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Ballroom Cave

Part of the Upper Butler Wash ruin cluster on Comb Ridge, visited on the same short walk that reaches Target Ruin. Climb-Utah dates the cliff dwellings in this complex to around 1200 AD.

The trailhead is accessible to all vehicles in all weather, and the walking is flat and brief, which makes this one of the easier Cedar Mesa ruin stops to fit into a travel day. The catch is finding it: the Comb Ridge benchland is criss crossed with old roads and cow trails, so carry a route description and a GPS rather than trusting the most worn path. Day hiking anywhere in the Comb Ridge and Cedar Mesa areas of Bears Ears needs a BLM day use pass, 5 dollars per person per day, sold at most trailheads or at Kane Gulch. Leave sherds and lithics where they lie and keep off the masonry.

Logistics

Sources

• manager: https://www.blm.gov/office/monticello-field-office
• desc: https://climb-utah.com/CM/ballroom.htm
• notes: https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/permits-and-passes/lotteries-and-permit-systems/utah/cedarmesa
• coordinates: ropewiki CSV export, Coords column