Round Trip Distance: 0.25 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 6071 - 6119 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 45 mins.
Trailhead: 39.81114, -108.76551
Fee: none
Attractions: pictographs
A panel of Barrier Canyon Style pictographs can be found off of Colorado Highway 139, a short distance up Sand Draw, about 21.5 miles north of Rangely, Colorado. The pictographs are visible from the road although hiking up to them reveals much more of their detail and a few other faint images.
The turnoff to the unmarked road is 20.6 miles north of Highway 64 just outside of Rangely. For turn-by-turn directions enter 39.81114, -108.76551 into your driving app.
The pictographs are on the west side of a point of the cliff that is directly across from a gas well. The best place to park is off to the side of the road about 0.28 miles from the highway. To see the pictographs first you can drive on up the road to the gas well and spy them out on the opposite side of the wash.
There are several places where you could cross the wash but the spot that we marked as a trailhead is where you can find an old cattle or game trail that provides easy access.
Once in the wash follow it upstream to where there is a sloped bank that you can hike up on the other side.
Once out of the wash on the opposite side simply hike around beneath the pictographs. This photo was taken from below using a zoom lens.
A bit of minor scrambling is needed to get up for a closer look. The central figure that we dubbed the 'Demon Man' was made with a dark red paint with whitish highlights. The circles that are visible on his arm and a few other places may have been meant to represent body paint or tattoos.
Off to the left are two more traditionally looking images. It's interesting that one is made with a paint that is of a brighter red than the rest of the images on the panel.
On the upper right is another one of the more traditional looking images.
