Hike Through a Southern Utah Canyon Features A Wall of Cars Put There By the Authorities

A hike in Southern Utah down a canyon looks like someone did something illegal but it was actually done by local authorities at the time. It is Catstair Canyon outside of Kanab Utah and it is an easy hike that has become a bit of an attraction.

Innovative Solutions: The Use of Car Bodies in Road Reinforcement

What do you do if a roadway is getting washed away by water, one solution in the past was to fill an old car body with sand and use it to sure up the bank. It was considered an innovative way to keep the road from washing out.

Wall of cars was done on purpose to save the roadway. https://youtu.be/8rzVjBZlUkA?si=OPBQVk3j5S_1-wai

Now they would reinforce the road with rocks and maybe cement but it hasn't been that long since they used car bodies. My father-in-law Keith Hardy owned a wrecking yard in Southern Utah and was asked to supply cars for this work back in the 1960s.

That wasn't that uncommon in those days," said Hardy. "They would fill them with sand and stack them up on the bank." You can see this work in a few places in Catstair Canyon's wall of cars.

Family-Friendly Hiking: Exploring Catstair Canyon’s Trails

It is interesting to see these cars stacked 15 to 20 feet high and almost to road level. These are heavy steel cars that stood up to the elements with names like Corvair, Bel Air, and Continental.

Read More: Look at These Forgotten Stairs That Climb the Bluff in Southern Utah

This is an easy hike and good for families. There are two parts of the canyon you can traverse with the longer route getting much more technical with places that require repelling equipment to get down. You'll find the cars are on the easier hike.