My sense of direction is admittedly abysmal. Eric, however, has a terrific sense of direction. It just doesn’t seem to work well on this seventy-mile long plateau in the remote southeastern corner of Utah.
The Unique Beauty Of Cedar Mesa
We first visited Cedar Mesa two years ago and were captivated by the landscape and the incredible ruins hidden in the isolated canyons. Every hike is an adventure, with the enticing possibility of discovering Ancient Puebloan dwellings and rock art. Many sites have never been excavated or mapped. Cedar Mesa attracts relatively few visitors, and it’s awe-inspiring to think how few people have laid eyes on this splendor.
Bluff, Utah: Established 650 A.D.
This time, we explored with our friends Henry and Loretta (a.k.a.Yahoo Ramblers), whom we first met two winters ago in Florida. They’ve since taken to the road full-time, and we met up with them in Bluff. “Cedar Mesa is spectacular!” we told them, and we invited them to hike with us.
Cottonwoods in autumn finery
Without going into the painful details, I’ll just say that on two of the three hikes we did together, we got lost. They were excellent trail companions and good sports. Although we were all exhausted at the end of our adventures, we had lots of laughs along the way, and we found some incredible ruins. (I think we’re still friends, although they left town before we could convince them to hike with us one more day. You can read their hilarious account about our adventures together here.)
Loretta, Henry, and Eric trying to figure out where we are on the way to the Procession Panel
It’s Easy To Get Lost Here
Getting lost on Cedar Mesa really isn’t all that hard to do. There are no decent maps, no definitive guidebooks, and no established trails. This is not like visiting Mesa Verde, or Chaco Canyon, or Betatakin. The best you can hope for are rock cairns left by helpful souls, and occasionally, a randomly placed BLM trail marker. Directions to ruins and petroglyphs gleaned from the internet are often frustratingly vague. And believe me, when you’re surrounded by an expanse of sandstone, canyons, and washes that extend to the horizon in all directions, everything looks confusingly similar.
Sculpted rock on Cedar Mesa
Any directions we managed to scrounge went something like this: Drive approximately three miles to a wide spot in the road and park. (Where do the three miles begin? At the turnoff? After the gate? Which side of the road?) Cross the wash. (Where? It’s all thick brush, deep mud, and steep walls.) Head toward the horizon. (Seriously? There’s nothing but horizon!) Look for the rock waterfall and turn east. (We’ve passed several rock waterfalls—which one?)
You’re on your own when you’re hiking on Cedar Mesa. If you get yourself in, you had better be prepared to get yourself out. There’s no cell phone coverage, help is many miles away, and you’ll probably not see anyone else on the trail. We didn’t. Except for the unsuspecting friends we brought along.
Some Of Our Favorite Places In Cedar Mesa
Here, in no particular order, are some of our favorite places that we’ve discovered in our two trips to Cedar Mesa: Procession Panel, Wolfman Panel, Monarch Cave Ruin, Fallen Roof Ruin, and House On Fire Ruin (we posted about this hike here, and our previous visit to Cedar Mesa here.).
It’s a long, steep climb to the Procession Panel
Deciphering the Procession Panel
Hiking in Butler Wash to the Wolfman Petroglyph Panel
Wolfman Petroglyph Panel
Monarch Cave Ruins is gorgeous
Monarch Cave Ruins
Finding our way to Fallen Roof Ruins
A steep climb up sandstone
Fallen Roof Ruins
The roof is still falling
Valley Of The Gods
Oh, and don’t miss the drive through the Valley of the Gods. You can’t get lost there. There are many more spectacular hikes to do and interesting ruins to find on Cedar Mesa. We’ll be back.
The Valley of the Gods
Rollercoaster road through Valley of the Gods
It’s like a miniature Monument Valley
About The Campground
We spent five peaceful nights at Cadillac Ranch RV Park in Bluff. It’s a great location for exploring many of the ruins on Cedar Mesa. The facilities could use a makeover, but the setting is lovely and the campground has full hook-ups, spacious pull-through sites, good Verizon coverage, dark night skies, and beautiful views of the canyon, especially if you score one of the sites at the far end of the row.
Nice site at Cadillac Ranch
Twin Rocks Trading Post
One thing that has kept us from getting completely lost a couple of times is the Runkeeper app. Not only does it track your mileage and time, it also maps your footsteps…so if you are having trouble getting back to your vehicle you can look at the map to see where you are in relation to where you started. The only time the app is seriously compromised is in deep canyons…but generally the map is still accurate.
Your photos bring me right back to this amazing area! Can’t wait to go back and get lost exploring!
That’s a great idea, Lisa. I’ll definitely get the Runkeeper app. The more help, the better! We plan to return to Cedar Mesa, too — maybe with your app we’ll be less lost!
I agree that you can really get turned around in this area. We discovered when we couldn’t find the way off the Mesa in Capitol Reef that our Backpacker app, that we use for hiking, has a path finder and it pinpointed where we started and it tracked where we went. It was funny to look at all the wandering for two miles we did searching for the way out and how many times we went by the path down. It will track your steps while in airplane mode. The book I use for our hiking in southern Utah does have excellent directions to most ruins. The ones you visited we had very good directions. But the Procession Panel seems to be the hardest to find. We haven’t tried this yet, but have met people who looked and didn’t find it. It sure looked like fun wandering in those canyons, though. I know you and Eric enjoyed it, but, hopefully, your friends appreciated the extra miles, too:) I can’t wait to get back to this area in the spring! Love those ruins!! And we enjoy Cadillac RV Park, too. But John calls it Chevy RV Park:)
Haha, “Chevy RV Park”! Procession Panel was our biggest nightmare, but we didn’t give up until we found it. It was worth it! We had no trouble with Wolfman Petroglyph or Monarch Cave Ruins. The only problem we had with House On Fire was that Eric stayed home while I led our friends up the wrong canyon! (Big boo-boo — North Fork of Mule Canyon instead of South Fork.)
You guys would love Fallen Roof Ruins — our troubles there were because of recent flooding that made following the wash impossible. Would be so much fun to meet up with you there for some hiking!
Pam can you devulge the title of the book you use? Love all these suggestions for Apps that will rescue the lost.
I always get lost in the canyons on Cedar Mesa. LOL And I hiked there in the days of no apps, just a good map, which was still crazy even though I made maps for a living. Still, as you said, eventually you will find your way back, after seeing some truly amazing stuff. I hiked with a soul friend who has now passed the world, and your photos brought back some precious memories. And…can’t wait to see your stuff on the Keys.
Sue, I feel like we’re in good company if you’ve also been lost on Cedar Mesa. We’re going to start using the apps that Lisa and Pam suggested. I know I need the help! So glad you enjoyed the photos.
I can’t wait to get our blog to the Keys, too. :-)
Just thought I’d better ask if these are both iphone apps before I spend a lot of time looking for the droid versions.
WOW is all I can say about those petroglyphs. SO glad to see that they have not been vandalized but without protection I’m really surprised they have not been. What a great place! Sure would like to have been on those hikes with you. Lost is OK as long as it isn’t permanent. But trails with names and no maps? How does that work?
Sherry, Cedar Mesa is definitely challenging to navigate. But it’s pretty cool to be exploring in an area that so few people visit. Take off in any canyon, and you’re likely to stumble across ancient ruins. There’s really no way to adequately protect the ruins — the best we can hope for is that the people who visit treat these special places with respect.
Utah is an incredible state with so much diverse beauty. We’ve always hung out at Goosenecks SP while visiting that part of Utah. Love Valley of the Gods. Looks like I have some more exploring to do in that area.
Ingrid, Goosenecks is definitely stunning, but we’ve never stayed there because we like to be closer to the canyons for hiking. I agree, Valley of the Gods is fantastic!
One of our favorite places on earth! Gorgeous photos!
Thanks, Janna! It’s one of our favorites for exploring, as well.
I guess I have to say that I’m glad you got “lost” so many times because it gave you lots of photo opportunities. Your pictures are stunning, thanks for showing them to us.
That’s a positive spin on our misadventures! :-) The landscape was beautiful no matter where we were, but I’m happy that we (finally) managed to find our way to the petroglyphs and ruins. Glad you enjoyed the photos, Sue.
Wow, your photos are wonderful! Have found a secret place in Zion for petroglyphs, as well as the Grand Canyon. I need a knee replacement, but this place needs to be a destination once I heal up. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Andrea! How cool that you’ve found petroglyphs in Zion and the Grand Canyon. Hope all goes well with your knee replacement.
A big WOW! great photos Laurel. This looks like a place we have to explore but will take note of how you got lost and found your way. I am also amazed that the petroglyphs are still intact and they are amazing.
Perhaps Bluff Utah is the oldest town being established in 650 AD:)
I hope our misadventures benefit you, ML. We’re definitely getting at least one of those apps to track our hikes! Glad you liked the photos. You’ll have a great time there.
I agree your “extended” hikes made for wonderful pics for us to enjoy! Love the ones of Eric sitting on the ledge and of you looking down into the ruin. The House on Fire is my favorite, what an amazing illusion that is. I bet you’re missing all that glorious sunshine :-(
Jodee, glad we could show you the hikes! When you visit the area, definitely make the trek to House On Fire. It’s about a 3-mile round trip hike, and I think you would love it. The photo in this post is from Fallen Roof Ruins, which has a similar “on fire” look in the right lighting, but it’s a much more difficult hike over rugged terrain.
Laurel, you certainly know how to spin a magical story! These few days are ones we will remember forever and we are anticipating more adventures with you guys in 2016! Thanks for the link!
Loretta, so glad we shared those hiking adventures with you and Henry. We had so much fun! We’re looking forward to seeing you in the Pacific Northwest. Don’t think we’ll get too lost there…
WOW – amazing country…another place we must explore…so many wonderful places…
Happy & Healthy Holidays to you both
Bettina & Bob
Bettina, there aren’t many birds (other than the always delightful Canyon Wrens, Rock Wrens, and ravens), but the scenery is wonderful and every hike is an adventure! Happy holidays to you two, as well. :-)
Incredibly wonderful out in the middle of no where.
It truly is, Brenda. You guys would enjoy it. Dig yourselves out of the snow next winter and head west!
As always, enjoyed your adventure and photos. Photo number 42 did catch my attention. “Polygamy Porter.” I suspect there is quite the story behind the name.
Thanks, Jerry — glad to have you along! It would be interesting to know the story behind Polygamy Porter — it’s a great name for a Utah brew!
Such beautiful country that we have yet to explore. And if YOU get lost, it goes without saying that I would as well, given my sense of direction. Your photos are breathtaking Laurel.
We hope that you and Eric are having a beautiful holiday in FL, surrounded by family and friends. Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
You guys would love Cedar Mesa, LuAnn. But you and I should definitely not take off hiking on our own. :-) Thanks for your good wishes — we’re enjoying our holidays with family and our adventures in Florida. Wishing you two a delightful holiday season, as well!