Red Hills & Utah's Native American Locations

Parowan Gap is a 650 feet deep and 65 feet wide gap in the Red Hills, a long mountain ridge north of Cedar City. A river that has dried up a long time ago carved it. The Native Americans that lived here used the narrow gap as a passageway for many centuries. It is possible that the gap was even used as an astronomical structure to help determine calendar dates. This presumption comes from the many unusual petroglyphs covering the dark rock walls to the left and right of the passageway - unlike the paintings at other rock art sites in the Southwest there are no depictions of humans, animals, or other concrete figures. Instead, the walls show a number of abstract, geometrical patterns with lines and dots, which presumably helped the local Native Americans to count or calculate.

Due to its convenient location between Provo and Moab, the town of Price serves as a great starting point and lodging location for expeditions and day tours to the San Rafael Reef. The town's main attraction, however, is Price Prehistoric Museum. It is famous far beyond Utah's state lines, mainly for its impressive collection of dinosaur skeletons from the area. At least as interesting are the collection of mammals from the ice age and the exhibition about the Anasazi and Fremont cultures (especially the unique Pilling Figurines made of unbaked clay.)

East of Zion National Park, near Orderville / Mt. Carmel, there are several beautiful slot canyons made of red sandstone. You can explore them by yourself or on a guided jeep tour. Red Hollow is part of these canyons, as well as both arms of the Sand Wash River, which are better known as Upper Red Cave and Lower Red Cave. Lower Red Cave is the more interesting one, offering very attractive photo opportunities when the angle of the light is right. Unfortunately, it's not possible to explore the full length of all three slot canyons without technical equipment and experience in canyoneering. There are too many deep potholes and large boulders inside, along with steep chimneys and high dry falls.

Red Cliffs Recreation Site can be found north of St. George, beautifully embedded in the canyons with shady rest areas and campgrounds. This is a great location for breaks or overnight stays on the way to Zion National Park. There's a picnic area by the lakeshore also serving as the starting point for a short hike. The hike is a very attractive one - it offers visitors a nice walk past the canyon's red rocks and multiple pretty pools inviting you to take a break (and maybe a quick dip.)

If you love Native American rock carvings - also called "Indian Rock Art" - you shouldn't miss the special jewel hidden in the San Rafael Reef south of Castledale. The Rochester Creek Rock Art Panel is one of the finest and largest examples of it and is also one of the best-preserved prehistoric sites of its kind in the Southwest. The massive boulder is approximately 13 feet high and 10 feet wide, covered with symbols and human and animal shapes of all kinds. The shape of a rainbow frames the art in the center of the panel. These drawings are called petroglyphs - images carved into a rock surface coated with dark desert varnish by using sharp tools out of jade, flint stone, or jasper. Part of the Fremont culture, archaeologists estimate that the Rochester Creek Rock Art panel is about 800 to 1,000 years old.