Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Loading...
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Customize your bowl with sliced pork, pork balls, fish cake, and offal.
Rung Rueang
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Stock up on picnic supplies with a side of history.
Horton Bay General Store
Take some of Michigan’s produce home with you.
American Spoon
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
Though they’re protected inside the park, wolves can be killed when they cross its borders.
Wolves Have a Bad Reputation. One Yellowstone Naturalist Is Trying to Fix It.

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Utah Bluff 17 Room Ruin
AO Edited

17 Room Ruin

A well-preserved Ancestral Puebloan ruin tucked beneath a desert cliff.

Bluff, Utah

Added By
Janell Willis
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The presence of the past.   JWill / Atlas Obscura User
Shelter within the alcove.   JWill / Atlas Obscura User
“Remember me”—handprints on the ruins’ walls.   JWill / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Outside Bluff, Utah, a massive 100-foot-deep alcove looms above the San Juan River. Look closer, and you'll see the 17 Room Ruin that the natural shelf has protected from the elements for nearly a thousand years.

It's estimated the dwellings were constructed sometime in the 1200s, and would have been home to three or four Ancestral Puebloan families. The ruin is comprised of between 14 and 18 rooms (though most archaeologists agree on 17) lined single file against the narrow cliff ledge in the alcove.

The narrow rooms are accessed through a rooftop doorway, and connect to one another via internal doorways. Some of them were once multi-story, evidenced by the height of the walls and holes that would have held timber beams to support a second floor. Peephole windows look out onto the green valley below, where the Anasazi inhabitants would have cultivated their crops.

Graffiti covers the back wall of the ruins, where the rooms meet the natural alcove. The handprints of the rooms' original inhabitants, centuries deceased, are surrounded by colorful dots and patterns. Toward the right side of the ruin, more modern carvings read, "HOWELL" and, "NETTLE Feb. 25 1896." These are both from the party that discovered the ruins, an offshoot of the famous Hayden Survey which mapped the American West in the late 19th century. The surveyors left their own mark on the site (generally frowned upon), which has now become a new layer of history upon the ancient ruins.

While most Ancestral Puebloan ruins typically face South, the 17 Room Ruin faces North, meaning it sits in cool shade facing a lush valley. Many hikers find the ruins a pleasant spot to rest, as well as a thrilling insight into how Southwestern Native Americans lived nearly a thousand years ago. 

Related Tags

Ruins Abandoned Native Americans Abandoned Houses

Know Before You Go

There used to be a footbridge over the river, but after a flood in 2007, it has not been reconstructed.

You can still access the ruins by taking US 191 South across the San Juan River from Bluff and then onto county road 438 (you can also take 441 as the roads will intersect, however, 438 will be paved until it intersects with 438.) The is well maintained until the ruins, at which point the road is rather hard to even fully discern between what is a road and what is a dry wash bed. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is needed to make it to the ruins.  There's also a "don't litter" sign right near the road before the hill to climb up to the ruins. Be mindful of nearby Navajo homesteads and don't trespass on their lands or be unnecessarily loud.

Community Contributors

Added By

JWill

Edited By

Molly McBride Jacobson, djm213, Anynamewilldo

  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • djm213
  • Anynamewilldo

Published

May 10, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://anasazihikes.com/16_room_house.php
  • http://www.howellsoutdoors.com/hiking-to-16-room-ruin/
  • http://artwifeneedsalife.blogspot.com/2012/04/visiting-anasazi-ruins-near-bluff-utah.html
  • https://sunandsandtravelers.com/2013/05/21/16-room-ruin-bluff/
  • https://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=15609
17 Room Ruin
Bluff, Utah
United States
37.274802, -109.510232

Nearby Places

House on Fire Ruin

San Juan County, Utah

miles away

Mexican Hat

Mexican Hat, Utah

miles away

'Once Upon a Time in the West' Filming Location

Mexican Hat, Utah

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Utah

Utah

United States

Places 155
Stories 29

Nearby Places

House on Fire Ruin

San Juan County, Utah

miles away

Mexican Hat

Mexican Hat, Utah

miles away

'Once Upon a Time in the West' Filming Location

Mexican Hat, Utah

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Utah

Utah

United States

Places 155
Stories 29

Related Stories and Lists

The United States of Abandoned Places

List

By Mar Nwe Aye and Charlotte Chadwick

Related Places

  • Keller House

    Malibu, California

    Keller House

    The stone walls of a home built to withstand a California wildfire still stand after more than a century.

  • Wall with political graffitti.

    Tonalea, Arizona

    Cow Springs Trading Post

    The graffiti-covered ruins of an abandoned trading post in the middle of the Navajo Nation.

  • Foinikas.

    Finike, Cyprus

    Foinikas

    A crumbling ghost town with prime views of the dam that doomed it.

  • Oakland, New Jersey

    Van Slyke Castle Ruins

    The remains of a century-old mansion that met a fiery demise years after it was deserted.

  • Chesterfield, New Hampshire

    Madame Sherri's Castle

    Ruins of the elaborate house where the enigmatic costume designer threw glamorous parties for New York's theatrical elite.

  • Cold Spring, New York

    Ruins of the Cornish Estate

    A ruined mansion hidden in the woods of the Hudson Valley, home of a tragically doomed romance.

  • Tamaqzah, Tunisia

    Tamaghza El Gdima (Abandoned Village of Tamerza)

    The ruins of a village destroyed by a 22-day flood.

  • The Poltalloch House has a long history behind it.

    Kilmartin, Scotland

    Poltalloch House

    The ruins of this 19th-century Scottish Baronial mansion reflect the architectural heritage and history of Scotland's aristocracy.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.