Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National ParkNot far from the paved roads of Mesa Verde National Park. Away from the bus loads of tourists and crowds. There lies nestled in a corner of Southeastern Utah near the small town of Bluff, some of the most amazing Anasazi ruins of the Southwest. These are ruins that most of the visitors of Mesa Verde will never see. Unlike Mesa Verde where many of the main ruins have undergone massive reconstruction, most of the ruins near Bluff have been left untouched as far as restoration is concerned.
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Void of the large crowds of Mesa Verde, you can explore these ruins at your own pace with only the movement of the sun as your clock. Whether you choose a very short hike or opt to stay for days, it is not uncommon to be on the trails for days on end without seeing a soul. If you are looking for solitude this is the place for you.
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Historic Mormon cemetery located in Bluff, Utah next to a Chaco Canyon outlier site called The Bluff Great House *
There are quite a few good guide books of this area that have been published, since most of these books will give a brief history of the Anasazi along with the proper etiquette while visiting the ruins I have chosen to omit this info from this site. It is my hope to give you a better idea of what ruins you will find in the specific regions in and around Bluff, Comb Ridge, Cedar Mesa and Blanding Utah. I do not pinpoint where each individual site is located but I do give the general vicinity ( canyon, wash, etc.) where each photo was shot.
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Unlike the ruins themselves...... many of their names are not set in stone. Quite a few are known by various names. This can be somewhat confusing for a new visitor to the area asking for directions to a specific ruin. You might be asking about Flaming House Ruin to a person who knows the site as House on (of) Fire , likewise Ceiling House Ruin is also known as Fallen Roof Ruin. Most of the time the names are similar enough for the locals to know which ruin you are asking about. Here is an example of a well known ruin east of Bluff, just south of the San Juan River that goes by at least 4 names:
In 1875, the Jackson party, which was a detachment of the Hayden Survey of 1875 named the ruin pictured above - Casa del Eco. Since that time it has also been known as Sixteen House Ruin along with being called Fourteen Window Ruin. It's most commonly known today as Seventeen Room Ruin.
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All of the ruins on this site, but because of the nature of the positioning of many of these ruins, you can very easily hike right past them and not even know that you have done so. With a guide you are able to see many more ruins in a shorter amount of time. A GPS is also helpful. I happen to use a Garmin GPSmap 60CSx but many of my hiking friends use Magellan.
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There is just such a wealth of information about the Anasazi on the Internet that I decided to try and keep the text on this site to a minimum. If you do have any questions please feel free to email me at:
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