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Home , Trail of the Ancients

EXPLORING RUINS & ROCK ART

River House Ruin San Juan River

Westwater Ruin #2 Butler Wash Ruin This small residence is easily reached #3 with a highway vehicle. It is found in A Self-Guided Tour of Westwater Canyon south of Blanding. Butler Wash Ruin is a multi-room Ancestral Puebloan Sites in The ruin consists of 13 ground-level structure overlooking Butler Wash. An ’s CANYON COUNTRY! rooms and 5 kivas. It was occupied easy 1/2 mile trail crosses sand-stone and The ancestral , or Anasazi, between 750-1250 AD. Although the traverses desert ‘gardens’ leading to the left intriguing traces of their lives in ruin has suffered at the hands of overlook. The hike takes you away from canyons and on mesa tops in south-east generations of folks interested in the the road and vehicle noise into the silence Utah. Their dwellings, rock art, pottery, ancient people of this area, it is still an of the canyon broken only by raven call and artifacts offer clues to their way of interesting ruin and worth the visit. The or wind. Sharp eyes can spot lizards life. Start at the Edge of the Cedars Visitor Center in Blanding stocks sunning on the rocks along the trail and State Park & Museum in Blanding. information about the ancient people canyon swifts, small swallow-like birds, Learn of the people and how their and their lifeway. performing aerobatics along the cliffs. villages were connected with Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, and other Follow US Highway 191 south of Follow Utah Highway 95 west from southwest sites. Go on to explore the Blanding for 1 mile. Turn west onto Blanding (The Trail of the Ancients sites in south-east Utah. No matter County Road Scenic Byway) 11 miles to the signed turn where you are in #1 #232. Continue (Indian Ruins) into the parking area. The Canyon Country, 2 miles to the site is on the north side of the highway. you are only minutes overlook. from adventure!

Edge of the Cedars State Park & Museum Arch Canyon Ruin

#4 Natural Bridges Arch Canyon #6 National Monument shelters #5 National Monument remains of Mule Canyon Ruin The stunning natural bridges are only the ancient beginning. Horsecollar Ruin presents a dwellings and Found along Utah Highway 95, this ruin look at what out lying villages might have trails. The consists of a residence block, tower, and been like in the ancient culture. Named Arch Canyon kiva. The kiva and tower have been for the doorway shaped like a harness ruin was once a multi-stored dwelling at stabilized. Mule Canyon Ruin is a classic collar, Horse-collar Ruin can be viewed the mouth of the canyon. The canyon is ancestral Puebloan archaeological site from an overlook. Other ruins and rock fed by a perennial stream which offering a close-up, and convenient view art can be reached by hiking trails. sustained the ancient community. into the past without the crowds Excellent interpretation is provided. Today it waters venerable cottonwood associated with some of the more Follow Utah Hwy. 95 west of Blanding 30 trees. Natural arches and other prominent ruins. miles to the signed turn into Natural dwellings are scattered throughout the Interpretive signs explain the ruin and Bridges National canyon system for the determined hiker how it related to the greater network of Monument. Get the brochure! to find. ancient communities throughout this area. Arch Canyon is 14 miles west of Parking and a handicapped accessible rest Greenwater Spring Blanding along Utah Highway 95 (The room are at the site. Paved walkways make #7 Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway). the ruin itself accessible. Ruin Turn north into (BLM sign "Arch Canyon"). Follow the road Follow Utah Highway 95 west from This easily accessible outlier ruin is along 2.5 miles to Arch Canyon which enters Blanding 20 miles to the signed turn to Utah Hwy. 276. Let your imagination go the wash from the west. The road is Mule Canyon Ruin on the north side of and develop a life for this small rough in spots and sandy in others. It is the road. community. Follow Utah Hwy. 95 west not recommended for highway vehicles. from Blanding 38 miles to the junction with Utah Hwy. 276. Turn south and travel 18 miles to the ruin on the north side of the road. Bluff Great #10 House Get the brochure! This site offers a #8 San Juan River good introduction and provides information about life in Newspaper Rock the ancient southwest as well as at this #12 River House, a 3 story, multi-room Recreation Site dwelling is found along the river site. There once was a 2-story pueblo, between Bluff and Mexican Hat. Butler great kiva, and connection with One of the finest panels in the southwest, Wash, west of Bluff, shelters exquisite prehistoric roads here. The site is easily the oldest images are 2,000 years old, the petroglyphs - some of best in the accessible from the community of Bluff, most recent date to the beginning of the southwest! Wild River Expeditions in where interpretive material is can also 20th century. Fremont, Puebloan, , Bluff tours the San Juan with a focus on be found. The ruin overlooks Bluff and early Anglo cultures are represented the natural and human history of the along with the historic cemetery, also On Utah Hwy. 211 east of Canyonlands area. worth exploration. National Park, Needles District. Hovenweep Sand Island #13 National Canyonlands Petroglyph Monument National Park Panel #9 #11 Known for its red rock This site is known for the many images of One of the canyons and the Kokopelli, the hump-backed flute player premier sites in the River, and ancient trader who may have visited region, Hovenweep will Canyonlands was also this area with trade items from as far away captivate with ruins, rock art, and quiet home to small villages. Granaries, like as Mexico. The rock art covers the cliff canyons. Six sets of ruins are in the that in the photo above, and picot- face for about 50 yards with many park, each offering its own unique graphs like Peek-A-Boo below, are different images. glimpse of ancient life. Follow US found in out of the way alcoves. Follow Follow US Hwy. 191 three miles west of Hwy. 191 south of Blanding 15 miles to Utah Hwy. 211 from the junction with Bluff. The route is signed Sand Island. the junction with Utah Hwy. 262. Turn US 191 to its terminus in the park. Turn east and follow the road to the east, follow 262 for 8 miles to the 4 Wheel Drive necessary on some routes. junction with County Rd. #414, & Others passable with a highway vehicle. bottom of the hill, turn right and park Permit may be required. Check at park then walk along the cliff face. follow the signs. Get the brochure! visitor center. KEY TO RUINS & Petroglyphs ROCK ART SITES & Pictographs 1. Edge of the Cedars State Park. The term ‘rock art’ refers to 2. Westwater Ruin images rendered on natural, 3. Butler Wash Ruin immovable rock surfaces such as 4. Arch Canyon Ruin 5. Mule Canyon Ruin cliff faces or cave walls. Images 6. Natural Bridges carved, incised, or pecked into the National Monument surface are petroglyphs. Images 7. Green Water Srping painted on the surface are called 8. San Juan River pictographs. 9. Sand Island Petroglyph Panel Petroglyph of a type 10. Bluff Great House found throughout the Ruin Four Corners region. 11. Hovenweep National Monument 12. Newspaper Rock The Skier: A pictograph Recreation Site found in Grand Gulch Primitive Area 13. Canyonlands National Park Site deterioration has become a problem due to increased vandalism and overuse of remote archaeological sites. When visiting rock art sites, remember not to touch the rock art. Oils from hands and fingers will cause the fragile images to deteriorate over time. Be good stewards of cultural resources and protect the past We encourage visitors to treat for the future. This map gives you an overview of the area. Exploration to the ruins and rock art archaeological sites with requires a detailed map. Utah state highway maps and backcountry maps are available at respect. Leave only footprints, local visitor information stations. take only photographs. Please leave sites as you find them, do not remove artifacts, or climb on ruin walls. Leave these treasures from the past for others to enjoy in the future.