Finding Wild Horses in Utah
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Return to Finding Wild Horses & Burros here for tips on visiting the range and to find herds in other states
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There are 19 wild horse & burro herds remaining in Utah; 18 managed by BLM and 1 managed by Forest Service:
• Bible Springs Complex 45 miles west of Cedar City and north of Beryl Junction • Bible Springs • Four Mile • Tilly Creek • Big Creek is 8 miles west of Grantsville • Canyonlands east of Hanksville • Cedar Mountain west of Salt Lake City • Chloride Canyon west of Cedar City • Choke Cherry west of Cedar City on the NV border • Confusion west/northwest of Delta • Conger west of Delta • Delta Wild Horse and Burro Corral in in Delta • Frisco between Cedar City and Delta to the west • Kingtop (zeroed out - no wild horses remain) • Mount Elinor west of Cedar City on the NV border • Muddy Creek west of Green River, south of I-80 • North Hills west of Cedar City on the NV border • Onaqui west of Salt Lake City near Dugway • Range Creek east of Price • Sinbad west of Green River, north & south of I-80 • Sulpher on the UT/NV border south of Baker City, NV • Swasey Mountains west of Delta |
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Bible Springs HMA
Size: 61,862 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 30-60
The BLM has turned the Bible Springs, Tilly Creek, and Four Miles HMAs into a Complex but have not yet noted the total number of acres or the number of wild horses they deem appropriate for the combined herd areas
Size: 61,862 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 30-60
The BLM has turned the Bible Springs, Tilly Creek, and Four Miles HMAs into a Complex but have not yet noted the total number of acres or the number of wild horses they deem appropriate for the combined herd areas
With their close proximity, it is easy to visit the Bible Springs, Four Mile, and Tilly Creek herd areas on the same visit. Though I do recommend spending at least a full day in each area to give you better chances of seeing the horses. These areas are rugged with not many roads, and heavily wooded in some areas making it hard to find the horses at times. Watch for fresh manure piles and fresh hoofprints on the roads.
The Bible Springs HMA is west of Cedar City, UT near the Nevada border. To get there, take Hwy 56 west out of Cedar City a short distance, then turn north onto road N 3100 West which will turn into the N Lund Hwy. If I remember correctly, the road starts as pavement then turns into a well-graded wide gravel road.
Stay on this road for approx. 30.5 miles until you reach the junction at Lund (which consists of a few small buildings). Take a left, then an immediate right to go over the railroad tracks. Once over the railroad tracks, left to stay on Pine Valley Rd; if you go right you will be on Blue Mountain Rd which will take you through the Four Mile HMA. The road then turns into Blawn Wash Rd which will take you to the former Blawn Wash wild horse area (when I was there I saw many horses in Blawn Wash but BLM has since gone back out and removed them. However, it is easy for the Four Mile horses to migrate up to the Blawn Wash area, so you may see horses there).
Stay on Pine Valley Rd for approximately 12 miles, then start exploring off to the west on various roads to search for horses. If you can, find a high point and search the valleys below. This area is full of trees, so go slow and keep your eyes open. You can also explore Rustlers Draw and Jackson Wash roads. If you take Trail Draw, this will eventually lead you to the Tilly Creek HMA.
Bible Springs is a mountainous area. Some of the roads in this area are in fairly good shape but I recommend a truck not a car. Some of the roads are heavily rutted with large rocks and can get narrow with overhanging trees. I never found horses here but I did see plenty of fresh manure piles and hoofprints on the roads. However, when I went there were still snow drifts in some areas which didn't allow me to explore as much as I wanted. I also saw mountain lion tracks, so be aware of your surroundings!
The Bible Springs HMA is west of Cedar City, UT near the Nevada border. To get there, take Hwy 56 west out of Cedar City a short distance, then turn north onto road N 3100 West which will turn into the N Lund Hwy. If I remember correctly, the road starts as pavement then turns into a well-graded wide gravel road.
Stay on this road for approx. 30.5 miles until you reach the junction at Lund (which consists of a few small buildings). Take a left, then an immediate right to go over the railroad tracks. Once over the railroad tracks, left to stay on Pine Valley Rd; if you go right you will be on Blue Mountain Rd which will take you through the Four Mile HMA. The road then turns into Blawn Wash Rd which will take you to the former Blawn Wash wild horse area (when I was there I saw many horses in Blawn Wash but BLM has since gone back out and removed them. However, it is easy for the Four Mile horses to migrate up to the Blawn Wash area, so you may see horses there).
Stay on Pine Valley Rd for approximately 12 miles, then start exploring off to the west on various roads to search for horses. If you can, find a high point and search the valleys below. This area is full of trees, so go slow and keep your eyes open. You can also explore Rustlers Draw and Jackson Wash roads. If you take Trail Draw, this will eventually lead you to the Tilly Creek HMA.
Bible Springs is a mountainous area. Some of the roads in this area are in fairly good shape but I recommend a truck not a car. Some of the roads are heavily rutted with large rocks and can get narrow with overhanging trees. I never found horses here but I did see plenty of fresh manure piles and hoofprints on the roads. However, when I went there were still snow drifts in some areas which didn't allow me to explore as much as I wanted. I also saw mountain lion tracks, so be aware of your surroundings!
Big Creek Wild Horse Territory
Size: 10,000 acres
Number of wild horses the Forest Service deems appropriate for the herd area is 13-25
Size: 10,000 acres
Number of wild horses the Forest Service deems appropriate for the herd area is 13-25
Canyonlands HMA
Size: 89,392 acres
Number of wild burros the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 60-100
Size: 89,392 acres
Number of wild burros the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 60-100
The Canyonlands wild burro HMA is found in southeastern Utah near the small town of Hanksville. When visiting this HMA, you can combine a trip to Goblin Valley State Park (a very unique area) and the eastern side of Canyonlands National Park.
Approximately 19 miles north of Hanksville off Highway 24, just south of the entrance to Goblin Valley State Park, you will turn east onto BLM road 1010 / Hans Flat Road / W Lower San Rafael Rd. The wide well graveled road (see upper left photos above) will turn to the southeast. Watch for the butte in the upper left photo above and continue driving past it. At Jeffrey Wells, stay left to head east and follow signs to Canyonlands NP. You will pass The Flat Tops and a ranchers set up with corrals on your right. Keep heading east then south while staying on Hans Flat Rd. At the Horseshoe Canyon Junction, turn south. At one point you will drive over a cattle guard with fencing on either side. At the time I was there, the rancher had a hand painted sign up that said something to the effect of staying away from his cattle since they belong to him not you (see top right photo above). After that cattle guard you should be inside the HMA and you can start keeping your eyes open for burros. We did drive a a few miles in past the camping areas to reach the grassy plains before we saw burros.
This area is very remote; make sure you have a full tank of gas and extra water with you.
Approximately 19 miles north of Hanksville off Highway 24, just south of the entrance to Goblin Valley State Park, you will turn east onto BLM road 1010 / Hans Flat Road / W Lower San Rafael Rd. The wide well graveled road (see upper left photos above) will turn to the southeast. Watch for the butte in the upper left photo above and continue driving past it. At Jeffrey Wells, stay left to head east and follow signs to Canyonlands NP. You will pass The Flat Tops and a ranchers set up with corrals on your right. Keep heading east then south while staying on Hans Flat Rd. At the Horseshoe Canyon Junction, turn south. At one point you will drive over a cattle guard with fencing on either side. At the time I was there, the rancher had a hand painted sign up that said something to the effect of staying away from his cattle since they belong to him not you (see top right photo above). After that cattle guard you should be inside the HMA and you can start keeping your eyes open for burros. We did drive a a few miles in past the camping areas to reach the grassy plains before we saw burros.
This area is very remote; make sure you have a full tank of gas and extra water with you.
Cedar Mountain HMA
Size: 211,593 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 190-390
Size: 211,593 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 190-390
The Cedar Mountain HMA is west of Salt Lake City, south of Interstate 80, west of State Route 196, and on the way to the Onaqui HMA. From Salt Lake City via I-80, you can take exit 77 and turn south onto SR 196 / Skull Valley Rd. Go south approx. 16.9 miles to Eightmile Spring Rd and turn west (right). This road will split; stay right to stay on Eightmile Rd, go left to be on South Valley Rd. Both are gravel/dirt and will take you to Cedar Mountain Rd which, for the most part, does a loop around the entire Cedar Mountain area. I recommend staying to the right on Eightmile Rd. You can keep your eyes open for wild horses already. Once you reach Cedar Mountain Rd at the base of the foothills for the mountains, go right and explore and roads that go into the mountains. Most of them dead end so you will be going a short ways, then turning around back to Cedar Mountain Rd to keep exploring.
This area has few roads to explore on. The best way to find horses is by hiking, but only do this if you are familiar with the area or have gotten specific directions on where to go. I haven't hiked here yet so I can't give you directions for that. Filled with valleys and high spots, keep your eyes open! This horses are still very wild and will usually run with they see you.
In my experience, the west side of the mountains were much drier and I didn't see any horses or signs of horses over there. Concentrate on the east side and inner mountain roads, then head south and around to the west side to keep looking if you haven't found any yet. Some of the roads in this area are quite nice and I found Cedar Mountain Rd to be mostly good and flat and you could get around in a car however there were some washouts in the road when I was there - watch for those and take it slow so you don't get a flat tire.
Others, especially to the south end, are very dry and similar to driving in fine, dry sand. A truck would be recommended for those. Pay attention to the signs that show where the testing grounds are and take heed.
This area has few roads to explore on. The best way to find horses is by hiking, but only do this if you are familiar with the area or have gotten specific directions on where to go. I haven't hiked here yet so I can't give you directions for that. Filled with valleys and high spots, keep your eyes open! This horses are still very wild and will usually run with they see you.
In my experience, the west side of the mountains were much drier and I didn't see any horses or signs of horses over there. Concentrate on the east side and inner mountain roads, then head south and around to the west side to keep looking if you haven't found any yet. Some of the roads in this area are quite nice and I found Cedar Mountain Rd to be mostly good and flat and you could get around in a car however there were some washouts in the road when I was there - watch for those and take it slow so you don't get a flat tire.
Others, especially to the south end, are very dry and similar to driving in fine, dry sand. A truck would be recommended for those. Pay attention to the signs that show where the testing grounds are and take heed.
Chloride Canyon HMA
Size: 65,408 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 15-30; this herd may have been zeroed out in 2022. If you find wild horses here, please let me know.
Size: 65,408 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 15-30; this herd may have been zeroed out in 2022. If you find wild horses here, please let me know.
The Chloride Canyon HMA is just west of Cedar City, UT, north of Hwy 56. Take Hwy 56 west out of Cedar City and approx. 24 miles from Interstate 15, turn right (north) onto Desert Mound Rd. Approx 3.4 miles in, turn left and start exploring. There will be campgrounds in the area and a few roads that head into the mountain. Try taking those to see what you can find. It looks like Bullion Peak Rd travels across the mountain from east to west so you could try that.
Alternatively, you could stay on Hwy 56 a bit longer and turn right (north) onto 800E / N Sand Spring Rd / N Energy Corridor Rd and take any roads that head east into the mountain. We found lots of dead ends here as the roads were mostly put in for the electric towers. We also ran into a closed gate with a private property sign on it that the BLM Cedar City office admits the local rancher put there, though he's not really allowed to. It's a public road!
We never did find any horses here. From what I could determine, with the cross-fencing in place the horses had been confined to the NW corner of the herd area. Outside of that area I found no fresh manure piles or signs that horses had been present. The only possible way to see any remaining horses that I know of would be to go around to the north side of the mountain on West Antelope Springs Rd and look to the south/mountain. Legally you could certainly park and hike back in there.
The same rancher who was blocking the public road with his private property sign, was leaving a gate open so his cattle could go onto the HMA to graze. In turn, the wild horses were going through the gate to access water. So he complained to the Cedar City BLM office who said they would go out and remove the horses in 2021-2022.
Alternatively, you could stay on Hwy 56 a bit longer and turn right (north) onto 800E / N Sand Spring Rd / N Energy Corridor Rd and take any roads that head east into the mountain. We found lots of dead ends here as the roads were mostly put in for the electric towers. We also ran into a closed gate with a private property sign on it that the BLM Cedar City office admits the local rancher put there, though he's not really allowed to. It's a public road!
We never did find any horses here. From what I could determine, with the cross-fencing in place the horses had been confined to the NW corner of the herd area. Outside of that area I found no fresh manure piles or signs that horses had been present. The only possible way to see any remaining horses that I know of would be to go around to the north side of the mountain on West Antelope Springs Rd and look to the south/mountain. Legally you could certainly park and hike back in there.
The same rancher who was blocking the public road with his private property sign, was leaving a gate open so his cattle could go onto the HMA to graze. In turn, the wild horses were going through the gate to access water. So he complained to the Cedar City BLM office who said they would go out and remove the horses in 2021-2022.
Choke Cherry HMA
Size: 48,139 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 24-30
Size: 48,139 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 24-30
Confusion HMA
Size: 235,005 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 70-115
Size: 235,005 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 70-115
Conger HMA
Size: 170,993 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 40-80
Size: 170,993 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 40-80
Delta Wild Horse and Burro Corral
The Delta holding pens can be found in the town of Delta off N 350 W Rd. The facility is open to the public Monday - Thursday by appointment only. You can call 435-864-4068 to make your appointment, and they limit it to 2 per day. Once there you can park in front of the office and either let them know you are there or begin to walk to the corrals and an employee will come out to you. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like about the horses, burros, and the facility itself.
The wild horses and/or burros at the facility will have either been recently traumatized by a roundup or will have been there for a few months waiting to be adopted. They may be skittish or accept handfuls of hay from you. It is best to use a low, quiet voice and don't make sudden movements so as not to spook them. You are welcome to take photos and video while you are there.
The wild horses and/or burros at the facility will have either been recently traumatized by a roundup or will have been there for a few months waiting to be adopted. They may be skittish or accept handfuls of hay from you. It is best to use a low, quiet voice and don't make sudden movements so as not to spook them. You are welcome to take photos and video while you are there.
Four Mile HMA
Size: 61,273 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 30-60
*The BLM has turned the Bible Springs, Tilly Creek, and Four Miles HMAs into a Complex but have not yet noted the total number of acres or the number of wild horses they deem appropriate for the combined herd areas
Size: 61,273 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 30-60
*The BLM has turned the Bible Springs, Tilly Creek, and Four Miles HMAs into a Complex but have not yet noted the total number of acres or the number of wild horses they deem appropriate for the combined herd areas
Frisco HMA
Size: 60,367acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 30-60
Size: 60,367acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 30-60
Mount Elinore HMA
Size: 42,640 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 15-25
Size: 42,640 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 15-25
Muddy Creek HMA
Size: 208,810 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 75-125
Size: 208,810 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 75-125
North Hills HMA
Size: 60,646 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 12-36
Size: 60,646 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 12-36
Onaqui HMA
Size: 240,153 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 121-210
Size: 240,153 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 121-210
Range Creek HMA
Size: 55,023 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 75-125
Size: 55,023 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 75-125
Sinbad HMA
Size: 99,241 acres
Number of wild burros the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 50-70
Size: 99,241 acres
Number of wild burros the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 50-70
Sulpher HMA
Size: 265,711 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 165-250
Size: 265,711 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 165-250
Swasey Mountains HMA
Size: 123,113 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 60-100
Size: 123,113 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 60-100
Tilly Creek HMA
Size: 37,106 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 20-50
*The BLM has turned the Bible Springs, Tilly Creek, and Four Miles HMAs into a Complex but have not yet noted the total number of acres or the number of wild horses they deem appropriate for the combined herd areas
Size: 37,106 acres
Number of wild horses the BLM deems appropriate for the herd area is 20-50
*The BLM has turned the Bible Springs, Tilly Creek, and Four Miles HMAs into a Complex but have not yet noted the total number of acres or the number of wild horses they deem appropriate for the combined herd areas