
Five Kiva Ruins and arch
These ruins and are the closest ruins to see from Blanding. They are quite large and easy to access.
For independent travelers who want to dig deeper
From the parking area follow the well-defined sandy trail heading toward the canyon you can see to the west.
The sandy trail becomes slickrock and more difficult to follow, there may be a few rock cairns to guide you, head directly to the canyon rim to the overlook of the ruins on the other side of the canyon.
You should be looking directly across the canyon at some ruins in an alcove under the rim on the other side. Below is Butler Wash, the same wash you cross at almost every trailhead on the hikes up and down Lower Butler Wash Road next to Comb Ridge, however here it is a true rock-walled canyon instead of a shallow sandy wash.
The ruins on the opposite side of the Butler Wash Canyon
Standing on the canyon rim facing the ruins turn left and head south along the rim, look for a bench below you that’s starting to head southward downhill.
The crux of finding the Wolfman rock art panels is following this bench down to a notch in the rocks that then leads to a rocky ramp running down the face of the canyon wall.
The notch you need to find and go through
The shield panel
The eclectic and mysterious petroglyph panel
There’s a trail that leads off to the right and goes around the cliff face but doesn’t seem to go anywhere or lead to anything
From the North
From the South
From Lower Butler Wash Road, follow this short spur road to the parking area
These ruins and are the closest ruins to see from Blanding. They are quite large and easy to access.
Arch Canyon has ruins and three arches, explore Walnut Knob to see amazing petroglyphs of hunting parties and game
There are many ruins in the canyon, but House on Fire ruin is the most famous of them, getting its name from the effects that the sunlight has on the sandstone cliff of the overhang that it is built under
Road Canyon contains many ruins, granaries, and kivas. “Fallen Roof Ruin” derives its name from the elaborate pattern created by the missing sandstone slabs of rock that fell out of the roof of the alcove in front of it.
Choose to view the ruins from an overlook or hike up the wash and explore the ruins close up
A petroglyph panel with a graphic representation of a large crane and sun symbol
See a higher and lower set of ruins with painted handprints, metates, rockart and impressive mud mortared rock walled structures still standing
A large intact ruin on top of a 400-foot rock pedestal with views out over Comb Ridge
Hidden up a side canyon of Comb Ridge is an impressive ruin complex with petroglyphs, pottery sherds, corn cobs, sharpening grooves, and grinding metates.
Hike to see multiple rock art panels with one with a unique wolfman like figure, across the canyon are ruins you can continue to
See two sets of Allosaurus dinosaur tracks from 160 million years ago
A short easy hike to a large cave with handprints and metates, there are a number of smaller ruins to see along the trail.
The hike to a ruin split over two ledges is filled with hundreds of pictographs, large rocks covered in metates, sharpening marks, pottery shards, and painted handprints
The park’s viewpoint overlooks the meander of two giant bends (goosenecks) of the San Juan River. Geologists consider this part of the river to be one of the finest examples of “entrenched meanders” anywhere in the world.
Sit 400 feet above Arch Canyon and enjoy a great sunset
This is a little visited but interesting location full of goblins and hoodoos contained in three main groups of formations relatively close to each other
On Highway 162, stretching for 3 miles east from Bluff there are multiple rock art sites sitting right next to the highway.
Valley of the Gods is a beautiful treasure waiting to be discovered, unlike Monument Valley, it is free, and you can explore without having to hire a tour guide
Photography tips for making the most of your visit to this iconic location that has been the backdrop of countless movies, commercials, print ads, calendars and much more.
There are two large concentrations of rock art to see at two sites that accumulated artwork over 2000 years.
A famous rock panel carved with about 650 individual petroglyphs of abstract shapes and symbols to more recognizable human and animal figures
Images on this website are available as framed prints to support running the website
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