Lower Butler Wash contains several trails along the dirt road that lead to ruins and Petroglyphs. We started from the Southern end off from highway 163 just outside Bluff. Lower Butler Wash road doesn’t have a sign and I miss it every time I drive by (which means I always have to turn around). The road is very rough and has sand. It’s probably best to have a four wheel drive vehicle.
When we stopped at Bluff Fort, there was a hand-drawn map that they had for free. It has the roads marked out by miles from the South end of Butler Wash road.
For the Wolfman Panel, you’ll see the fence line and the dry toilet. The road leading to a parking area is just before the fence.
As you can see in the pictures above, you can get a good look at the ruins from the top. The petroglyphs require some hiking and the trail at the bottom leads up to the ruins as well.
As you can see, it’s a bit of a rock scramble. The pictures above look much more terrifying that it really is. The ledge is pretty wide and stable.
You’ll need to cross the chasm shown in the last picture. Michelle is already on the other side. To safely get there, there is a ledge that goes down and up. Do not attempt to go up and over (BLM put chains up to warn people, but they didn’t really cover the bad path that people have used in the past). The small trail is very solid but is a bit hidden. It looks like this:
Once you get to the other side, you’ll have to look around the rock face because there are a lot of petroglyphs on it. At first, you’ll see the dark ones (because they stand out). After a few minutes, you’ll notice more and more of the smaller ones.
Next, you’ll want to continue on the trail to go down into the wash and back up to the other side.
The trail seems to continue from there, but there’s nothing else to see. BLM has a sign warning not to continue because of erosion.