Butler Wash Ruins

The Butler Wash ruins sitting in multiple alcoves on a circular cliff face can be experienced either from above and at a distance via the overlook, or up close via the hiking trail that takes you into the ruins.

Butler Wash ruins from the overlook

Butler Wash wash trail

Butler Wash Ruins from the overlook

The trail is well-defined and easy, there are signs along the way identifying a few local plants and how they were used by the Indians. The trail ends at a fenced overlook at the canyon rim where you can look across to see the Butler Wash ruins in their individual alcoves.

There are four kivas, three are round Mesa Verde types the fourth is square, a type more commonly found in Arizona. The kivas are located toward the front of the largest cave with living and storage rooms visible behind them.

Butler Wash Ruins via the wash trail

The little used trail takes you easily through the heavily vegetated wash to climb up to the ruins themselves for a good close-up look at them.

Note

Dogs okay
A visit here would be ideal during the sunrise with the light head on to these ruins

Getting there

The Trailhead is about 10.5 miles west of Blanding on Highway 95.

Parking

Overlook

Large paved lot with toilets

37.524282,-109.632437

Ruins via the wash

On the side of the road near the entrance to the parking lot

37.523287, -109.633954

Distance

1.0 mile total out and back to overlook
0.8 miles total out and back to ruins via the wash trail

Route

Overlook

Hike on an easy-to-follow trail sometimes with rock cairns on slickrock 0.5 miles to the overlook, where an interpretive sign explains the site you see from across the rim of the canyon.

Ruins via the wash

From the parking pullout walk up the small hill with the fence and the gate. Once through the fence immediately turn to your left and follow the fence line with the obvious trail.

Keep trying to follow the faint trail on the slick rock as it starts to head downhill toward the wash and along the rim of the canyon in the direction of the ruins (upstream). keep looking for a not-very-obvious path leading down into the wash which is about 10 feet below you. It is at ( 37.523183, -109.635573 ).

In the wash

Once in the highly vegetated wash continue upstream trying to follow a faint pathway. Soon you will come to a Y in the wash where you could go left of right, you want to stay to the left. The right will dead-end quickly.

Continue upstream soon you will come to another Y where you could go left or right, instead look for the vertical dirt path heading uphill at this split. Climb the path.

At the top, it’s relatively flat and then you need to do some scrambling up some slick rock. You will find a trail leading to the right on a ledge, the first ruin is right around the corner.

Walking past the first ruin is a 2nd alcove with what looks like a pile of dried mud and some barely recognizable ruins, continue just a short distance and you will need to start climbing up to the level above you to see the rest of the ruins.

After gaining the ledges you will find an impressive ruin with a wall in the front and a square structure in the back that is in fantastic shape. Look at the footholds carved into the rock that the Indians use to get into it, these are quite interesting because you rarely see such things at ruin sites, it took a lot of time to make those foot holes. Look for the metates for grinding corn in front of the structure.

Ruin with moki holes carved in the rock

The last ruin is the largest by far and certainly the most impressive. On the left end on the back wall is some faint artwork. There are circular rooms (Kivas) and lots of smaller rooms. A spring was dripping from above in November.

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