Dynamite blasted rooms, animals taxidermied in the contortions of death, an exotic petting zoo, and an overpriced entrance fee. Perhaps one of Utah’s weirdest roadside attractions is the Hole N’ The Rock.
How to Get to the Hole N’ The Rock
Located on Highway 191 just south of Moab, the Hole N’ The Rock is not hard to spot. This primarily due to the fact that there are huge letters painted on the side of the cliff face in both directions.
We have passed it several times in the past but never stopped until we were on our way home from our recent trip to Blanding. It easier (and safer) to get into the parking lot when driving north. The parking lot is pretty big for an attraction that doesn’t take all that long to see (honestly you will probably spend more time thinking about whether you should even go see it than you will seeing it).
Once you get there you will have the historic house on the north end of the parking lot, the trading post to east, and the exotic petting zoo to the south. If any place ever screamed tourist trap, this is it.
What You Will See at the Hole N’ The Rock
The main attraction here, and the reason the place exists at all is the historic Hole N” The Rock Home. It is literally a home blasted into the base of the cliff. You can purchase tickets to tour it inside the gift shop. It comes at a price of $6.50 (the website says $6) per person and takes between 12-15 minutes.
No photography is allowed inside the house, so that is why we have no pictures. But you can learn more and see some pictures on the website.
When you tour you get the story of the people who built the house, which is actually quite fascinating. You get to walk through the whole home and it is still set up like it was when they lived there. All their belongings are still in place, the original (and questionable) electric lighting lights your way, and you can see the dead animals I mentioned in the opening. The price is pretty steep for what you get, but if you have an interest in bizarre histories you would want to stop in.
The petting zoo requires tickets of its own which we did not purchase. All signs indicate that we could have pet animals as exotic as kangaroos, camels, and zebras if we had. I believe the price was three dollars or so for those tickets, but I could be wrong about that.
Sum Up
Hole N’ The Rock is unique roadside attraction for sure. I am not going to be able to say we recommend it because the price is pretty hefty for what you get. Located in between Moab and Monticello it doesn’t have the advantage of being a place you might need to stop for a break either.
Other than that it is very interesting piece of history and worth seeing if you are into that kind of thing. Its history reminded me of Cliff Dwellers, Arizona.
