Oak Creek Pictographs

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 30 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 5994 - 6007 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 15 mins.
Trailhead: Oak Creek Campground
Fee: none
Attractions: pictographs

The Oak Creek Pictographs are located across the road from the east end of the Oak Creek Campground near Oak City, Utah. The panel consists of four red ochre anthropomorphic style pictographs. The panel is close enough to the road that the images can be seen without ever leaving your vehicle.

From the middle of Oak City follow the US Forest Access signs east. You can also enter 'Oak Creek Campground' into your driving app for turn-by-turn directions.

Continue straight ahead, on the now gravel road, when you come to the sign for the campground.

The campground stretches out along Oak Creek for maybe a quarter mile. There is a split rail fences that separates it from the road. Near the east end of the campground the road bends around a curve. The pictographs are on the left side of the road just around that bend.

Measuring from Oak City it is approximately 4.5 miles to the pictographs. This is how the site appears from the road.

And this is a closer look at the panel.

The two larger images still show up pretty well. At one time there were some sort of designs in the torso area of this image.

The spaded feet make them look like a lawn ornament. If they are supposed to be standing on the back of a duck that would be really interesting as it would tie in with the legend of shaman that transformed themselves into ducks when traveling from place to place.

Fortunately the road is just wide enough that you can get off to the side so other vehicles can pass. We were camping in Delta, Utah and just stopped by here on the way. In our opinion the Oak Creek Pictographs were worth the little bit of driving out of our way for us to see them. If you would like to see them for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.