Cottonwood Wash Petroglyphs

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 3.2 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 4346 - 4537 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 4 hrs.
Trailhead: 37.28936, -109.55701
Fee: none
Attractions: petroglyphs

The Cottonwood Wash trail is located on the north side of Bluff, Utah. Along the first couple miles of the trail we have identified over a half dozen panels of petroglyphs. All but 2 of them are right done next to the trail. Those 2, that we have labeled the High Horse Panels, require scrambling almost 200 feet up a rocky slope.

Golf Course Road Petroglyphs

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.5 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 5074 - 5157 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 1 hr. 30 mins.
Trailhead: 34.91236, -110.19702
Fee: none
Attractions: petroglyphs

Along the Golf Course Road, in Holbrook, Arizona, on the way to the Hidden Cove Petroglyphs, are 3 other panels of petroglyphs that are well worth visiting. Getting close enough for good photos of 2 of the panels requires scrambling up moderately steep slopes while the 3rd, and best, of the panels is much easier to reach.

Alvey Wash Site 1

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.3 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 6035 - 6063 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 30 mins.
Trailhead: 37.71767, -111.62854
Fee: none
Attractions: petroglyphs, pictographs

Alvey Wash is located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument south of Escalante, Utah. Driving through the area it is easy to spot a handful of rock art sites that are within a short distance of the Smoky Mountain Road. This post is for the first site that we came across which is really kinda 2 sites in one.

Sulphur Gulch Rock Art

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 1 mile
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 4846 - 4880 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: 39.26797, -108.25972
Fee: none
Attractions: petroglyphs, pictographs

Sulphur Gulch is the northernmost of a half dozen or so canyons that drain into the Colorado River from the west as it flows through DeBeque Canyon before reaching Grand Junction, Colorado. At the point where the gulch reaches the river there is an island of cliffs that has a few very old petroglyph and pictographs panels of rock art that include both Archaic and Barrier Canyon Style images.

Upper Escalante River

Rating: 
One-way Distance: 13.1 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 5205 - 5834 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 3 hrs. 45 mins.
Trailhead: Upper Escalante River
Fee: none
Attractions: rock art, ruins, natural bridge

The canyon of the Escalante River, from the town of Escalante, Utah, downstream for 13 miles to where it is crossed by Utah Highway 12, has a half dozen interesting rock art sites, several ruins, a few natural arches, and the Escalante Natural Bridge. This post covers the upper 3 miles of the canyon where most of the rock art sites that we know about are concentrated.