Mount Irish is one of the rock art areas that Lincoln County and the BLM both publish information on Tucked up near the 8,743 ft high Mt Irish, the site is among boulder outcroppings and washes It is a large site If you are interested in rock art, it is easy to spend a day or even more wandering around looking for rock art in the boulders On my visit, I felt like I had just scratched the surface, yet still saw many fantastic glyphs and panels Pay attention to the road directions For a BLM promoted site, the route t...

Often described as "an incredible hike", the Chute of Muddy Creek is also often followed up closely by "but what a long day" This is a pretty accurate description From Tomsich Butte to Hidden Splendor is a long day hike, but is through one of the most impressive non-technical canyons in the Swell This is a must do for fit hikers It can be backpacked, but Muddy Creek is not suitable for filtering or drinking, making water availability a problem There are small springs in lower Chimney Canyon, but by that time, you a...

I wasn't expecting much when visiting this ruin, it seems overlooked by most, though is quite interesting and worth the short hike I would put it lower down the list than Fish Mouth Cave, Monarch Cave, or Procession Panel, but still worth a visit

Split Level and Ridge Top Ruins offer great ruins with a short hike Very similar to the other ruins along Comb Ridge, these are fairly well preserved with many good pictographs to see as well Many may wish to visit just the Split Level ruin, a very short walk from the car Those with a little more energy can circle up to the Ridge Top Ruin to extend the hike a couple of hours Both are well worth visiting and recommended

Sunstones are a translucent yellowish rock that looks quite similar to glass shards The sunstone crystals were formed as part of the volcanic eruptions in the area Sunstone Knoll is an old volcanic vent, the source of the sunstones in the area The area on top of Sunstone Knoll and mainly the flats to the east of the knoll is littered with small crystals of sunstone When visiting, the land glints in sunlight from the abundance of crystals Most are small, though on our visit we found a few up to about 1/3 of an inch ...

I visited the San Rafael Swell for years as a hiker, climber, and canyoneer Aside from Buckhorn Wash and Temple Mountain, I had wrongly assumed there wasn’t much rock art in the Swell I now appreciate the large and diverse amount of rock art in and around the Swell It is an area that was frequented by native peoples, but also has some of the more unique and fascinating panels I have seen Tree of Life panel, on the eastern edge of the San Rafael Swell, is a gem that literally thousands of people drive by without eve...

Fossil Canyon Quail Canyon is a gem of a canyon, not too far from St George Unlike many of the more popular sandstone canyons in the area, this one is limestone It has an entirely unique look and feel! The canyon, carved in limestone, has a handful of obstacles that make for a more challenging hike We did the hike with a couple of 7-year-olds and a couple of dogs in tow The kids absolutely loved the challenges and finding a way up, around, or through the challenges The dogs, though patient with being lifted, seemed...

Chimney Rock is just north of I-70, near Dutchman Arch, clearly visible from the Ghost Rock view area In the book Canyoneering, Steve Allen mentions it as a rock climbers side note, with a 53 rating Intrigued that such an impressive tower could go at such an easy rating, I had wanted to check it out for a long time I was not disappointed, although I think the rating is likely a little stiffer, maybe 56, but still very reasonable and a breathtaking summit

Fish Mouth Cave is one of the deepest alcoves I have ever seen! Its proportions and scale are immense Visiting the alcove itself would be worth the time, but add in some good ruins and this is one not to be missed

This is one of the more interesting and intricate panels on Comb Ridge I had heard from many over the years of it being difficult to locate, and many groups that had come up empty handed The panel is actually pretty straight forward to find with a good directions The panel consists of an incredible 179 figures in a line along the cliff It marks a cross roads in one of the few places where passage over Comb Ridge is possible Clearly this was a well used cross roads and likely gathering place for the different people...