The Wolfman Rock Art Panels

This hike in the Lower Butler Wash Road hiking area of Comb Ridge in Bears Ears National Monument takes you to see the Wolfman petroglyph.

It is an amazing and well-known ancient rock art panel with plenty of other unique figures to see and two ruin sites across the canyon from it to explore.

After viewing the Wolfman panel, you can continue the hike, crossing Butler Wash to the other side of the canyon to a bench with an interesting group of ruins and more artwork.

Note

Pay close attention to the directions, the exit point from the canyon rim to the trail along the canyon wall is easy to miss
Dogs allowed
Hiking poles
Binoculars

Distance

1.0 mile total out and back to the Wolfman rock art panels
2.0 miles total out and back if you continue to the north ruins
2.5 miles total out and back if you continue to the south and north ruins

Route

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

Once you pass through the notch and continue down the rocky trail, you’ll come to an alcove with a seep running in the rear wall with a chain keeping you out. Continue further past this alcove to the rock art panels.

The panel is quite impressive at least 100 feet long, and there’s rock art starting on the left that gets progressively better as you follow it to the right.

You will find the wolfman about in the center at ground level and then the shield panel, followed by some really nice petroglyphs toward the end with what looks like flowers and a human figure and maybe some eyes.

The wolfman

The shield panel

The eclectic and mysterious petroglyph panel

The ruins on the other side of the canyon

Once you’ve had your fill admiring the amazing rock art on this side of the canyon you can either return the way you came or venture on to the two ruins sites on the other side of Butler Wash.

Look below you, at the network of trails, there should be an obvious alcove opposite you on the other side of the canyon. The ruins you saw from the canyon rim are far to the right of this alcove. Look to the left of this alcove and notice how the canyon runs back here into a short side canyon, to see the south ruin that is where you want to go.

To get to the other side of the canyon go to the end of the panel, head down and then double back heading north and follow the dirt trails to an eventual obvious sloping path cutting down.

At the bottom here the trail turns to the left or the right.

Going to the left takes you to the alcove across the canyon from the rock art panel and around to the short side canyon with a very intact ruin up in an alcove.

The path is quite overgrown as not many people go this way, long pants would be an advantage. Within the alcove is a mud structure, it’s confusing but interesting, it looks possibly man-made but maybe not.

Continue south and find your way around to the small side canyon and ruin with one large open room and a closed wall ruin with a doorway adjacent to the right. Look closely for some good petroglyphs of two bighorn sheep kissing and another with a long neck.

After you’re done, double back the way you came and now take the right-hand fork of the original trail, it takes you north and over and up to the other side of the canyon to the ruins you saw from the overlook above.

The ruins are interesting to see close up. The rooms on the left were made almost entirely from adobe material with very few rocks mixed in, looking similar to the structure in the alcove. The structure to the right is more traditional construction and in really great shape.

Follow the bench further to the right, along the base of the cliff face you’ll find some rock art up higher if you look carefully. You should see a handprint and a foot outline.

Look for the hand and foot designs up on the left

Keep walking and you’ll see more and more faint artwork, sharpening marks and a snake-like image.

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

Getting there

All sites on the Lower Butler Wash road can be reached from the north from Highway 95, or the south from Highway 163. The road is a good quality dirt road that cars can traverse.

From the North

Exit south from Highway 95 at ( 37.534608, -109.620771 ) onto the un-named dirt road
Continue for 0.3 miles (passing the dinosaur footprints trailhead).
At the T, turn right onto Lower Butler Wash road (country road 262), and continue south for 11 miles.
Turn right at the Y at ( 37.392207, -109.618686 ) and continue south for 9 miles.
The turn-off for the short spur road to the parking area for the Wolfman rock art panels from Lower Butler wash road is at ( 37.276258, -109.641416 ), just south of the fence that intersects Lower Butler Wash Road

From the South

Exit north from Highway 163 at ( 37.264230, -109.641849 )
Follow Lower Butler Wash road north for 1 mile.
The turn-off for the short spur road to the parking area for the Wolfman rock art panels from Lower Butler wash road is at ( 37.276258, -109.641416 ), just south of the fence that intersects Lower Butler Wash Road

From Lower Butler Wash Road, follow this short spur road to the parking area

Explore Nearby...

Hikes...

The Five Kiva Ruins under the large alcove underhang

Five Kiva Ruins and arch

These ruins and are the closest ruins to see from Blanding. They are quite large and easy to access.

Arch Canyon and Walnut Knob

Arch Canyon has ruins and three arches, explore Walnut Knob to see amazing petroglyphs of hunting parties and game

House on Fire Ruins in Mule Canyon South Fork

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

Fallen Roof Ruin in Road Canyon

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.

Butler Wash Ruins

Choose to view the ruins from an overlook or hike up the wash and explore the ruins close up

Lower Butler Wash Road - Hikes

Lower Butler Wash Road is a unique area of Comb Ridge, home to a dozen unmarked trailheads not published by the BLM or marked with signs. All are short hikes (1-3 miles round trip) that lead to amazing ancestral sites, caves and alcoves with 800-year-old ruins, petroglyphs, pottery shards and more.

Big Crane Petroglyph

A petroglyph panel with a graphic representation of a large crane and sun symbol

Multi-colored hand prints on the back wall

Double Stack Ruin

See a higher and lower set of ruins with painted handprints, metates, rockart and impressive mud mortared rock walled structures still standing

Pedestal Rock Ruins

A large intact ruin on top of a 400-foot rock pedestal with views out over Comb Ridge

Monarch Cave

Hidden up a side canyon of Comb Ridge is an impressive ruin complex with petroglyphs, pottery sherds, corn cobs, sharpening grooves, and grinding metates.

Wolfman Panel

Hike to see multiple rock art panels with one with a unique wolfman like figure, across the canyon are ruins you can continue to

Butler Wash Dinosaur Tracksite

See two sets of Allosaurus dinosaur tracks from 160 million years ago

Fishmouth Cave

A short easy hike to a large cave with handprints and metates, there are a number of smaller ruins to see along the trail.

Split Level Ruin

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

Goosenecks State Park ...

How to photograph the San Juan River’s double Goosenecks at Utah’s Goosenecks State Park

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.

Scenic Drives...

Arch Canyon Overlook

Sit 400 feet above Arch Canyon and enjoy a great sunset

Recapture Pocket

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

Petroglyphs along highway 162

On Highway 162, stretching for 3 miles east from Bluff there are multiple rock art sites sitting right next to the highway.

Planning your visit to stunning Valley of the Gods in Utah

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