Did you know that ancient rock art is scattered across Utah’s canyons, cliffs, and desert washes? This guide covers where to find petroglyphs across the state and what to expect at each site.
Key Takeaways
- Petroglyphs in Utah were carved by Archaic, Fremont, Ancestral Puebloan, Ute, and Navajo peoples over a span of thousands of years.
- Newspaper Rock, Nine Mile Canyon, and Sego Canyon hold some of the largest and most concentrated rock art panels in Utah.
- Travelers can see petroglyphs in St. George, Utah, at Bloomington Petroglyph Park, then head to Little Black Mountain, just 9 miles southeast of St. George.
- Utah petroglyphs are protected by federal and state law, which means visitors should photograph the panels without touching or chalking the rock.
Long before Utah had highways or towns, people were leaving messages on its canyon walls. Archaic hunters, Fremont farmers, and later Ute and Navajo travelers pecked through the dark desert varnish that coats sandstone, exposing the pale rock underneath.
What they left behind are bighorn sheep, hunters with bows, spirals, and figures nobody can fully explain. Most of the petroglyphs in Utah you can still visit sit along old travel corridors and near water sources, many of which are surprisingly easy to reach today.
What Are the Best Places To See Petroglyphs in Utah?
Utah has one of the densest concentrations of rock art panels in North America. The 10 sites below are open to the public, and most allow you to see the petroglyphs for free.
1. Newspaper Rock
Newspaper Rock sits along Highway 211 on the way to the Needles District of Canyonlands, about an hour southwest of Moab. When you stop here, you’ll find a single sandstone slab holding roughly 650 figures layered on top of one another over some 2,000 years, making it one of the most concentrated petroglyph panels in the Southwest.
A natural overhang has sheltered the rock from weather, so the carvings stay crisp. From the fenced viewing area just steps off the parking lot, you’ll pick out riders on horseback, six-toed footprints, and animals crowded together.
2. Nine Mile Canyon
Nine Mile Canyon, northeast of Price, has earned the nickname “the world’s longest art gallery.” Despite its name, you can follow the canyon for more than 40 miles, with thousands of Fremont rock art images lining its walls.
As you drive through the canyon, you’ll find a paved road dotted with pullouts and interpretive signs. Bring binoculars, since plenty of the petroglyphs sit well above eye level. Don’t forget to check out the Great Hunt Panel, a detailed scene of archers surrounding a herd of bighorn sheep.
3. Capitol Reef Petroglyph Panels
At Capitol Reef National Park, you can see one of the most accessible rock art stops in the state right off Highway 24, near the Fruita orchards. A flat boardwalk takes you beneath a cliff where Fremont artists carved broad-shouldered figures wearing headdresses and necklaces, some of them 20 feet or more off the ground.
You can see the panels in about 15 minutes, so they’re easy to work into a day already full of fun things to see in Southern Utah. Make sure to give your eyes a minute to adjust before you move on, because you’ll start to see even more figures the longer you look at the petroglyphs.
4. Sego Canyon Rock Art Interpretive Site
At Sego Canyon, a few miles north of Thompson Springs off I-70, you can see rock art from three distinct cultural traditions in one place. The oldest images belong to the Barrier Canyon style and may be several thousand years old.
You’ll recognize those figures by their tall, armless bodies and hollow-looking eyes, features that have fueled decades of wild speculation about what the artists were depicting. Nearby petroglyph panels add Fremont trapezoidal figures and Ute scenes that include horses and riders, a detail that dates them to after Spanish contact.
5. Parowan Gap
Parowan Gap sits in a wind-carved notch in the hills between Parowan and Cedar City, roughly 90 minutes north of Zion. If you’re looking for petroglyphs in Utah to work into a Southern Utah road trip, this is one of the easier sites to add to your route.
Around the summer solstice, you can watch the sun set directly through the gap from a marked observation point down the road. That alignment has helped fuel theories that some of the site’s petroglyphs may have been connected to tracking the sun or marking seasonal changes, although their original meanings remain uncertain.
You can visit Parowan Gap for free year-round, and most vehicles can handle the graded dirt road in dry weather.
6. Fremont Indian State Park
When you visit Fremont Indian State Park, you’re seeing a site that exists because of a freeway project. When crews cut through Clear Creek Canyon for I-70 in the early 1980s, they uncovered the largest Fremont village ever found in Utah, and the state built a museum around what could be saved.
From the canyon floor, you can take a dozen short trails to panels with names like Cave of a Hundred Hands. Stop at the visitor center too, since what you learn about the excavation there gives the carvings outside much more context.
7. Sand Island Petroglyph Panel
At Sand Island, on the San Juan River just west of Bluff, you can see a long cliff face covered with petroglyphs spanning roughly 3,000 years. Look closely, and you’ll spot several flute-playing figures carved into the rock alongside images of bighorn sheep, hunters, and geometric shapes.
A BLM campground and river launch share the site, making Sand Island an easy stop if you’re traveling through Bears Ears or heading down toward Monument Valley. Fencing keeps you back from the wall, but you can still see everything clearly from the path.
8. Cub Creek Petroglyphs
Utah petroglyphs aren’t confined to the red rock south. In Dinosaur National Monument near Vernal, you can follow Cub Creek Road past several Fremont panels carved high on a smooth sandstone face above the road. The best-known is a large lizard with splayed toes and a curling tail, which you’ll reach by climbing a short but steep set of stone steps.
9. Rochester Panel
To reach the Rochester Panel, east of Emery on the edge of the San Rafael Swell, you’ll walk about a mile along a narrow ridge. At the end, you’ll find one of Utah’s most unusual petroglyph compositions: A long arc resembling a rainbow, with animals and human figures crowded beneath it.
You’ll have to draw your own conclusions about what the scene means, since nobody has settled on a single interpretation. Theories range from a hunting record to a map of the sky. The walk is flat but fully exposed, so carry water and skip it during afternoon thunderstorms.
10. Bloomington Petroglyph Park
There are even petroglyphs near St. George, Utah. At Bloomington Petroglyph Park, a small city park tucked into a residential neighborhood, you can see Ancestral Puebloan spirals, snakes, and human figures carved into a jumble of boulders within a few steps of the sidewalk.
Drive about 20 minutes south, just across the Arizona line, and you can also visit the Little Black Mountain Petroglyph Site, where more than 500 images spread across a boulder field below a mesa. Between the two sites, you can easily fill half a day without driving far from town.
Take a Road Trip To Discover Petroglyphs in Utah
If your vacation includes tracking down petroglyphs in Utah, you’ll want a comfortable place to return to at the end of a long day of driving. Settler’s Junction RV Resort in Toquerville puts you about half an hour from St. George petroglyphs, with Parowan Gap and Zion National Park also within easy reach.
We offer oversized pull-through sites, full hookups, wide interior roads, and high-speed Wi-Fi that make settling in simple. Whether you’re stopping for one night between rock art sites or staying the season, Settler’s Junction is built for travelers who spend their days out exploring.
Book your stay today and enjoy adventurous RV camping near the petroglyphs.