Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum

About the Park

    Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum is the site of an Ancestral Puebloan archeological site, an archeological repository, and a modern museum. Cowboys from nearby Bluff camped here in the late 1800s and called the site Edge of the Cedars because it sits on the edge of a natural boundary, separating a heavily forested region and a treeless landscape to the south.

    Cedar is a term locals use for the Utah juniper tree, known for its shaggy bark and blue-green berries. Because of its archaeological significance, the site was designated a State Historical Monument in 1970, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. In 1974, the Utah Navajo Development Council donated the 6.65-acre site to the Division of Utah State Parks and Recreation. Shortly thereafter, the Utah Legislature enabled the establishment of Edge of the Cedars State Park as a museum of Indian history and culture.

    The museum opened to the public in 1978 and the archeological repository wing was completed in 1994. Today, the facility serves as the primary repository for archeological materials excavated from public lands in southeast Utah.