Round Trip Distance: 0.8 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 5239 - 5393 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: 36.96880, -112.87054
Fee: none
Attractions: rock art, cliff dwelling
The Basket Site is located in Rosy Canyon northeast of Colorado City, Arizona. The site includes several large panels of petroglyphs. One of the panels includes a variety of images of woven baskets like those that Native people once used for collecting seeds and plants. Beneath an overhang there are the ruins of several rooms that include a circular kiva. On the walls and ceiling of the overhang there are some very interesting pictographs.
To get there drive east out of Colorado City on AZ-389 and turn north onto County Highway 237. Continue for 6.1 miles and turn right.
After an hundred feet or so the road makes a loop that serves as the unofficial trailhead for the Basket Site. There is a faint trail that can be followed to scramble up the rocky slope to the site but for the most part you just have to make the best of it.
To the right of the Basket Panel is another panel of petroglyphs with 20 or more images.
Most of these images still show up pretty well.
The Basket Panel itself is really quite outstanding. Besides all of its other images it has 8 or 9 very well made baskets.
Snakes and dancing figures are also found amongst the baskets.
This basket is of a little different pattern than some of the others.
Here are 2 smaller baskets sitting above a larger spiral.
A larger basket between 2 snakes.
What looks like a walking basket.
Here's an interesting looking character.
A hunter with a bow and arrow.
To the left of the Basket Panel is another interesting panel made on rock with a darker patina.
Beneath an overhang there are several rooms surrounding what looks like a circular kiva.
By carefully examining the top and back of the overhang around the ruins there are quite a few pictographs that can be discovered.
Right above the kiva there is a white basket pictograph.
On a lip to the left of the kiva there are a half dozen little red figures that are only about 4 inches tall.
In this interesting group of figures the central one is solid red, to the left of that there is a figure that is solid white, and to the right there is a mostly red figure with what looks like a legless deer on its head.
For anyone pulling a travel trailer there is room enough at the trailhead to park it and to turn around. As far as everything else goes, if you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.
