The Secret Alcove Ruins are located in a side canyon of Cottonwood Wash on the north side of Bluff, Utah. While the site is located within Bears Ears National Monument it is accessed via the Speaking Springs Preserve. Found in the alcove are the remains of 10 or more rooms, a few petroglyphs, and numerous grinding slicks.
For turn-by-turn directions to the trailhead enter Cottonwood Wash Bluff Utah into your driving app and pick the hiking area location north of town. (Sometimes the driving app picks the trailhead and sometimes it chooses the wash itself on the south side of town.) Alternatively you can enter the GPS coordinates of the trailhead 37.29547, -109.56485. From US-191 in Bluff you will be directed north on 3rd West Street to the trailhead.
From the parking area follow the road as it heads north into Cottonwood Wash. (Between the trailhead and the wash you will pass at least 8 cliff dwellings that we have marked on the map and 2 boulders with a few petroglyphs.)
Just past the 1 mile point the road turns into a trail and drops down into the wash. From here all you have to do is follow the wash for a few hundred yards until you get to a side wash on the left which you will want to follow thereafter.
As this smaller wash heads toward the side canyon you will probably notice a ruin in the side of a butte up ahead.
The ruin covers the entrance to a large cave. If you climb up out of the wash for a closer look you might notice what looks like an old pueblo mound and some pottery scattered about on the ground.
As you continue into the side canyon you will eventually reach a spot that is choked with trees. At this point you will want to climb out of the wash on the right.
Here you will find a narrow trail that climbs along the side of the hill above the wash. In several places the trail is only boot wide. The ground is soft though so if you need to peck out a few wider foot holds with your trekking pole it's not much trouble.
The large alcove has a lot of reeds and grass growing in front of it from a seep that you have to climb up through. Once you get into the alcove you will find that it is quite large and has a huge rubble pile in one end.
Amongst the boulders of the rubble pile there are a few with petroglyphs and grinding slicks on them.
The remains of rooms can be found all along the back wall.
Here is a square storage cist sunk into the floor of the alcove with a flat stone slab for one of its sides.
Here is a round storage cist built onto the side of a room.
If you venture all the way up onto of the rubble mound you will find a few more petroglyphs.
And quite a few grinding slicks.
These are the rooms that you see when you first enter the alcove.
There may have been as many as 3 kivas in the alcove.
It's amazing how much rubble has built up around the ruins in the alcove. Either some of the ruins were sunk into the floor of the alcove or over time it has filled with more and more dirt and debri. The air was nice and cool within the alcove so other than its limited view it was probably a pleasant place to hide out from the rest of the world.
If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.
