Round Trip Distance: 0.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation:5098 - 5152 feet
Cellphone: 0-2 bars
Time: 30 mins.
Trailhead: MM 23.5
Fee: none
Attractions: cliff dwelling
The Honeycomb Ruin is located along Montezuma Creek between Blanding and Monticello, Utah. The structure is so well intact that it seems that only its age classifies it as a ruin. It's catchy name makes it more well known and consequently more photographed than many of the other plentiful sites along Montezuma Creek.
There are multiple ways to get to the Honeycomb Ruin depending upon your direction of travel. If coming from the north you can turn off of US-191 5 miles south of Monticello onto the unmarked graveled Montezuma Creek Road, CR-187, and follow it south for 23.5 miles. According to Google Maps somewhere along the way CR-187 becomes CR-146.
The ruin sits about 50 feet above the road and has a very primitive trail leading up to it.
As you get up the hill the trail comes to a ledge where others have stacked a few rocks to shorten the scramble.
We could see the structure well enough from below and opted to forgo the rest of the climb.
The ruin itself looks to be in near perfect condition. The honeycomb weathering of the sandstone that was probably caused from salt deposits dissolving away is what gives the site its name.
In a cavity a little left of the Honeycomb is another ruin that has only the remnants of a stub wall.
We spent a full day exploring along Montezuma Creek and during that time we saw only one other vehicle and that wasn't until the late afternoon. Occasionally we would have one or two bars for a cellphone signal. It doesn't require very much gas to drive the full length of Montezuma Creek but since it is a little remote and 20-30 miles in any direction to get help it always pays to fill up the tank before leaving town and give your vehicle a good look over. You can see from the photos that the road is well maintained and unlike roads like Hole-in-the-Rock there's not a lot of worry about flat tires. The Honeycomb Ruin is well worth getting a look at while passing through the area. If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.
