Mysterious, human-high sculptures loom outside the Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum. These figures re-create mythical designs carved onto rocks centuries ago by Ancestral Puebloan artists, a foreshadowing of the treasures waiting inside.

The park lies in Blanding, 75 miles south of Moab off U.S. 191. Unlike most Utah state parks, there’s no camping, hiking or fishing here. Instead, day-use visitors pay $5 ($3 for Utah seniors and children) to learn about the region’s early inhabitants, see the Four Corners’ largest on-display collection of Puebloan pottery, examine ancient tools and textiles, discover the traditions of today’s Native communities, and explore a partially excavated Puebloan village.

 Edge of the Cedars sits on 6.65 acres donated in 1974 by the Navajo Development Council. The ruins were designated a State Historical Monument in 1970 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places the following year. The museum opened in 1978, and in 1994 a climate-controlled repository was added, giving it status as a federal archaeological repository for artifacts recovered from BLM, Forest Service, and state lands. The name comes from the Utah juniper, locally called cedar, which once marked the edge of cultivated fields and bare desert beyond.

 The first obstacle is resisting the Museum Store, conveniently close to the entrance counter. Beyond it, a glassed-in gallery displays a 700-year history of pottery-making in southeastern Utah.

Pots, bowls, jugs and mugs appear in a rainbow of colors. White and red wares, explains curator Jonathan Till, were serving dishes such as bowls, ladles and water jars. Gray-wares served for cooking and storage. In back, shelves are stacked tighter than Black Friday aisles at Walmart, with hundreds of pots on view. Edge of the Cedars calls this “visible storage,” a way to let visitors glimpse far more of the collection than a standard exhibit case allows.

Near the display’s corner stands an ancient wooden ladder salvaged from a nearby site. Its rungs look far too thin to support a modern adult. Centuries ago, long before the local A&W began serving Double BBQ Bacon Crunch Burgers, Puebloans were not so well-fed.

Temporary exhibits rotate in a wall case. One past subject: Ancestral Puebloan mugs, made only between the late A.D. 1000s and 1200s, before locals apparently found better ways to enjoy a brew. Next up: Hopi-carved kachina dolls, representing spiritual beings that honor deities, animals or the heavens. Examples include a Little Colorado River kachina, a brown bear kachina and a Milky Way maiden. Special exhibits sometimes spotlight contemporary Native artists as well, linking the past to living traditions and giving modern creators a platform within the museum walls.

Freestanding pedestals highlight other treasures. One displays a vivid blue-and-orange sash woven from macaw feathers, found north of the Abajo Mountains: proof of trade between the Four Corners and Central America. Because of light damage, Till notes, the sash may soon be retired from display. Another pedestal holds a 14-foot rope braided from dog hair, estimated at 2,000 years old. Others feature a 13,000-year-old Clovis spear point from a time when mammoths roamed here, an 8,000-year-old yucca-fiber sandal and thousand-year-old knives chipped from chert.

The museum also showcases modern Indigenous culture. One gallery presents photographs of Southwestern archaeological sites. Murals along the stairwells depict petroglyphs and pictographs found across San Juan County, some now submerged beneath Lake Powell. Visitors also find interactive displays that connect ancient designs to their modern descendants, illustrating how traditions have survived or been adapted over centuries.

As a repository, Edge of the Cedars houses fragile perishable materials (eggshells, pollen samples, wood, textiles) that rarely make it to public display but are invaluable to researchers. These collections link scientists to a continuous record of human and environmental history in the Four Corners. Most of the repository remains off-limits, except during Archaeology Day on the first Saturday in May, when visitors enjoy talks by archaeologists, demonstrations by Native artists and special guided tours of the back rooms.

Outdoors, an ADA-accessible path encircles a small, restored pueblo inhabited roughly A.D. 750 to 1220. Visitors view the ruins from the perimeter, with one exception: a thousand-year-old kiva open for exploration. Common throughout the Southwest, these circular underground rooms likely served religious and social functions. Entry is via a sturdy ladder, hefty enough for even those of us fresh from the A&W.

Farther along the path stands the Sun Marker, an astronomical sculpture by Bluff artist Joe Pachak. Throughout the year, sunlight passes through carved openings to cast petroglyph-like images on the shaded walls, marking solstices and other celestial events.

Edge of the Cedars also serves as a cultural gateway to the region. It is part of the Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway, a driving route linking major archaeological sites across the Four Corners. For travelers heading to Bears Ears, Hovenweep or Monument Valley, this museum provides both orientation and inspiration. By blending world-class collections with approachable interpretation, it helps first-time visitors understand the scale of history beneath their feet while encouraging seasoned explorers to look deeper.

Departing the museum requires one final pass by the store. Those who resisted earlier may now give in, leaving with a T-shirt, book, piece of Native art or coffee mug. Back home, the souvenirs serve as reminders of the treasures discovered at Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum: a true gateway to the past of the Four Corners.