Butler Wash Road

Total Miles
21.3

Elevation

1,643.38 ft

Duration

2 Hours

Technical Rating

5

Moderate

Best Time

Spring, Fall

Trail Overview

Butler Wash Road is a beautiful drive between Highway 95 and Highway 163. This road is not recommended during or the day after heavy rain. With sandy and rocky wash roads, high-clearance 4x4 is recommended. There are flat sagebrush bottom areas interspersed by rocky canyons and cliffs with numerous BLM permit areas for parking and hiking to Native American pueblo sites, plus a dinosaur track site near the north trailhead. This is a great family ride with easy terrain. In April and May, there's lots of greenery and lizards and chipmunks running around. It's an open range, so expect cattle, cowboys on horses, and wildlife such as deer and elk. Many other routes can be accessed from this area, such as Comb Wash, Comb Ridge Wash South, and the Emigrant Trail - Snow Flat Road; paved roads lead to other areas such as Valley of the Gods, Monument Valley, Cedar Mesa, and more.

Photos of Butler Wash Road

Butler Wash Road
Butler Wash Road

Difficulty

This is a backcountry byway that can be slick or muddy. There's 2WD access in dry weather, but it's impassable for 2WD when wet. It's mostly sandy and fairly flat 2-lane unimproved routes with some rocky and steep climbs; there is no driving in Butler Wash itself, but the sandy soil is mostly clay-based, so even 4WD may not work in wet conditions.

History

Comb Ridge is sacred to this day for Native Americans, and has several thousand years of historical occupation with many pueblo and kiva sites accessible by hiking. BLM permits are required for hiking/parking/camping at trailheads. Mormon settlers used the Hole-in-the-Wall trail to establish Bluff, Utah, and ranch this area today.

Technical Rating

5

Status Reports

James Haney
Sep 29, 2024
2024 Yamaha Tenere 700
Open
Oh my... deep, unrelenting sand. very challenging in bikes. We were on a KTM 890 and Tenere 700. the heat did not help anything.
Andrew Santine
Sep 09, 2024
2019 BMW F850GS
Open
Dusty
Ride was extremely sandy and difficult to navigate . Our sand and dirt skills were not up to the task for this and it showed. Sand several inches deep in most places cause our bikes to slide all over the road and wiped out several times. Would be easy in a 4x4
Aaron London
Jun 01, 2024
2023 Jeep Gladiator
Open
Normal

Access Description

There's easy access from US 95 between Blanding, Utah, and Cedar Mesa (east of Natural Bridges National Monument), with a south turn-off onto the north trailhead at Butler Wash Road (Road 262). There's midway-point access from Road 230 (Deckers Road) on US 191 east of Butler Wash if you'd prefer to only drive half the Butler Wash Road. There's finally a southern access/trailhead on Highway 163 just west of the intersection of Highway 163 and US 191.

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