Overview

The Ash Springs Rock Art Site is an area of lightly desert-varnished boulders on a low hill overlooking the verdant Pahranagat Valley. Ancient people apparently liked the view, as they used the site as a winter camp. While there, they flaked stones, broke ceramic vessels, and etched the rocks with scenes of bighorn sheep, human figures, and intricate designs of all sorts.

The BLM and Lincoln County opened this area to the public, and Lincoln County printed a brochure with information about the site (including GPS coordinates) as part of their Get Primitive tourism campaign. Download the brochure from Lincoln County or snatch a copy here.

Links to Area Map and Site Map.

Location

Ash Springs Rock Art is located in the Pahranagat Valley, about 100 miles north of Las Vegas on Highway 93.

From town, drive north on Interstate 15 to US Highway 93 (Table 1, Site 0674). Exit onto Highway 93 and drive north past Alamo to the "town" of Ash Springs. After entering the 45 mph speed limit zone but before getting to "town," make a hard right turn (Site 1093) onto the first dirt road to the right.

The turnoff is nearly a U-turn, but then the dirt road angles away from the highway to the east. The road is blocked by a barbed-wire gate (Site 1094). Open the barbed-wire gate, drive through, and close it behind you. Proceed a minute or two farther to what appears to be a fork in the road. The "left fork" is the parking area (Site 1094), which is adjacent to the sign-in register.

Hours

The area is always open, but it probably should be considered day-use only. There are no established camping areas.

Fees

None.

Note: In this area, gasoline is available only in Alamo and Ash Springs.

The Hike

From the metal sign-in register (Table 2, Waypoint M1), the route (there is no established trail) turns to the right and heads northeast. Look for a diamond-shaped route marker. Marker #2 (Wpt. M02) is only 45 feet from the sign-in register, so don't walk too far if you miss it, and Marker #3 (Wpt. M03) is only 110 feet from the sign-in register. Each marker indicates a site with petroglyphs.

From Marker #3 (Wpt. M03), the route turns north and runs through a series of marked boulders to Marker #8 (Wpt. M08). From there, the route makes a long run to the west, past a split boulder (Marker #10; Wpt. M10), to a set of boulders just across an old dirt road Marker #11 (Wpt. M11).

From Marker #11 (Wpt. M11), the route follows the old road southeast. Marker #12 (Wpt. M12) is adjacent to Marker #11, then Markers #13-15 are along the old road. Marker #16 (Wpt. M16) is behind the Marker 13-15 boulders.

From Marker #16 (Wpt. M16), the route makes a long run to the southwest, crossing the entrance road, to a set of boulders about 70 feet past the road (Marker #17; Wpt. M17). The route then loops back and recrosses the access road to a boulder on the far edge of the road (Marker #18; Wpt. M18). After visiting boulder #18, the route follows the access road back to the trailhead (Marker #1; Wpt. M01).

When leaving the area, be sure to visit Ash Spring, proper, to get a better perspective on why native peoples choose to live in this area during winter.