The American Southwest is full of rock art. Colorado, Arizona, California and New Mexico all have sites that are either preserved on their own or as part of a larger ruins area. But Utah probably has a greater variety than any other state.

Although pictographs and petroglyphs are often used interchangeably, there are key differences between them. Pictographs are painted onto stone using colors made from local vegetation. Petroglyphs are carved into the rock. Pictographs are much more fragile, and usually painted in places where they are protected from the elements.

One of the most accessible rock art sites in Utah is Newspaper Rock State Park near Monticello. This large cliff mural contains both petroglyphs and pictographs from three distinct periods. Anthropologists believe that the rock was used for over 3000 years by the Archaic, Basket Maker, Anasazi and Fremont People; by the Ute and Navajo; and even by white settlers. More than 350 images are clustered together on the rock face.

Many petroglyph sites are scattered around Moab. The Potash Byway, or Highway 279, follows the Colorado River southwest of town and has several well-marked sites. There is a particularly interesting spot off Hurrah Pass called The Birthing Stone which depicts many images including a feet-first birth.

The sites in Canyonlands National Park require day hikes or jeep trails, but they are extraordinary. Most are in the Maze and Needles Districts, which are accessed off Highway 191 south of Moab.

Horseshoe Canyon, in the Maze, contains a series of four magnificent pictograph panels painted high on the canyon walls. Known as the Great Gallery, these 3000 year old panels contain life-sized human figures. The most complete panel is 200 feet long and 15 feet high. These are considered to be among the finest pictographs in North America. Although remote, Horseshoe Canyon is easier to get to than most of the Maze District. It is 7.5 miles round trip.

There are several sites in the Needles District. In Peekaboo Canyon there are actually silhouette hand prints left by the artists, in addition to an unusual row of white splotches blown onto the rock. There are also several shield type figures. If you look carefully, you will see that the Fremont work was actually painted over the top of another set of faint drawings that are at least a thousand years older. They are a product of the Archaic People who inhabited the area from about 6000 BC until around the time of Christ. The trail to Peekaboo is 9.4 miles round trip.

In Davis Canyon, The Five Faces are just one of three groups of Fremont pictographs using the face motif inside the park. Davis Canyon is 23 miles or more roundtrip, depending on how deep you go into the canyon, and is accessible via 4WD.

The Needles Outpost, located on a spur road near the Park boundary, is a privately owned facility that offers services to park visitors. There is a general store with propane and firewood and a fee campground. Jeep rentals are available as well as guided jeep tours. It is open seasonally.