degree turn to get around the western end of Bighorn Mesa. At its narrowest point the ridge is only 300 yards wide, but the water flowing under the north side of the trail must travel over three miles around the perimeter of Fort Bottom before it comes back along the south side of the trail. Trail: Well marked, easy to follow.