Dirtbag Writer

Buckhorn Wash in the San Rafael Swell

Posted on 04. Dec, 2009 by Writer in On The Road

I have only just started to explore the San Rafael Swell and am totally overwhelmed with its beauty and potential for exploration.  The Swell, as it is affectionately called, is a huge maze of winding canyons, sandstone cliffs, and expansive panoramas located in a remote section of central Utah.  For years I kept hearing about The Swell – The Swell but really had no idea where or what it was exactly.  I first detailed a visit to the southern portion of the San Rafael Swell in Running and Dancing with Goblins and was completely blown away by the splendor of the northern part this past weekend.

Views from the Wedge Overlook

The San Rafael Swell is about 2000 square miles of public land located in pretty much the dead center of Utah.  The Swell is just as amazing as any one of Utah’s National Parks but has somehow missed out on any type of serious federal protection.  The San Rafael Swell has been repeatedly proposed as a national park but for one reason or another has never attained the status.  In 2002 the area was proposed to receive National Monument status but Bush never granted the Swell the protection it so desperately needs.

The San Rafael River

I guess the plus side to the Swell having just mere public land status means lots of free camping and basically no fees of any kind.  We found what just might be my favorite camp spot ever just off of Mexican Mountain Road.  The site was on a mini plateau overlooking the windy San Rafael River below with incredible panoramas of the towering sandstone cliffs and mesas and peaks.  My fave part of the site was the fire pit teetering on the edge of a cliff.

Panoramic Views From our Bed in the Back of Rubes

Enjoying the Morning Coffee at the Fire Pit on the Edge of a Cliff

Unfortunately the downside to the Swell lacking any real wilderness protection means the area is pretty beat up by unrestricted off-road vehicle use and exploitation by mining and cattle grazing.  Sadly many ancient sites we visited were vandalized and defaced.  Native Americans once inhabited the Swell and these early cultures left clues to their mysterious history through many pictograph and petroglyph panels found throughout the area.

Pictographs at Buckhorn Wash

The San Rafael Swell, with its dizzyingly disorienting canyons, was also a popular hideout for western outlaws.  Butch Cassidy and his gang hid out in the mazelike labyrinths of the San Rafael Swell and successfully evaded the law.

We saw a ton of petroglyphs and pictographs, unsuccessfully hunted for some dinosaur tracks, visited the Wedge Overlook also known as the Little Grand Canyon, and scouted out some climbing areas.  I also saw my first big horn sheep and wow did he look both super cute and mean as hell.  I didn’t get a good photo for fear that he would ram me.

Ram Butt

Tags: Camping, Mexican Mountain, Petroglyph, Pictograph, Public Land, San Rafael Swell, Subaru, Utah