Butler Wash Ruins in Bears Ears National Monument

This is one of the amazing and interesting features in Bears Ears National Monument, Utah. We stopped for a short hike in Butler Wash, within the Bears Ears, on our way to Natural Bridges National Monument, in southern Utah. At the head of Butler Wash is an Anasazi ruin estimated to be at least 800 years old. The hike to the overlook is only about a mile, where there is a railing to protect hikers from the cliff that drops into the wash. When you're there, you wonder how those ancient people could move around from level to level for one thing and get all that material brought in to do the construction of the walls. It's a fascinating site.

It's sites like this that are why this area deserved protected status as a National Monument.

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Butler Wash Cliff Dwelling in the Bears Ears National Monument

This is an area within the Bears Ears National Monument. You reach by parking at a turnout off of Road 95, west of Blanding, Utah, and then taking a short hike, about 1/2 mile or 1 km) to reach this viewpoint. It's called Butler Wash and has an Anasazi cliff dwelling at the upper end. The end of the trail has a steep dropoff, so there is railing there, which also makes it easy to know where to stop. There's no developed trail in to the ruins, but it is possible to get to the bottom of the wash and work your way there. We were on our way to Natural Bridges National Monument and couldn't spend as much time here as we would've liked. We definitely intend to go back.

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Bears Ears, as viewed from the visitor center of Natural Bridges National Monument

These buttes are called the Bears Ears. They are in southern Utah and can be seen for miles around, possibly as much as 50 miles. A new national monument bearing their name was declared by President Obama in December 2016 with the support of conservationists and five Native American tribes. The reason the tribes supported this is that there are many historical sites, such as cliff dwellings within the Bears Ears area, that were once homes to their ancestors. From a distance, it's supposed to remind you of the top of a bear's head with its rounded ears showing.

This view of the buttes is from the visitor center of Natural Bridges National Monument, site of three of the largest natural bridges in America, all in the same area. We visited the area over our spring break, early April 2017.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!