Parking
Start at Wolfe Ranch Parking Lot on Delicate Arch Road. The lot serves the much longer Delicate Arch hike too and is generally busy through much of the day. Year-round toilets are at the lot; drinking water is not.
Overview
About Wolfe Ranch Petroglyph Panel Trail
Why go
- A short loop combines a historic cabin with a distinctive rock-art panel.
Heads up
- The shared Delicate Arch trailhead and lower approach are often busy.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Arches map
Full mapElevation4,287–4,301 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Arches Tour Guide
Your drive to Wolfe Ranch Petroglyph Panel Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Arches National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Arches audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Delicate Arch and Wolfe Ranch0:00 / 0:32
“You're approaching Wolfe Ranch and the trail to Delicate Arch. Choose the hike for a close look at the freestanding arch, which stays hidden until the final approach.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Arches Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Dark Streaks on Sandstone
- Delicate Arch Viewpoints
- Shrimp Waiting for Rain
- The Desert's Living Skin
- 35 audio storiesacross Arches’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bighorn Sheep, Pronghorn, Raven, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 28 trails, 41 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“I can’t believe how helpful this app is and how interesting the information is for each highlight along the Arches Scenic Drive! This is the first park I’ve used it in.”
Trail guide
Hiking Wolfe Ranch Petroglyph Panel Trail
A short cabin-and-panel loopThis roughly 0.
This roughly 0.5-mile loop leaves Wolfe Ranch Parking Lot, passes the old cabin and the petroglyph panel, then closes along a short section of the shared Delicate Arch approach. Allow about half an hour to pause at both stops. This is the small ranch-and-rock-art walk, not the strenuous 3-mile round-trip hike to Delicate Arch.
The routeThe hard-packed path reaches the cabin after about 0.1 mile; continue roughly 0.
The hard-packed path reaches the cabin after about 0.1 mile; continue roughly 0.2 mile to the panel, then follow the Petroglyph Trail loop back toward the boardwalk and shared approach. The walk is short and nearly level overall, with natural tread and a boardwalk section. Only the initial path to the ranch is specifically described as hard-packed and relatively flat, so do not assume the whole loop is wheelchair or stroller accessible.
Wolfe RanchThe one-room log cabin was built in 1906.
The one-room log cabin was built in 1906. John Wolfe and his son Fred settled here in 1898, and six family members lived in the small cabin. It is roped off, so take a look through its openings rather than expecting to go inside.
The petroglyph panelThe broad rock face holds figures including people on horseback and animals.
The broad rock face holds figures including people on horseback and animals. NPS interpretation suggests some images may be Ute, in part because of the horseback figures; the sources checked do not establish an exact date for this panel. It is the walk’s signature stop: step back and take in the full arrangement of carvings.
Before you goThe parking lot also serves the Delicate Arch hike and is often busy for much of the day.
The parking lot also serves the Delicate Arch hike and is often busy for much of the day. Toilets are available at the lot, but there is no drinking water. Pets are prohibited on park trails and off trail, including in carriers.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Arches
14 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
10 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
610 sightingsRavenMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
188 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
51 sightingsPrairie DogMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
15 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Arches. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
