Cottonwood Wash carves an ancient, 42-mile pathway from the towering Abajo Mountains to the historic San Juan River. This sinuous canyon embodies the very essence of Bears Ears National Monument - a landscape where scientific marvels, indigenous culture, and pristine wilderness converge in profound ways.

For millennia, Cottonwood Wash served as a vital travel and trade route for ancestral peoples, bearing witness to the journeys of countless generations. The canyon's sandstone alcoves harbor invaluable cultural sites that provide an irreplaceable window into the deep, enduring ancestral connections humans have with this sacred land. Echoes of ceremonies and traditions reverberate through the canyon, revealing its immense cultural and spiritual significance.

Yet Cottonwood Wash's importance extends well beyond its storied human history. It functions as a critical wildlife corridor, ribbons of Cottonwoods and Willows provide essential habitat, and ancient water seeping from its walls nourish lush hanging gardens brimming with endemic plant species. With its untamed pathways meandering through breathtaking red rock scenery, the canyon beckons adventurers to experience passive recreational splendors that inspire awe and reverence.

In preserving natural treasures like Cottonwood Wash, we honor the intricate tapestry connecting scientific inquiry, natural wonderment, and humanity's eternal reverence for places that sustain us all. This canyon at once humbles visitors with its ancient magnitude, while elevating our shared appreciation for lands that have cradled cultures and ecosystems for millennia.