The Hauntings of Dead Horse Point State Park
If you’re up for a little ghostly fun on your next campout, check out our articles of the most haunted campgrounds in America (Post 1 and Post 2). For this blog post we’re featuring Dead Horse Point State Park where campers, hikers and even rangers have reported experiencing two types of hauntings. One involving Native American spirits and the other the ghosts of wild mustangs.
Back in the 1800s the area around Dead Horse Point State Park was known to have herds of wild mustangs roaming the mesa. Cowboys would often round up these mustangs and put them in a natural corral down by “The Neck”. After picking out the best, they’d let the others go free.
As the story goes, one time the cowboys left the unchosen mustangs in the corral and apparently forgot about them. After several days of no food or water, the mustangs succumbed to the elements – in plain site of the Colorado River 2,000 feet below. The death of these mustangs is how Dead Horse Point State Park was named.
To this day, campers at Dead Horse Point State Park can hear the mournful whinnying of the mustangs echo throughout the canyon during the night. Occasionally campers have reported hearing the sounds of thundering hooves running nearby. Some campers have sworn they’ve actually seen ghostly mustangs running close to the campground.
Campers and hikers have also reported to rangers that they have seen the spirits of Native Americans seemingly going about their daily rituals including cooking, hunting and even children playing. After awhile these spirits would simply fade from view. Rangers too have reported hearing and seeing such activity. Most of the paranormal activity seems to occur on the East Rim or West Rim Trail System.
So if you’re interested in telling a few ghost stories around the campfire or maybe even having a paranormal experience, be sure to check out all the campsite photos of Dead Horse Point State Park before you go!
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