Buckhorn Wash Pictograph Panel and Rock Art Site, San Rafael Swell, Utah
- peteuga
- Nov 8, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 16
Buckhorn Wash Pictograph panel is an extensive rock art panel located in the San Rafael Swell area of Utah, about two hours north of Moab. This impressive panel is right next to the road, so anyone can easily drive up and see the pictographs, and no hiking is required. Buckhorn Wash Pictograph is one of the best roadside pictograph panels in all of Utah. We stopped at the panel while driving from the Salt Lake City airport to our vacation rental in Moab, Utah. The stop made for a great way to break up the 4-hour drive and didn’t add too much to the time in the car.
At 130 feet in length, the Buckhorn Wash Panel is one of the most extensive panels I have visited to date. It is awe-inspiring to view the ancient rock art panel from the trail in front of the panel. Some people may be tempted to jump out and snap a quick photo and move on. What a waste that would be. You don’t see things like this every day; take time to study what you see. How do you interpret the panel? What does the pictograph artwork mean? I always love showing off Utah's amazing hidden treasures to people who haven't been to Utah before. My favorite is to show someone who hasn't seen a panel before and then see what they think the panels mean. I often find a new person's interpretation to be just as reasonable as some experts', maybe more so.
The Buckhorn Wash Panel is an outstanding example of Barrier Canyon style rock art. The name Barrier Canyon comes from a canyon in Canyonlands National Park where this style of rock art was first studied. The canyon has since had its name changed to Horseshoe Canyon. Barrier Canyon rock art dates from 2,000 to 6,000 years ago. Barrier Canyon typically consists of anthropomorphs or spirit beings and is easily differentiated from Fremont Petroglyphs, which are more common near Moab and often depict hunters and animals.
I wish I had a time machine so I could go back in time and see what had inspired the artist. What are the long whips? Are they even whips at all? Maybe they are some type of snake which is common in this area? I also find it interesting that some of the images appear to have wings or feathers. Maybe they are not wings at all and are some type of sheild?
No one knows for sure what all of these drawings mean. Many ”experts” think the drawings have a spiritual meaning. My wife believes the pictographs were inspired by a visit from ancient aliens. After a recent camping trip, we discovered our shadows on the rock walls behind our campfire looked just like many of the figures in the panels. Maybe everyone is overthinking this rock art stuff, and it was simply guys drawing shadows they saw at night while sleeping in the desert. Remember, the artist had no modern conveniences such as smartphones to look at around the fire, maybe the shadows were the most interesting things they had to look at. Maybe the artist felt shadows were extensions of the human body, such as we would think of a soul today.
The pictograph panels in Buckhorn Draw, like nearly all pictograph panels near roads in the American Southwest, have been vandalized in the past. It is unfortunate that this happens. I mean, really, what are people thinking when they do this? Fortunately, the good people of Emory County, Utah, saw the importance of this rock art site and took it upon themselves to rescue and restore it.
After being delayed at the airport we knew we would be arriving in Moab after dark. Since we were planning a UTV Overlanding trip anyways we already had our camping gear with us. As luck would have it we surprised upon the Swinging Bridge Campground along the San Rafael River.
Though one would have a hard time claiming this as Moab's best camping spot, you could make a solid argument that this was the San Rafael Swell's best drive-up camping spot. The campground was right beside the San Rafael River in a deep canyon. When morning arrived, we were greeted with one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. There are no filters or photoshopping of the above photo; we simply rolled out of our sleeping bags and snapped the photo. It was amazing to see this site. Unfortunately, these jaw dropping colors only lasted a few minutes. Seeing sites like this makes me wonder if images like this happen every day in southern Utah.
If you are interested in exploring simular ancient rock art site, I would highly suggest a visit to Sego Canyon. Rock art sights are quite common in the Moab area. You can find more interesting sites here.
If you are considering a Moab adventure, we recommend checking out the townhomes at Moab Adventure Condo. We stayed with them and it was so nice to have room to relax and not be stuck in a cramped hotel room. Since the cost of the rental was split between two families it actually ended up being cheaper than a hotel room and much nicer. Not to mention the pool and hot tub were just sets from our condo.
