Take a trip to Legend Rock Petroglyphs

Traveling back in time is something we’ve all thought about at one time or another, but what if you could travel back 10,000 years?

In Hot Springs County we’re rather lucky that we can do just that. All it takes is a short drive west of town to visit the Legend Rock Petroglyph site.

You feel as though you’re stepping back in time as you’re surrounded by the natural beauty of the area along with 92 individual panels of sandstone that hold more than 280 different petroglyphs.

Carved into the rocks are thunderbirds, elk and strange figures wearing horned headdresses done in the Dinwoody tradition of pecking into the rock’s surface, some dating back to the Archaic Period.

Legend Rock is one of the largest petroglyph sites in the United States and is believed to have been used as a spiritual site, a place where vision quests were taken – dancing, starvation and the ingestion of certain plants to create an out-of-body experience.

Fortunately, Legend Rock was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and by 1979 became a state archaeological site.

Today you will find a small visitor’s center at the site, managed by the state parks. There are storyboards along the site that will explain the age of the drawings and archaeologist’s interpretation of the images.

To get there, take Hwy 120 west toward Cody for 21 miles. You will see a brown sign announcing the petroglyphs and a left turn will take down a paved road for about five miles. At that point there will be a fork in the road and a petroglyphs site sign. Take the right onto the gravel road for another two miles until you see the Legend Rock sign. Here you will turn left and follow the road through the main gate to the parking lot.

The site is free and open to the public year round, however a key to unlock the gate will be needed during winter months.