Alkali Ridge National Historic Landmark

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.5 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 6252 - 6265 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: Alkali Point Rd. mm 7.4
Fee: none
Attractions: pithouses, pueblo, potshards

The Alkali Ridge National Historic Landmark is located just off of the Alkali Point Road east of Blanding, Utah. Found at the site are the collapsed remains of multiple pithouses, the rubble pile remains of a once multistory pueblo, and a plethora of pottery fragments of various colors and styles. 

From Blanding drive north on US-191 for about 8.7 miles and turn right onto the unmarked Alkali Point Road. The turnoff comes up just after the turnoff on the opposite side of the highway for the Devil's Canyon Campground. Follow the graveled Alkali Point Road for about 7.4 miles, staying left at the fork with the Mustang Road. At the 7.4 mile point of the Alkali Point Road turn right onto a dirt track that leads to the official marker that is within a few hundred feet of the Alkali Point Road. In dry conditions the dirt track will be suitable for most all highway vehicles.

Standing in front of the monument try to picture an area that is about 400-500 feet square and you will have a good idea of where to begin looking for the various sites.

We actually drove down the 4wd road on the left for a couple hundred feet to a spot where there were sites visible on both sides of the road.

We took most of the depressions to have been pithouse sites but some of them may have indeed been kivas. None of them were lined with rocks like most kivas but most all of them had logs like pithouses.

This photo from Mesa Verde National Park will give you an idea of one style of pithouse. Some were much, much larger. A popular style in this area is a rectangular pit with a walk-in entrance on one end. Pithouses should have provided coolness during the warm summer months and have been relatively easy to heat when it was cold outside. The inside temperature of a cave is an average of the year round  temperature outside the cave. The same principle may have occurred to some extent with a well constructed pithouse.

A fun aspect of visiting the site is studying all the many styles of pottery.

There were a couple of colors that we don't recall seeing anywhere except in the Alkali Ridge area. Pretty much anywhere that you get out of your vehicle and begin walking in this area you will find shards of pottery. Most are not even associated with an obvious ruin. It must have taken many years for it to have all been scattered over such a wide area.

All that we noticed remaining of a pueblo was a very large rubble pile. It was difficult to make out any stacked rocks.

The road to the left of the marker leads to a side branch of Alkali Canyon which we will explore on a subsequent trip. There are a few cottonwood trees in the canyon so there are probably some springs of water.

As you will see from later posts there is a lot more to Alkali Point than this one site but this site is a good place to begin. The Alkali Ridge National Historic Landmark site has already been excavated many years ago. Remember that it is illegal and unethical to do any digging of your own or anything else that might damage the site. Be sure to leave all of the fragments of pottery where you find them. Right now those potshards are one of the main aspects of the site that make it most enjoyable to visit. If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.