The Moki Dugway Scenic Backway is a stretch of Highway 261 in Utah where the blacktop turns into a dirt road that drastically switches back and forth down the side of a cliff at an 11% grade.
This unique stretch of road, which has literally been carved from the face of the cliff, connects Utah Highway 95 with US Highway 163. Along the dugway route is a place to pull out and get a fantastic view of Valley of the Gods. The Moki Dugway also offers great views of the San Juan River Canyon, where the stripes of different colored rocks create what is known as the “Navajo Tapestry”. If you look off to the horizon, you can even see Monument Valley.
The Moki Dugway was constructed in 1958 as a route for transporting mined materials from Fry Canyon to a processing mill in Mexican Hat, Utah. This stretch of Utah Highway 261 is part of the “Trail of the Ancients”, a national scenic byway where travelers can see multiple archeological sites and unique geological formations that played a role in the history of the southwest Native American people who inhabited this area.
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