Bears Ears National Monument

Utah's youngest (by designation) national monument

Bears Ears National Monument in Utah's San Juan County is home to one of the most fascinating landscapes in the United States, with countless cultural and archaeological sites. Here, visitors can view abundant pictographs, petroglyphs, cliff dwellings, ceremonial kivas and other ancient artifacts. Bears Ears is 1.35 million acres of sandstone canyons, mesas that go on forever, and forested buttes, including the twin peaks that look like the ears of a bear ... thus the name.

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Within the geographic area of Bears Ears National Monument are plenty of incredible sights. Here are some of our favorites.

Natural Bridges National Monument

Features three huge, stream-carved natural bridges as well as a concentration of Ancestral Pueblo artifacts and cultural sites. It was also designated as the first international dark sky park.

Edge of the Cedars State Park

Home to ancient relics from Ancestral Pueobloans in an impressive museum, as well as a restored restored kiva.

Cedar Mesa and Grand Gulch

These two plateaus include some of the best backcountry spots to find and learn about petroglyphs and pictographs left by the Ancestral Puebloans, who thrived in the Four Corners area about a thousand years ago.