Beef Basin & Ruin Park
UTV and Dirt Bike Trails
Beef Basin in one of the special places you just have to see in person. If this area was not 50 miles from the nearest paved road it would most likely be a National Park. Even while cruising on our dirt bikes we were able to spot over a dozen Indian structures. This area is a long ways from both Moab or Monticello so there is a good chance you will not see any other people while in the area. We had to get a very early start from our Moab Vacation Rental and still did not get to see everything.
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Moab, Utah Guide Books for ATVs, UTVs, Dirt Bikes, Side by Sides and Jeeps |
As you enter the Beef Basin area you will notice many side roads going off the main trail. Most roads end at interesting Indian ruins, however this one ended at a pioneers' cabin. It is amazing to look at the size of the logs in the cabin compared the log to trees in the area. The logs in the cabin are much larger, it make you wonder how far they had to move them to get them here.
Many of the Anasazi ruins are unmarked, I think this was called Fortress Ruin. It is best to try and not touch the ruins they are very fragile, even putting your arms on them like in the picture is not recommended.
Tower Ruin is one of the larger ruins and is easily viewed from the main trail.
Beef basin has one of the largest collections of ruins you can see in Utah. When viewing the ruins do not alter them in anyway. Though it is difficult and you naturally want to, try to never touch a ruin.
Beef Basin is just west of the Abajo Mountains. There are many trails in this part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest that are best accessed from Monticello Utah.
It is amazing that in this day of land closures that you can ride you ATV right up to many of these structure. Be responsible when traveling in this area so we do not loose this privilege, stay on the trails at all times.
This sign tells some of the history of the people who once lived in this area. Though the Farm House Ruin info signs says there was once water in the area, that is no longer the case. I did not see any water that I can remember. Just image how different life must have been then verses how it is now. Now days if we get hungry we simply go the grocery store and a fast food location. The people of this community must have ready had to plan well to make sure they didn't run out of food.
Farm House Ruin in Ruin Park. This is just about the end of the trail for non-street legal vehicles. If you don't have a tag you can't complete the loop through Canyonlands National Park. It is a minimum of 93 miles round trip to return back to UT-211. The ruins shown on this page are only a fraction of the ruins in the area, I have since returned to Ruin Park several times over the years and each time I have found new and bigger ruins.