Entry No. 2 — the Grand Junction file — filed under: outdoor-weird
Captain Smith’s Cabin
“He chiseled gun slots beside his pillow and carved his friend's brand into the cliff above.”
In 1911, Captain Henry A. Smith — Civil War veteran, tombstone carver, sixty-five years old — leaned three stone walls against a sandstone fin in Escalante Canyon and chiseled the rest of his house into the rock: a sleeping shelf cut to his own length, slots beside the pillow for his guns, storage nooks below. High on the cliff he carved a horseshoe with a star inside — the brand of his dead blacksmith friend Bowen — an obituary in stone from the man who cut Delta’s gravestones.
The story
In 1911, a sixty-five-year-old Union Army veteran named Captain Henry A. Smith stepped into Escalante Canyon and decided he was done building conventional houses. Smith earned his living chiseling names and dates into gravestones down in Delta, but for his own home, he skipped the lumberyard entirely. He leaned three native stone walls against a natural sandstone fin and carved the remaining half of his living room directly out of the mountain.
Inside the alcove, Smith chiseled out a sleeping shelf measured precisely to his six-foot frame. He cut notches into the stone next to his head to keep his guns within arm's reach while he slept, along with smaller alcoves in the bedrock for dry storage. High above the roofline on the sheer cliff face, he carved a horseshoe surrounding a star—the stock brand of his late friend Bowen, a local blacksmith. It stands as a solitary obituary in sandstone, carved by the man who spent his working life cutting memorials for everyone else.
The site now sits on BLM land within the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area. Beside the primary rock-hewn shelter stand the remains of a second cabin and a stone root cellar. It is a rare piece of frontier history where the architecture isn't just standing on the land—it is literally part of the geology.
What it's like
The drive off US 50 crosses the Gunnison River before turning to loose gravel on Escalante Canyon Road. Drive 10.5 miles into the canyon until you spot the roadside pullout on your left—the cabin rests against the cliff base just 300 feet from where you park. The site is remote and unmonitored; there are no water spigots, restrooms, or trash cans, so pack out everything you bring. Take turns trying out Smith’s carved sandstone bed to check the fit, but do not lean on or climb the dry-stacked walls, which remain unrestored and fragile. Before driving up-canyon to the potholes, step back toward the road and look high up the cliff face overhead to spot Bowen's horseshoe-and-star brand cut into the rock.
The move: Drive the canyon gravel past the Walker cabin, take turns stretching out on Smith’s rock-carved bed to see who fits, then scan the cliff overhead until you spot the horseshoe-and-star.
📍 Before you go The signed Escalante Canyon turnoff is on US 50 about 15 miles northwest of Delta; cross the Gunnison River bridge and stay on the gravel about 10.5 miles total — fine for most cars when dry, slick after rain. The cabin is a 300-foot walk from the roadside pullout on BLM land in the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, with no services in the canyon, so carry water. You pass the 1911 Walker stone cabin on the way in, and the Escalante Creek potholes just up-canyon make the natural second stop. The walls are unrestored and fragile — look hard, lean on nothing.
- 📍 Delta
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Escalante Canyon Rd (650 Rd), ~10.5 miles southwest of US 50, Delta, CO 81416
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Tru Vu Drive-In — Pair a daytime trek past Smith's hand-carved stone bed with a sunset double feature at Delta's single-screen drive-in theater, running since 1955.
- Egyptian Theatre — Follow up Smith's raw sandstone craftsmanship in the canyon with a movie inside Delta's preserved 1928 Egyptian Revival movie house.
- Unaweep Canyon — Combine Escalante Canyon's cliffside homestead with a drive through another surrounding geological quirk—a canyon that uniquely drains from both ends.
- Driggs Mansion Ruins — Double down on local stone oddities by visiting these decaying, grand sandstone ruins built by a pulp-fiction author further north near Whitewater.
Good to know
How do I get to Captain Smith's Cabin?
Turn off US 50 onto Escalante Canyon Road (650 Rd) roughly 15 miles northwest of Delta. Cross the Gunnison River bridge and follow the gravel road southwest for about 10.5 miles to the marked pullout.
What road conditions should I expect?
Escalante Canyon Road is unpaved gravel. Standard passenger cars can handle the 10.5-mile drive easily in dry weather, but rain turns the dirt slick and difficult quickly.
Are there amenities or fees at the site?
No. The cabin is located on public BLM land within the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area. Visiting is free, but there are no restrooms, water sources, or services in the canyon.
What other stops can I make on the same canyon road?
You will drive past the historic 1911 Walker stone cabin on your way in, and the Escalante Creek potholes are located just a short distance further up the canyon road.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: gjhikes.com · coloradopreservation.org · historycolorado.org · highcountryshopper.com
last checked: 2026-06-11