River Springs Stage Coach Station

It was a little breezy but otherwise a warm, sunny day as we followed highway 120 heading west out of Benton Hot Springs until we reached the dirt road to Pizona Springs.

Leaving the paved highway behind us, we set off to find River Springs Stage Coach Station following the seemingly endless dirt road. 

Somewhere back there is highway 120.

At about 5 miles in, on a small rise hard against a hill, we came across a ruined building.   Found it!

The porch and some wall sections have long since fallen down, surprisingly there are still quite a few shingles on the roof.

Inside we could see the remains of walls, floors and a huge rock fireplace.  

Outside lying around among the rocks and bushes we found the rusted remains of tin cans, bits of coloured glass and even something that looked like an old stove pipe.

Apart from the wind, the only other sound we could hear was the burbling of the springs.    Now classed as an environmentally sensitive area the springs are partly fenced.

On the otherside of the rise, are the remains of hitching posts and corrals, although one corral and a chute look as though they could still be in use.

It’s an atmospheric place, and I really wouldn’t’ve been surprised to hear hooves pounding, wheels rumbling and harnesses jangling as a stagecoach swept around the corner.

Three dirt roads converge at River Springs, two of which are marked as jeep/ATV roads. 

There is a jeep/ATV road is on the right of the cattle chute.

One has no markings and we assumed that's the one marked on the map as leading to Antelope Lakes and back to highway 120. 

We thought of returning this way and probably it would’ve been fine, but one thing we’ve learnt over the years is that even though our truck is high clearance and 4WD, we’re usually on our own, so sometimes it’s best to err on the side of caution.

The only reason we found River Springs was because of a free map we picked up from the BLM information board at the start of the Petroglyph Trail.   It just goes to show that sometimes acidental finds can be some of the most interesting.

Historic River Springs stagecoach Station in Adobe Valley definitely turned out to be one.

  

Have fun, we are!