Visitor information for the Bears Ears region
Southeastern Utah's canyon country is drawing more visitors every year, and many arrive knowing little about it. A few facts about the place, its towns, seasons, permits and water go a long way.
Published 3 minute read
Why the region matters
The Bears Ears region covers much of San Juan County in the southeastern corner of Utah. Its northern edge runs along the Abajo Mountains above Monticello, the San Juan River marks most of the southern edge with the Navajo Nation on the far bank, and the canyons of the Colorado River close it off to the west. In the middle sit Cedar Mesa, a high plateau of piñon and juniper cut by deep sandstone canyons, the long upturned fin of Comb Ridge, and Elk Ridge, crowned by the twin buttes that give the region its name.
People have lived here for more than 10,000 years, and the canyons hold one of the densest records of Ancestral Puebloan life anywhere. Only a small share of the ground has been surveyed, and archaeologists estimate that the area holds around 100,000 sites, most of them never recorded. For the Hopi, Zuni, Navajo and Ute peoples these are ancestral places still visited for prayer, healing and gathering.
That is why the region is at the center of a national argument over the Antiquities Act. On December 28, 2016, a presidential proclamation created Bears Ears National Monument at about 1.35 million acres, in answer to a proposal by the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition of five tribes. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke reviewed the monument under an April 2017 executive order and sent his final recommendations to the White House on August 24. Reports say he urged a smaller monument, and no decision has been announced. For now the BLM and the Forest Service manage it, with guidance from a commission of the five tribes.
More visitors, thin services
Visitation has climbed for years, and the publicity since 2015 has brought a new wave of first-time visitors. Ranger staffing and trailhead information have not kept pace. Cedar Mesa’s permit fees, which pay for much of that work, are still the ones set in 1999. Most damage here comes from people who simply did not know: a hand on a wall, a sherd carried off, a dog in a room, a camp in an alcove. The tips page covers the etiquette.
Towns and services
Monticello is the county seat, with the BLM field office and San Juan Hospital. Blanding, the largest town, has groceries, fuel, motels and the Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum. Bluff, a small river community settled in 1880, has lodging, cafes and river outfitters, and Mexican Hat has a few motels and a gas station where US 163 crosses the San Juan. Fill the tank in town: Utah 95 runs well over 100 miles west of Blanding with almost nothing on it.
Seasons, heat and floods
Spring, from March into early June, and fall, from September through October, are the main seasons. Summer afternoons in Bluff often pass 100 degrees, and winter brings snow and freezing nights to Cedar Mesa, at roughly 6,000 to 6,500 feet. From July into September the monsoon brings thunderstorms. Rain miles away can send a flood down a dry wash with little warning, so watch the forecast for the whole drainage and stay out of narrow canyons when storms build. Clay roads turn to slick mud after rain.
Permits and fees
A permit is required all year to hike or camp in the main Cedar Mesa canyons, including Grand Gulch. Day use costs $2 per person per day at trailhead fee tubes. Overnight trips cost $8 per person in spring and fall and $5 in the off seasons. In spring and fall each trailhead takes up to 20 overnight visitors a day: 12 places can be reserved by phone up to three months ahead, the rest go to walk-ins, and every permit is picked up in person at the Kane Gulch Ranger Station after a short low-impact video. The BLM’s Cedar Mesa permits page has the details. Hiking or camping off the main roads on the Navajo Nation needs a separate Navajo permit.
Water, phones and where to ask
Plan on a gallon of water for each person for each day, more in summer, and do not count on springs. Cell phones usually do not work in the canyons or on much of the mesa, so leave a trip plan with someone at home.
The Kane Gulch Ranger Station on Utah 261 is staffed in spring and fall and is the best source of current conditions on Cedar Mesa. The BLM Monticello Field Office answers questions on weekdays all year. In Blanding, the Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum explains the archaeology and the cultures of the region, and Utah.com keeps a page on Bluff with lodging and nearby sights.