Overview

Keyhole Canyon is an amazing archaeological area with many petroglyphs and a few pictographs. Most of the petroglyphs are geometric symbols rather than representations of physical things, but a few petroglyphs depict bighorn sheep, lizards, and humans. In most petroglyphs sites, the rock art is fairly close to the ground, but here they are unusual because so many are very high on the cliffs.

Keyhole Canyon cuts into a ridge of hard granitic rock that juts so abruptly out of the desert flats that you can drive right up to the edge of cliffs at the base of the mountain. The mouth of the canyon, about 50 yards wide, opens onto the parking area. About 175 yards up the canyon, a 50-ft, water-sculpted and polished pour-over blocks easy progress up the canyon. The short canyon creates the feeling of being in a deep alcove in the cliffs rather than being in a canyon in the mountains.

Many rock faces, especially those facing south and west, are covered in desert varnish, a naturally occurring dark patina that forms on the surface of rocks in the desert. Native peoples created petroglyphs by pecking away the desert varnish to reveal the underlying light-colored granite rock. Native peoples also used pigments to paint images, a few of which can still be seen. There are also some unusual petroglyphs that are actually carved into softer parts of the rock; some of these appear to be extremely old.

Access is via fairly good dirt roads. The first mile or so is a bit bouncy (like moguls on a ski slope), but there are no rocks and little loose gravel. The next part, a powerline road, is a fine, maintained dirt road. The last part provides three choices of gravel versus rocks. High-clearance vehicles should have no problem with the road, and carefully driven sedans should make it too, at least to within 0.35 miles of the parking area. Four-wheel-drive is not required. Cell phones do not work from the end of the road, so don't get stuck in the loose gravel at the mouth of the canyon.

There are many rock faces (panels) in the area with petroglyphs that are easily accessible from the ground; other petroglyphs are high on the canyon walls. Most of the petroglyphs are located on the north wall of the canyon and along the west-facing cliffs north of the mouth. At the mouth of the canyon on the north side, large boulders provide surfaces for many fine petroglyphs. At the mouth of the canyon on the south side, there are some nice petroglyphs on the west-facing wall just above the parking area. There are a few more petroglyphs farther south along the mountain.

There are so many petroglyphs at and near ground level that there is little need to climb the walls to get close-up views of the petroglyphs farther up. If you do climb to the higher ones, don't climb on the petroglyphs, and keep in mind that the granite here seems unusually slick compared to the limestone and sandstone that are more common in southern Nevada. I saw one kid take a pretty good slider into the wash; fortunately, he landed in soft gravel and walked away.

Location

Keyhole Canyon is located on BLM land between Boulder City and Searchlight.

Links to Area Map and Site Map.

From Las Vegas, drive south on Highway 93/95 towards Boulder City. Turn right onto Hwy 95 and drive south towards Searchlight for 15.5 miles to an unnamed road (Keyhole Access Road) to the left (Table 1, Waypoint 15). Keyhole Access Road is 5.8 miles south of Hwy 165 to Nelson, and 3.2 miles south of Eldorado Valley Road (the last named road). Watch for a highway sign indicating a road intersection. The road goes through the barbwire fence at a white cattle guard with a "designated roadway" sign. There are no other roads in the vicinity.

Turn left onto Keyhole Access Road and drive east for 2.1 miles to a T-intersection (Wpt. 16) between the second and third sets of high-tension power lines. The first mile or so of this road is a bit bouncy (like moguls on a ski slope), but there are few rocks. At the T-intersection, turn right onto the powerline road (a private road; note the sign about public use), and drive south on the well-maintained road for 1.8 miles to the first (Wpt. 3) of three roads that fork off to the left. This point is less than 0.35 miles from the petroglyphs; read about the three choices before picking one.

The first road (Wpt. 3) runs southeast for 0.35 miles to the parking area at the mouth of the canyon (Wpt. 4). This road has some loose gravel and crosses Keyhole Wash at the mouth of the canyon before gaining higher and firmer ground of the parking area on the south side of the wash. This road was fine for my little, 2WD pickup.

The second road (Wpt. 22), 0.15 miles south of the first road, runs right up the gravel along Keyhole Wash; the loose gravel is fine for driving downhill, but loose gravel always make me nervious. This road also gains the higher and firmer ground of the parking area on the south side of the wash.

The third road (Wpt. 21), 0.25 miles south of the first road (across Keyhole Wash), is narrow and rocky, but it is the firmest of the three. There is no loose gravel, but someone might need to walk ahead of a sedan and kick the larger rocks off the road. This road ends at the parking area and does not go into the loose gravel.

Hours

This area is always open and is a well-used camping area. There is no established campground, but several large campfire rings are scattered about, and there is an outhouse at the parking area (bring your own paper).

Fees

None.