Thompson Springs Travel Guide

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Another mile down the road and you'll see what's left of Sego. Originally called Ballard after the rancher who discovered coal on the site in the late 1800's, and then Neslin for the manager of the company who purchased the property in 1911, the third and final name was applied in 1916 by one of its investors. The mines operated under different hands until the mid 1950's, when they were finally closed for good and some of the structures relocated to Moab. Others of the remaining buildings were destroyed by vandals and artifact hunters but you can still see skeletons of the company store, trestles, shafts, storage buildings and few other odds and ends.

The site is heavily overgrown and littered with refuse both old and no-so so pick your way cautiously - rattlesnakes are common in this part of the country - and avoid entering or crawling on unstable areas. The link below provides a nice overview of Sego's history (thanks to Legends of America) to read before you go.

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Through the cattleguard and about 1/2 mile up the dirt road from the pictographs is the old pioneer cemetery of the bygone settlement of Sego. One or two engraved slabs, a ragged fence here and a broken bit of stone there are bleak memorials to men who came to work the mines and ended up below this dusty scrap of ground. There may also be wives lost to childbirth or exhaustion, and children taken by diseases that plagued the young decades ago. It's an appropriate reflection of hard life in a harsh environment: poignant in its loneliness and nameless heaps of dirt and rubble.

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Thompson Springs, the pictograph/petroglyph panels and ghost town of Sego Canyon are just off I-70 (exit 185) about 25 mile east of Green River, and you must have a car to get there. We did this on our way to Grand Junction from Torrey but you can easily do it as a day trip from Moab as well. You'll be wanting to either leave or arrive in Moab via 191: the exit for Thompson Springs is about 5 miles east of the 191 junction. Do be aware that the exit sign may just say "Thompson" - the town reverted to it's original name from an abbreviated version some time back.

Once off the interstate, the town is about 1 mile north, the pictographs/petroglyphs another 3 miles beyond that, and the remains of the Sego settlement are up the rough, rocky dirt road, beyond a cattle guard, another mile and 1/2 or so. There is a gas station near the interstate exit but no other services in Thompson Springs itself.

Shutterbugs will find some interesting photo-ops among the dilapidated houses and buildings in town. Feel free to wander about - just don't try to enter the structures. Of special note is the brick-fronted (closed) cafe on the left: it had a cameo in "Thelma and Louise".

The pictograph/petroglyph panels are just short walks via dirt paths from a parking area, and there are interpretive signs - although somewhat battered and hard to read. There is also a vault toilet here, and no fee required for the site.

The cemetery and ruins of the mining community of Sego are on private land and while you're free to explore, please be respectful of what little is left - vandalism has already been a huge problem - and don't go into anything that looks unstable, OK? You'll be crawling through a lot of heavy brush so sturdy shoes and long pants are recommended. Near the access road to the Sego ruins you'll also likely see a posted no trespassing sign regarding a fence at the top of the canyon; this doesn't apply to the ghost town so don't worry about it.

The link below maps out a nice road trip from Moab to the canyon with points of interest along the way: my thanks to Moab Happenings for that.