Arizona Petroglyphs

There are many places in Arizona to see petroglyphs, here is a list of of must-see stops!

A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as “carving”, “engraving”, or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images. Petroglyphs, estimated to be 20,000 years old are classified as protected monuments and have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Petroglyphs are found worldwide, and are often associated with prehistoric peoples.

Petrified Forest National Park
Along with the above-mentioned mountain lion, there are many fascinating and mysterious petroglyphs at Puerco Pueblo and Newspaper Rock. Both are stops along the main road through the park.

V-Bar-V Heritage Site
About 20 miles from Sedona in central Arizona’s lush Verde Valley, this site preserves hundreds of petroglyphs made by the Southern Sinagua people from about AD 1150-AD 1400 (Fri., Sat., Sun. Mon., 9:30 am -3 pm; 2.8 miles east of I-17 and SR 179 on FR 618, just past the Beaver Creek Campground).

Saguaro National Park West
Head west out of Tucson over dramatic Gates Pass to the park’s Tucson Mountain District, about 25 miles from downtown. Along the Signal Hill Trail you’ll see 800-year-old petroglyphs made by the Hohokam people, who once farmed the desert river valleys around Tucson and Phoenix. The trail starts at the Signal Hill Picnic Area.

The sprawling Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona is full of the ruins and rock art of the ancient Ancestral Puebloans. You must hire a Navajo guide to see most of them. Canyon De Chelly National Monument is a must-visit for rock-art seekers–it’s one of the few sites in the state where you can see pictographs along with petroglyphs.

Painted Rock Petroglyph Site, approximately 90 miles southwest of Phoenix, Arizona, provides visitors the opportunity to view an archaeological site containing hundreds of figures and designs carved into rocks, known as petroglyphs. These were produced centuries ago by indigenous peoples. This site is considered important and even sacred to many of the Native American tribes in southern Arizona. Please keep this in mind when you visit and be respectful. There are also inscriptions made by people who passed through during historic times.

There are many hiking trails in and around Phoenix where you can see petroglyphs along the way. The largest concentration of petroglyphs in the greater Phoenix area is at this archaeology museum and Sonoran Desert preserve. More than 1,500 ancient petroglyphs are in view on the half-mile trail loop. ASU Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve.

How many of these sites have you been to?