The last adventure we went on before we got married was a trip to Beef Basin. Beef Basin is a remote area in southeastern Utah about 50 miles southwest of Moab. It is encircled by Canyonlands to the north, Glen Canyon to the west, and Dark Canyon Wilderness to the south. Our trip started out with a must see stop at Newspaper Rock before heading down a dirt road on a two hour drive that drops you  into the valley of Ruin Park and Beef Basin.  The road into Beef Basin is long and rough so make sure you go prepared as this is a 4×4 road only. Because of this we chose to camp up higher and ride the four wheeler into the valley to explore each day.

Beef Basin and Ruin Park are known for their historical sites and Indian ruins. Almost every turn off the main dirt road leads you to another ruin, but we really enjoyed going for hikes on our own and roaming the canyon to find some that way.  It was so interesting to see how each site was built and see the pottery shards still scattered along the ground. It’s amazing that these ruins are still standing after all these years!

On every hike we went on we were seeing shed antlers on the ground so we had a good time picking them up and ended up with quite the collection by the end of the trip!!

After spending a few days here we still didn’t even come close to seeing everything there is to see in this area. It has turned into one of our favorite places because it is so vast and still feels untouched by people. We already have a return trip planned here for the fall which we are so excited about! (Just not so much driving down the long, bumpy, dirt road!)

74 thoughts on “In Ruins

  1. If planning a trip to this remote area go prepared! Take plenty of water, spare tires, extra fuel, and anything else that could save you if get stranded.. These type of trips are the best, but can turn into the worst if not prepared! Enjoy exploring!

  2. All the time we spend in this area and I’ve never heard of this place. Definitely going to look further into it for next April!! I have a real thing for ruins. Thanks for sharing!

  3. That’s an awesome place to take a hike! My boyfriend and I just got into hiking recently and love it. The first place we tried was Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. Unfortunately it’s the closest park to us, but we had so much fun that we are planning more hiking adventures :)) nice photos!

    1. That’s awesome you took a trip there! We love to get out and hike whenever we can and wherever we can! There’s just something about being outside in nature that re-energizes you! Thanks for reading!

    1. That’s a great idea! Turn our memories into something we can put in our home! There are some cool looking chandeliers I have seen made out of antlers too maybe one day we can do something like that! Thanks for reading!!

    1. Me too! Lol… hopefully we will get around to making something cool with them… I am already wanting to go find some more so we can add to our pile!

  4. OMG this is exactly the type of adventures I luv. I’ve been to Salt Lake city 5 times but never been anywhere else. Do you think there might be rattlesnakes in that area? that is my biggest fear..
    TFS
    Cheers,
    Maggie

    1. Oh there sure are! My biggest fear too and anytime we would get close to cliffs and big rocks I was looking for them so I wouldn’t get too close! Haha! Thankfully we haven’t run into any snakes on our travels so far!

  5. What a great place to explore! I live in Arizona, so I’ve been to Utah a few times. Now I know what to see the next time I’m there!

  6. So awesome! My family and I are always looking for new places to take the kids. But we like to keep the trips somewhat educational as well. I am curious, why is it called Newspaper Rock?

    1. It’s a massive rock that has so many Indian petroglyphs and pictographs etched into the side. It looks like it tells a story with all the photos. We have a post a few months back called red rock where we just went to Moab and checked it newspaper rock. There are better photos of what it looks like in that post! We loved it so this time we went down we saw it too and then took off in a different direction!

  7. Pictures are amazing! Remote areas have a special kind of beauty! I find very interesting the kind of vegetation that grows in desert areas, they look like something from another planet!

    1. We love the desert! Out of anywhere it is our favorite place to travel to. There is always something cool to see and so many cool plants for sure!

  8. Spectacular pictures and obviously a fantastic trip. I remember those bumpy roads from our visit to Monument Valley. Don’t think my poor back could handle it now. More pictures this fall, please.

  9. Wow absolutely stunning. I love the history behind the ruins, thankful that the Indians left behind such beautiful landmarks.

    xo, JJ

  10. Looks like a great find! Not having a 4×4 probably keeps a lot of people away (like us, possibly). I really enjoyed your photos! Exploring ruins and other finds by just hiking and roaming about is what we love best as well. Have fun there again in the fall!

  11. Wow! What a beautiful trip. 🙂 I’ve been to Zion and Arches, both of which were beautiful. We haven’t made it to Moab or down South yet. Lots of loving to you both. Debbie

  12. Wow the photos are absolutely stunning, I would probably freak out any sort of cliffs and stuff like that but adventure is good for the soul!

  13. Brilliant photos. It really tells a fantastic story. We really loved our experience exploring Canyon Lands via the Shafer Trail that was a little over a year ago and I am already itching to get back. I’ll have to add the Reef Basin to our list of places to explore next.

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