Round Trip Distance: 0.4 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 427 - 460 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 30 mins.
Trailhead: Sears Point 32.92866, -113.37072
Fee: none
Attractions: petroglyphs
The Sears Point Petroglyphs are located about 8.5 miles north of I-8 and 36.5 miles west of Gila Bend, Arizona. Covering a large area, Sears Point has more than 2,000 panels of petroglyphs spread out in over a half dozen clusters as well as one large geoglyph. According to the BLM kiosk at the trailhead the petroglyphs were created over thousands of years comprising the three separate styles of Western Archaic Tradition Style (10,500 BCE to about 2,300 BCE), Gila Style (300 BCE - 1450 CE), and Patayan Style ( beginning at 500 CE).
To get there, take I-8 Exit 78 and follow Avenue 76 East north for 8.5 miles to the trailhead and kiosk. As this is a well known location you can enter 'Sears Point' into your driving app for turn-by-turn directions. The road starts out suitable for highway vehicles but toward the end something with at least medium ground clearance will probably be needed.
The first site is on the lower northwest slope of a small hill that is right behind the kiosk. Be cautioned that rattlesnakes have been reported at times in the area.
Petroglyphs can be seen on the different sides of the boulders at the base of the hill.
The further up the knob of the ridge that you go the larger the panels of petroglyphs become.
Can't say for sure whether this anthropomorphic images is that of a male or a female giving birth but tend to think the latter.
In this Patayan panel are two of what I'll call (mostly out of ignorance) 'serpent staffs' which recur frequently in the area. Whether they are a shamanistic acrouturment, a good luck charm, a clan symbol, or something else I am yet to learn.
The top image looks like a mask or headdress. Pretty cool.
Its interesting that this turtle or whatever it is has a forked tail.
A little faint but here is another one of those images that looks like a serpent staff.
