Grapevine Canyon Petroglyphs

Grapevine Canyon Petroglyphs is a rock-art site at the mouth of Grapevine Canyon in the Newberry Mountains. The first carved faces are about 0.3 mile up a sandy wash from the parking area, a short walk for an unusually rich cluster of panels. It’s a worthwhile stop even if you only go to the canyon entrance; the longer canyon route is a separate, rougher outing.

The first panels are near the entrance, but more carvings continue along both sides of the canyon. The wash is soft sand, and reaching higher panels means picking a careful way over uneven boulders. You can turn around when the footing stops feeling comfortable; you don’t need to scramble to get a feel for the site. Leave the carved surfaces untouched.

From Nevada 163 west of Laughlin, follow Christmas Tree Pass Road north and take the signed turn for Grapevine Canyon. The access road and short spur are unpaved, so allow time and drive to the conditions. The parking area has a restroom. Bring water and sun protection; no refill point was confirmed, and the exposed wash can be punishing in summer heat. The initial walk is short, but the uneven ground is not an accessible path designation.

The fine-grained granite holds a mix of grids, circles, meanders, maze-like lines and more naturalistic forms, including mountain sheep. Some designs overlap or have been retouched. Look across both walls and at different heights; the panels aren’t one repeated symbol, and the carved faces sit among the canyon’s dark and pale boulders.

A 1984 inventory recorded more than 700 examples of rock art, extending for over 100 meters along both canyon walls, as well as three small shelters. Sediment has buried parts of some carved walls, and overlapping designs and surface patina help show relative age. They don’t give every panel one reliable date, so the art is best read as a long record rather than a single moment.

Grapevine Cave lies about 200 yards east of the petroglyphs. Pottery from its deposits points to intermittent use around AD 900–1150; that dates the cave occupation, not the nearby carvings. The canyon’s spring and shelter made it a place people returned to, but the evidence does not establish one date or meaning for every design.

For a useful photo, frame a carved face with the boulder-filled gap or a strip of sandy wash so the rock art still reads as part of the canyon. A close view brings out the linework; a little surrounding rock gives it scale. Keep hands and feet off the panels and leave the marks as you found them.