Montezuma Creek / Three Kiva Pueblo
A scenic road trip with plenty of ruins, rock art, cave homes, a winery, and a shady creek for a picnic lunch.
★★★
Wow factor
★★★
Overall rating
★★
Difficulty
★★★★
Access road
★★
Crowds
This is a road that has everything: numerous Anasazi cliff ruins, a kiva you can enter, rock art, homes blasted into the rock, a shady creek, a winery and some really scenic views. There are no services along the road so make sure you have plenty of gas.
You can access it from Bluff or Monticello. These directions are from Bluff. From the center of town, drive north on highway 191for 10.9 miles and turn east (right) on UT 262 for 8.4 miles. Set your trip to zero. Turn left onto Hovenweep Road for 6.8 miles before bearing left at 10.1 miles as Hovenweep Road becomes Montezuma Canyon Road. CR 146. At 15.8 miles this road becomes Montezuma Creek Road. Three Kivas Pueblo is at 23.1 miles. Other ruins can be found on this road so check out the the cliffs as you drive pass. Most of the structures are a short scramble away. The reconstructed Three Kiva Pueblo is very close to the road.
It would be easy to spend an entire day here. At the very least it's a more interesting route between Bluff or Blanding and Monticello.