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!)
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!
You never know what you find on a hike indeed!
Looks amazing, great post.
Thanks so much!
Looks beautiful. You’re so lucky to live so near to areas like that.
It is so pretty here! We are definitely lucky!!
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!
You should definitely check it out and take a trip here if you get the chance! It’s amazing and so pretty and wild! We LOVED it!
Looks beautiful!
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!
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!
Now you need to find an iron worker and have her/him turn those antlers into spectacular candle holders or an incredible garden gate….
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!!
I wish I could post a photo in the comments here! My mom had a friend make some out of deer antlers she found in the forest and they’re awesome.
(They’re sitting on our kitchen table.)
Loved this, looking forward to more new and cool adventures!
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Thank you for reading!!
This spot was new for me. It looks fascinating. I will keep it in mind.
Hope you get a chance to check it out some day you would love it!!
Looked like a really great place! 😀
I’ve never heard of this place & always love reading about new places to explore, looks amazing!
It was so amazing and so pretty!! Keep it in mind if you ever travel to the area it’s so cool and different than what surrounds it!
Stunning pictures!
Thank you!
This looks like so much fun! Are you going to do anything with the antlers? I automatically think chandelier lol
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!
Looks like a really nice and relaxing place and also best for any hiking adventures, thank you for sharing.
Thanks for reading!!
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
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!
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!
Definitely need to add this place to your list! It’s our favorite and we know other people would love it too!
Looks like you had a fabulous time! Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures.
Thanks so much for reading!
This looks so incredible! I’m so surprised at the plants out in the dessert! I’m dying to get out west.
There are so many cool plants and wild flowers! My favorite are the small cactus, especially this type of year when they blossom!
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?
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!
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!
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!
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.
We will definitely be posting more pictures from our next trip! And those bumpy roads can be a killer! Lol…
love the area and it sounds like you had a great time!
Omg this place is incredible! On my travel list now!
Wow absolutely stunning. I love the history behind the ruins, thankful that the Indians left behind such beautiful landmarks.
xo, JJ
Stunning for sure! It’s crazy to think how old some of these sites are! Thanks for reading Jenny!!
That looks like an awesome place to visit! I love seeing old ruins.
It was so neat!! If you like seeing old ruins this would be a great place for you to visit!
Such a nice post
Loving your pictures dr , wow 😊
Looks amazing. Gotta run off water if I will go visit those kind of places. Too bad don’t have any near us.
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!
Funny name,nice pictures.
Oh wow!!! It looks absolutely amazing xxx
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
The Moab area and canyonlands is probably my favorite spot in Utah! If you get the chance to go you need to check it out! Thanks for reading Debbie!!
Oh wow, no kidding! Thank you. 🙂 I have a friend who may be running a half-marathon there, and I’ll look into it. Blessings to you both, Debbie
Thank you for sharing your trip.
It looks like a wonderful adventure!
It looks like a wonderful adventure!
looks like you guys had quite an adventure there.
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!
Adventure is good for the soul! That’s our motto! 😀 thanks for reading!!
This is beautiful !!
Thank you so much for sharing your photos with us they are stunning!
Wonderful photos! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Beef Ruins….What an interesting name! I’d love to hike here.
I really envy you this fantastic experience
post brings back memories! I visited here as a teen and loved exploring
Lovely photographs! It looks like an awesome place to explore! I live in Costa Rica and it is a polar opposite of what you have there!
Love the pictures you guys! Yeah, nothing can beat under-the-radar destinations! Oh, anyways, how about you share some of your stories on https://trackthattravel.com/ ? It’s a free travel blogging site where you can earn rewards for your travel stories. You might want to check it out.
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.
What a beautiful place to explore! Beautiful photos.
Gorgeous as always 🙌🏻
Another very cool play to add to my bucket list!