Overview

The Crystal Wash Entrance rock art site is an area of desert-varnished boulders along a sandy wash. Ancient people apparently traveled through this area without stopping for long periods of time, although there is a small shelter site here. While passing through, they flaked a few stones and etched the rocks mostly with abstract images that might represent maps or other travel guides. There is one possible humanoid figure.

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.

Link to Wide Area Map or Site Map.

Location

The Crystal Wash Entrance rock art site is located just northeast of the Pahranagat Valley, about 110 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 and Ash Springs to the intersection of Highways 93 and 318 (Site 0677). Continue on Highway 93 for 3.16 miles to an obscure dirt road to the left (Site 1096). Turn north onto the two-track access road and drive 70 yards to a barbed-wire gate (Site 1097) blocking the access road. Open the barbed-wire gate, drive through, and close it behind you. Proceed another 70 yards to a parking area at the end of the road (Site 1098). Park here overlooking the wash; this is the trailhead.

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 trailhead (Table 2, Waypoint 01), the metal sign-in register is located about 50 feet north overlooking the wash. After signing in, drop into the sandy wash and walk upstream (north). There is no established trail. Walking in the wash, the petroglyphs start on the first big boulders along the right edge of the wash.

At about 0.22 miles out, notice a large boulder on the right with petroglyphs towards the top (Wpt. 03). From there, Marker #2 (Wpt. 05) is to the left against the cliffs, and Marker #1 (Wpt. 04) is ahead on the right. Continuing, Marker #3 (Wpt. 06) is on the left where the wash bends to the east, and Marker #4 (Wpt. 07) is located on the point at a fork in the wash.

Adventuresome hikers might walk from Marker #4 to the Crystal Wash Main Rock Art Site using the hard route (left at the fork) or the easy route (right at the fork). The hard route requires scrambling over and under boulders in a narrow canyon and a bit of route finding.

Walking back down towards the trailhead, there are two more markers to the left of Marker #1 along the cliffs.