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I consider these petroglyphs some of my favorite in the Moab area and the best part is that they are hidden. It’s a real treat to visit these petroglyphs. I will probably keep visiting these for the rest of my life.
For the full guide on how to get to Dark Angel, please visit our Devils Garden trek.
If you are lucky and find the petroglyphs, you may find this interesting sign below. Many hikers don’t realize there is rock art out here – I sure didn’t! I remember many years ago getting back from an Arches trip and telling my brother that I had hiked Devils Garden. He asked if I hiked out to the petroglyphs and I said I didn’t know there were any. So this of course made me even more interested in trying to find them!
The petroglyphs were created by the Archaic, Fremont, and Anasazi cultures some 700 to 6,000 years ago! Isn’t that crazy to think about. Ancient peoples carved and pecked at the rock here, leaving their delicate record and many petroglyphs have lasted all this time for thousands of years. It makes me wonder how many things you or I have made that will last thousands of years…
There are hundreds of petroglyphs and even some pictographs. You can find all of them spread out of a distance of about a hundred yards. There are petroglyphs of what I think are sheep, mule deer, coyotes or wolves, humans, spiritual figures, hunting scenes, spirals, lines, and more. I’ll just post the rest of the pictures below so you can get a good idea of what is out there.
Petroglyphs
Inside this kiosk you will find a note that has more information about the rock art. This is what it says:
“The rock art found in this area was created by the Archaic, Fremont, and Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloans) cultures 700 to over 6,000 years ago. Rock art is just one of the many special resources found in Arches National Park. Rock art is a fragile art form. It is easily damaged or destroyed. Touching rock art loosens sand grains and pigment which speeds the erosion process. The oil in our skin and the lotions on our hands damage the pigments in pictographs (painted figures).
Look and enjoy, but PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH! Help us protect this valuable human record by not damaging it in any way. Please help us by leaving your comments here and not on the rock art. Thank you”
Pictographs
You can see a few pictographs here too.
Potbelly Slot Canyon
The canyon narrows as you keep going down it too.
I don’t know if this even has a name but I named it Potbelly Canyon because if you have a potbelly, you might have some trouble getting out at the end. You could always just walk back the same way you came though.
Just got back from our latest excursion to Arches/Canyonlands. I cannot believe I have been going to Arches nearly every year for the last 25 years and had never seen these. What an amazing experience to see these petroglyphs and be the only ones there. It was breathtaking!
I am so happy you got to enjoy them!
First, thanks for all the work you put into this site. It’s great.
We were a little pressed for time to see the rock art… and I’m not sure I was using a great gps app. We found a well used trail that went north from dark angel…. Which I think is wrong. We didn’t find them and had to head out… where do you think I went wrong?
Thanks!