Bears Ears National Monument
Bears Ears National Monument is a United States national monument located in San Juan County in southeastern Utah, established by President Barack Obama by presidential proclamation on December 28, 2016. The monument protects 1,351,849 acres of public land surrounding the Bears Ears—a pair of buttes—and the Indian Creek corridor rock climbing area. The Native American names for the buttes have the same meaning in each of the languages represented in the region. The names are listed in the presidential proclamation as "Hoon’Naqvut, Shash Jáa [sic], Kwiyaghatʉ Nükavachi/Kwiyagatu Nukavachi, Ansh An Lashokdiwe"—all four mean "Bears Ears".
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Designation | National Monument |
| Managed by | Bureau of Land Management |
| State | Utah |
| Size | 120,798 acres |
| National Conservation Lands id | NLCS000851 |
| Center point | 37.58° N, 109.70° W |
| Night sky | Very dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 27) |
Boundary map
Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground
The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.
Weather by month
Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.
Where to camp
2 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 10 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.
Trails
8 named Forest Service trails start or end within 7.8 miles of the center point, 22 miles in all.
| Trail | Miles | Allowed uses |
|---|---|---|
| West Rim Texas Canyon ↗ | 7.4 | |
| Arch Canyon ↗ | 4.9 | |
| Whiskers Trail (472) | 2.8 | |
| East Texas Rim | 2.2 | |
| Texas Trail | 2.2 | |
| Lyman Canyon | 1.4 | |
| Butts Canyon | 0.8 | |
| Salvation Knoll Trail (475) | 0.6 |
Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet. The radius is the one a circle of this unit’s acreage would have, measured from the center point, so a trail listed here can fall outside the boundary.
Explore
Nearby on the other atlases
- under 0.1 miIndian Creek State Park ↗Monticello, UT
- 0.5 miDecker, James Bean, House ↗Bluff, UT
- 0.7 miRedd, Lemuel H., Jr., House ↗Bluff, UT
- 0.9 miScorup, John Albert, House ↗Bluff, UT
- 0.9 miAdams, Joseph Frederick, House ↗Bluff, UT
- 1.5 miNielson, Jens, House ↗Bluff, UT
- 2.9 mi
- 3 miNatural Bridges National Monument Visitor Center ↗Natural Bridges Nm, UT
Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.
Guidebooks for Bears Ears National Monument and Utah
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Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Bears Ears National Monument?
120,798 acres.
Source: How acreage is computed
Who manages Bears Ears National Monument?
The Bureau of Land Management.
Source: Bureau of Land Management
What state is Bears Ears National Monument in?
Utah.
Source: How states are assigned
Can I camp at Bears Ears National Monument?
Rules vary by unit. The BLM page has the current camping rules. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.
Source: Where to camp
How do I get to Bears Ears National Monument?
A point inside the boundary is at 37.576° N, 109.699° W. Natural Bridges National Monument is 4 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Bureau of Land Management
Which national parks are near Bears Ears National Monument?
Natural Bridges National Monument (4 mi) and Canyonlands National Park (21 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.
Source: Nearby on the other atlases
Are there historic places near Bears Ears National Monument?
The National Register has 11 listings within 15 miles, including Indian Creek State Park and Decker, James Bean, House.
Source: Register Atlas
Sources
- Boundary, name: the BLM National Conservation Lands layer.
- States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
- Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
- Description: Bears Ears National Monument on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
- Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
- Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by trail endpoints falling inside a circle of this unit’s acreage around the center point.
- Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
- Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.