Round Trip Distance: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 5066 - 5265 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 2 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: 37.48695, -109.62569
Fee: $5/person per day-$10/week
Attractions: cliff dwellings
The Juniper Tree Ruin is located in the Lower Butler Wash Area of the Bears Ears National Monument west of Blanding, Utah. The ruins are tucked away just out of sight from the Lower Butler Wash Road. There is another cliff dwelling nearby that can be visited on the same hike that has several well intact rooms that are visible from the Lower Butler Wash Road.
For turn-by-turn directions to the trailhead enter 37.48695, -109.62569 into your driving app. The ruins are on the north end of the Lower Butler Wash Road. From just south of Blanding turn west onto UT-95 as though going to Natural Bridges National Monument. Follow UT-95 for 9.4 miles and turn left. Your driving app might be having you turn left way back at the Black Mesa Road but it is a lot shorter and smoother to continue to the 9.4 mile point. After passing the Fee Station turn right and continue to the 4.4 mile point from UT-95 and turn left where the unmarked trailhead will be at a grassy turn around spot in another hundred yards or so.
The road continues from the trailhead but there is a brown mylar marker that says Area Closed to vehicles followed by another brown mylar marker that says no camping. If you follow the old road it leads up the hill to a point that overlooks the Lower Butler Wash Road where there is a primitive campsite. From near this campsite you can spot the Juniper Tree Ruins while a little lower on the hill you can see the First Ruins. The easiest way to get to both sets of ruins is to take a side trail off of the old road before it starts climbing the hill and follow the side trail to the back of the canyon where you can hike up to the upper bench. In other word, from where you parked hike to the back of the canyon where you can climb out of it on the left.
Looking up the wash you should be able to spot the First Ruins in an alcove on the left with a good pair of binoculars. The Juniper Tree Ruin is hidden behind the shoulder of the hill on the right.
For the most part the trail follows the wash as it heads toward the back of the canyon.
If you climb up on the little rise at the back of the canyon you can look off to your right above the spillover and get your first glimpse of the Juniper Tree Ruin beneath a distant overhang.
There is a nice route from the back of the canyon that will get you up to the higher bench that leads to both the First Ruins and the Juniper Tree Ruin that doesn't require much scrambling. It's basically a 'walk up'.
When you gain the upper bench above the area of the spillover it is only a couple hundred yards to the left to the First Ruins.
Here you can see a fallen ruin on the left side of the alcove and the 2 other rooms that are mostly intact.
Here is a closer look at one of the rooms.
From the First Ruins it is only a short pleasant stroll over to the Juniper Tree Ruin.
Juniper Tree sits up on a bench above a lower alcove. You might notice that the walls on the far right look a lot looser. They don't have as sound a foundation due to the sloping nature of the ledge on that end and are losing their cohesion.
The ruin gets its name from a part of a Juniper tree that was used in its construction.
Climbing up to the same level as the ruins and looking across you can get a whole different view of the ruin.
The far end of the ruin is built into a cave portion of the overhang. The outside wall on this end of the ruin looks like it is barely hanging on to the cliff. Be sure to stay out of the ruin so that you don't end up becoming that guy that caused the wall to fall.
If you would like to see the ruins for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.
