Newspaper Rock

Things to Do in Utah

Newspaper Rock is an impressive petroglyph site located along Indian Creek in southeastern Utah. On a recent work trip, I was driving from Cortez, Colorado northwest to Moab, Utah. Along Highway 191, I passed the sign for Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument. I had seen photographs of the petroglyphs before but had never visited the real thing. So, I decided to take the 13-mile one-way detour to visit the site. From Hwy 191, you turn west at another popular photo op stop along the highway at Church Rock on UT-211. This road drives through parts of Bears Ears National Monument (managed by the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service) and leads into the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park (National Park Service).

There’s a small parking area with a composting toilet and map kiosk at the turnout on the right side of UT-211 just after you drive through the trees along Indian Creek. It is just a few hundred-meter walk to the panel protected by a fence railing. In fact, this is one of the few petroglyph sites that I know of that is ADA compliant and is accessible by those with mobility issues.

When I arrived in the late afternoon, there was no one else there. I could have stared at the panel for hours, but it was getting late and a thunderstorm was moving in, so after about 30 minutes I got back and headed north towards Moab. Most people will be content with a 10-minute look, but I’m an archaeology nerd.

This panel displays multiple periods of imagery from cultures dating from 2000 years ago to recent times. The older art is attributed to the Basketmaker and Ancestral Puebloan people. The more recent petroglyphs are attributed to the Ute people who still live in the Four Corners area.

There’s both camping within Bears Ears National Monument and also the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, further along UT-211 past Newspaper Rock. I’ll also say that I passed a really cool glamping operation at the intersection of Hwy 191 and UT-211 called Glamping Canyonlands that I am definitely going to check out the next time I’m in the area. And, you are only about 50 miles south of Moab. I can only imagine that the stargazing here is amazing.

Check out this really cool 3D model of the site on Ancient Art Archive‘s website.