Part of the allure of Comb Ridge north of Bluff, Utah, is its remoteness and the mystery that surrounds it.
When researching this remarkable sandstone ridge, which runs for about 120 miles toward Blanding, you often run into descriptions, such as “remote, rugged and isolated,” and it is only an hour-and-a-half drive from Cortez.
To be fair, this area doesn’t have well-marked trails. There are no rest rooms, gift shops or guided-tour books. And the roads that run parallel to the east and west sides of Comb Ridge aren’t for low-clearance vehicles or those who like smooth rides.
Often referred to as “The Comb,” Comb Ridge offers a rich experience.
“It’s a really fantastic area,” said Brian Quigley, Monticello BLM field office manager.
This area is remote, which makes walking into a Puebloan ruin seem that much more special. It’s the remoteness that makes climbing on top of a ridge and spying a box canyon below that much more special. At Comb Ridge, you feel a bit like an explorer stepping back in time.
In geologic terms, Comb Ridge is a monocline, a sandstone surface that was thrust upward by a geologic event. The monocline is as high as 900 feet above the desert floor in some spots, and the sandstone formation is tilted at 20 degrees and is nearly a mile wide.
You can imagine it once again flat on the floor of the desert and see where a river must have snaked its way through the sandstone, carving nooks and crannies.
Now, it seems, the nooks and crannies were made to explore.
Butler Wash runs along the east side of the ridge, along with a very bumpy dirt road. Comb Wash runs along the west side.
One of the more popular trails on the east side is Monarch Cave trail. The trail is a little over a mile in and ends in an impressive box canyon. Cottonwood trees grow in the shade, and the canyon walls dwarf the large trees.
A pool of water sits at the bottom of the canyon, with the Monarch Cave ruins looming above. This ruin hasn’t been reconstructed or excavated. Although it has been recorded, you can glimpse into life there 800 to 1,200 years ago.
Corn cobs still sit on the metates, handprints run up and down the cave, and one structure still has an intact roof. You can see how the people who lived here combined wood, willows and mud to make multistory structures.
The area is under the management of the Bureau of Land Management. Employees in the Blanding office agree that part of the area’s allure is its mystery.
For example, they won’t talk about the archaeological sites in the area, other than to say there are numerous sites.
“Most canyons have really impressive archaeological sites,” Quigley said. “There are lots of pull-out trails, and most of them lead to something.”
Quigley said the east side of The Comb is popular with hikers.
However, cautioned that the area should be avoided if it’s raining because washes run over the dirt road, making it impassible.
Also in the area, don’t miss Butler Wash ruins and the Wolf Man Panel. The Butler Wash ruins are about 14 miles south of Blanding of Highway 95 and are well signed.
There is a short, half-mile hike to an overlook of the impressive cliff ruins.
And near Bluff, if you take the road on the east side of The Comb, one of the first trails you reach is the Wolf Man Panel, an impressive petroglyph, once you turn onto Butler Wash Road from the Bluff side of The Comb (we had to open a gate), the trail head for the Wolf Man Panel is about one mile up the road. Monarch Cave is about 6.9 miles up the road from the Bluff side, but like Quigley said, nearly every trail head leads to something great.
The west side of The Comb can also be traveled, but the cliffs are more sheer and there are fewer canyons and hikes. Still, the area has impressive rock art and a few archaeological sites, Quigley said.
As far as pointing to how to get to specific sites, Quigley can’t do it. There is a federal law preventing the BLM from pointing out certain sites that haven’t been “hardened” and readied for public inspection, he said.
“You can still go to some of those areas and feel that there hasn’t been much time pass. It’s a different experience than say, going to Mesa Verde,” Quigley said.
When visiting, you have to be sure to treat the sites with respect, don’t touch rock art, don’t pick up artifacts or touch walls or ruins.
“I love it out there. It is a fantastic place,” Quigley said.
Directions: Driving west from Bluff on Utah Highway 163, drive along Comb Wash (CountyRoad 235) on the west side of Comb Ridge, or along Butler Wash (County Road 230) on the eastern side of Comb Ridge.