USA Petroglyph Canyon

Located on the east side of Zion National Park, this is one of my favourite places to go when I want to escape the madness of the crowds in Zion Canyon. The canyon has a series of water pockets among swirling sandstone. There’s also a very short but pretty slot canyon at the far end of the canyon.

I like to carry a wide-angle 10-24mm and 24-105mm lens here. Late afternoon reflected light off the canyon walls is very nice.

Room for 5 or 6 vehicles at the pullout on the south side of SR9, 1.4 miles/2.25 km east of the small tunnel or 2.5 miles/4km west of the east entrance to Zion. From the pullout, carefully walk westward along the road to the stone bridge and drop into the wash on the north side of the road. Look for two very nice petroglyph panels about 100 yards up the wash on the left. Then walk another 100 yards/91 meters to a dry fall. Just before the dry fall, scramble up the steep bank about 30 feet where the brush opens to a wide expanse of slickrock. Make your way up the canyon past numerous photogenic water pockets to this spot.