Travel-Curious

Travel Curious

For independent travelers who want to dig deeper

Hiking Seven Mile Canyon - South Fork

The Bird man rock art at the mouth of the South Fork of Seven Mile Canyon
 
The canyon is an easy hike, you are in the sandy wash almost the whole way except for when you are seeking out the individual rock art sites on the canyon walls.
 
Hiking the South Fork of Seven Mile Canyon is rewarding due to the amount of iconic petroglyph and pictograph panels in the area. Before you even enter the canyon you have the chance to see two well-known and remarkable individual rock art panels.
 
This abundance of rock art in this confluence of canyons is more evidence that the ancient people regarded where canyons intersected to be significant places.
 
This south fork of Seven Mile Canyon along with the section called Lower Seven Mile Canyon was believed to have been a migration route for the ancient Indians from the La Sal Mountains to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park used in the fall and spring.
 
Getting there
  • Take Highway 191 north from Moab, turn left at the turn for Canyonlands National Park / Dead Horse Point State Park onto Highway 313.
  • Look for a parking pull-off area on the (right) north side of the highway at about 2.7 miles, this puts you right in front of the Intestine Man rock art panel where you start from.
  • If you want to see the bonus rock art just before the Intestine Man, you will need to pull over first at ( 38.652127, -109.720584 ) on the north side of the highway before continuing on to the final parking area.
 
Parking
38.648405, -109.723935
Small pull-off on the north side of Highway 313
 
Notes
  • Bring binoculars to see the rock art better
  • The panels can be tricky to find 
  • Dogs are okay
  • This canyon gets very hot during the summer, you are exposed to the sun and the canyon walls reflect the heat
 
Distance
5.5 miles total out and back
 

Seven Mile Canyon South Fork Hiking Map

 
Route
Park in the pull-out on the north side of Highway 313
 
Intestine Man
You should be right in front of the pictograph panel called Intestine Man, look for him about 15 feet up on the rock face.  A 2-minute walk to the right reaches another panel with spirals and human figures and to the right of that several large bighorn sheep. Just follow the well-worn trails to find the rock art.
 
The Intestine Man has been written about by many experts, there is no shortage of theories about what this strange-looking panel represents. Is this a literal interpretation of the interior of the body and the intestines? Are they snakes? A canyon?

Intestine Man Rock Art Panel
Intestine Man Rock Art Panel

 

Second panel next to Intestine Man Rock Art Panel
2nd panel

 

Bighorn sheep panel next to Intestine Man Rock Art Panel
These bighorn sheep are sometimes referred to as the “TV Sheep” due to their rectangular shapes

 

Bonus Rock Art ( 38.651825, -109.721297 )
Located on the north side of Highway 313 about a 1/4 mile before the Intestine Man site. The biggest panels are 30 or 40 feet above the road, to get close you will need to scramble up the rocky slopes.

Bonus rock art on highway 313

 
Snake man ( 38.6479042N, 109.7191208W )
Now you can cross the road and head up the main canyon or detour first to find the snake man rock art panel.

The rock art locations around the mouth of the Seven Mile Canyon
The rock art locations around the mouth of the Seven Mile Canyon

 
Looking at the long horizontal overhang with water stains running down its face like vertical tiger stripes, the snake man is on the left-hand side way up from the valley floor. To get closer you have to find a zig-zag route up to the base of the overhang.
 
Looking at the overhang notice the brush about in the middle just below the overhang. Here you should find a zig-zag route that you can climb level by level until you reach a relatively flat ledge running in the concave overhang that will get you about 10 feet below the rock art.

The Snake Man location in the mouth of Seven Mile Canyon South Fork

The Snake Man from a distance

 

The snake man or snake in mouth man is a well-known pictograph. Is it two figures wearing maybe some sort of fur robes? The figure on the right appears to be holding a birdman creature. There is a snake to the left of him and the birdman appears to be pointing at the main figure’s head.

 

The Snake Man close up

Snake man up high on the wall, look closely there is a blue snake in the big figure’s mouth
 
 
First Rock Art Panels ( 38.647096, -109.724223 )
  • If you don’t detour to see the snake man rock art panel, cross south across the highway and follow a trail down to a gate. Once through the gate, follow the trail up to the cliff directly to the west is a good panel of petroglyphs on the corner up about 15-20 ft, just above a crack in the wall.  
 
  • If you detoured to the snake man, just follow the canyon sandy wash road toward the large rock formation in front of you, as you get far enough you should find the trail leading from the rock art on the rock formation.

The first rock art panel at the entrance to Seven Mile Canyon South Fork

 
The set of petroglyphs is up about 15-20 ft, just above the crack in the wall.

Location of the rock art higher on the wall

Detail of the rock art higher on the wall

 
Continue walking close to the cliff all the way until you reach the canyon wash. There are a handful of areas you will come to of very faint petroglyphs of spirals, dotted lines, human figures, and animals here and there along the bottom of the cliff face as you go.

More pecked rock art along the bottom of the wall

 
The Stickman and witches on broomsticks ( 38.640056, -109.728658 ) .6 miles from the start
Heading up the canyon you should see in the distance a small Cottonwood Grove up ahead in the canyon bottom in front of you.
 
When you get to the Cottonwood Grove look for the signs of a small wash coming out to these trees from the left and follow it, during heavy rains water comes down the side of the canyon into this wash and out into the main canyon.
Directions to the stickman rock art
 
Follow it back until you start to see a big jumble of rocks and immediately to the right and up high is the rock art. The Stickman is a strange combination of a human scorpion with four legs.
 
The stickman
The stickman 
 
You have to scramble up to a ledge to see the stickman and then follow that ledge to the left as it gets worse and more crumbly is the main rock art panel.

Witches on broomsticks rockart panel

 
Fish ( 38.635786, -109.732302 ) .9 miles from start at gate
Continue 1/3 of a mile, there is a side canyon that splits off on the left. Just before the canyon splits look for an entrance through some brush in front of the cliff bottom on your left, and enter into an alcove to see some unusual pictographs.

Seven Mile Canyon South Fork 1 3

 
 
The hidden Centipede ( 38.633606, -109.736086 ) 1.4 miles miles from start at gate
Continuing down the wash for another .7 miles, you need to walk from the wash up onto the brush bank on the left to an alcove. In a depression on the ceiling, there is an interesting group of drawings to see, a figure and a centipede. There is some interpretation of centipede-like drawings like this to represent game drive fences, but there are no elk or sheep figures in this set of drawings.

location of the hidden centepede

location of the hidden centepede

Close up of the centepede

Figures on the wall below the centipede

Figures on the wall below the centipede
 
 
The Watching Shaman  ( 38.633606, -109.736086 ) 2.0 miles from start at the gate
Continue for another 0.6 miles from the Hidden Centipede. Here the canyon splits again with the main branch continuing to the left and a second major side-canyon comes in from the right.
 
On the right is a large cleft boulder at its mouth. A mirror image boulder lies just opposite just before the fork to the left.
 
Behind that boulder on the left is a wide ledge about 15 feet above the canyon floor. Climb onto this ledge and follow it to the right for about 100 feet. You will pass a very faded geometric design. Keep going right and into a protected area and look upwards and to the right for the Shaman. The Shaman is up high above the canyon.

The watchful Shaman directions

The faded panelFirst very faded panel

 

The watchful Shaman above Seven Mile Canyon South Fork
The Watchful Shaman

 
Faint figures ( 38.629603, -109.742776 )
Just around the corner and just 0.2 miles farther from the Shaman, is a wire cable marking the closure of the canyon to motor vehicles any further.
 
To the left up about 20-30 feet on the cliff face, there is a large pictograph that is similar to barrier canyon-style artwork like that at the Great Gallery in Horseshoe Canyon. When these images were originally created you can imagine they would have shown up like a big billboard for anyone passing by. There is a big rock fall creating a ledge you can climb up to for a better look.

End of the canyon to motorized vechicles

Figure up high

Explore Nearby...

Hikes...

Crawl under the ledges and look up

Moab Grotto

Short hike to two rock art sites, one an over-night camp with art under overhangs and the 2nd is the Moab Grotto rock art site

Secret Spire sits along on rolling slickrock near Moab Utah

Secret Spire

A quick hike along a sandy road to a rock spire sitting on rolling slickrock hills near Moab

Walking through the Dellenbaugh Tunnel

Dellenbaugh Tunnel

An easy hike to a tunnel that takes you to an overlook into Spring Canyon near the Tombstone Rock formation

Moki Mesa

Hike to a hidden shelf above the Colorado river you get to using an old cattle trail blasted out of the canyon cliff face

Moab Maiden Hike Moab Utah

Moab Maiden – Hike

The Moab Maiden is a single petroglyph pecked into a large single boulder on a ridge above Kane Springs Creek. There are other petroglyphs at the cliff face at the overlook, as well as the ruin of a granary and pithouse.

Seven Mile Canyon Lower Hike 8

Seven Mile Canyon ( Lower ) – Hike

Explore a canyon that was part of the Spring/Fall Anasazi migration route, originating in the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park to the La Sal Mountains. There are Barrier style rock art panels in the canyon.

Hidden Valley hike Moab Utah

Hidden Valley – Hike

Discover a hidden Valley “Behind the Rocks” in Moab, and hike a two-thousand-year-old path used by Native Americans, see many petroglyphs and two ruins

The Owl Panel – Hike

This short hike takes you to discover the Owl Panel which also has the big man, lots of sheep, and other petroglyphs.

Arches National Park...

U-Turn Canyon

Scramble up to a secret canyon in Arches National Park above Park Avenue

Sand Dune Arch 3

Sand Dune Arch

Sand Dune Arch is a family favorite, perfect for kids, it is a quick and easy stroll on a sandy easy-to-follow trail

Sand Dune Arch 7

Skyline Arch

Skyline Arch sits against the skyline at the top of a large red rock fin. A short and easy walk.

Sand Dune Arch 4

Tapestry Arch & Broken Arch

Hike to both Tapestry Arch and Broken Arch on a short out-and-back trail that leaves from the Devil’s Garden Camp Grounds

Devils Garden arches national park 5

Guide for the Devil’s Garden

A special place walking through rock fins, towers and arches, see the famous Landscape Arch or hike the challenging Primitive Loop to see more remote sections of the Devil’s Garden

Tower Arch Arches National Park-2

Tower Arch Hike

Rarely visited due to its location in the western part of Arches National Park, a great place to go if you want a quieter experience off the beaten path away from the crowds

aaaa 12

Willow Springs Road

Willow Springs Road is a backdoor road into Arches National Park that avoids the toll gate, and reservation system

Park Avenue Arches National Park

Park Avenue – hike

This is a fun and easy hike and is a great introduction to hiking in Arches National Park for beginners, the trail gets you quickly immersed among the high red rock features of what Utah and the park is all about.

Windows section of arches national park 3

Windows Section of Arches National Park

The Windows and Double Arch are the main attraction, but you can see The Parade of Elephants, Turret Arch, Cove Arch, Ribbon Arch, Elephant Butte, and the Cove of Caves also.

Canyonlands National Park - Island In The Sky District...

1661718334097

False Kiva – Hike

The site sits in an alcove and a stone circle. There are some handprints on the back of the wall of the alcove and some faint images that are hard to make out today.

Mesa Arch Utah 3

Photography Tips for Mesa Arch

Every sunrise, Mesa Arch is descended upon by masses of photographers trying to capture their own early morning sunrise framed through the arch.

Canyonlands National Park - Needles District...

Dinosaur Tracks...

Tower Arch Utah 10

Klondike Bluffs Dinosaur Track – Hike

The tracks in this area are predominantly those of carnivorous dinosaurs called allosaurus, which were probably on the hunt for other animals that would come to what was once a large body of water.

Scenic Drives...

Potash road petroglyphs 6

Guide to the Potash Road Rock Art Sites

Just a few minutes from downtown Moab, on the Potash road running along the Colorado River is the opportunity to see a half dozen sites that hold hundreds of petroglyphs and even some dinosaur foot prints

La Sal Mountain Loop 4

La Sal Mountain Loop

The 60-mile route follows the Colorado River, and climbs into the La Sal Mountains via Castle Valley, it offers great views of the peaks and the red rock canyons far below.

Highway 128 Rock Art Moab Utah

Highway 128 Rock Art

An easy quick stop along scenic byway 128 if coming or going from Cisco to Moab. A large boulder with about 50  petroglyphs sits above the highway.

potash road 9

Potash Road / Shafer Trail

The scenic drive – Utah Scenic Byway 279, takes the back roads and runs from Moab to Canyon Lands National Park along the Colorado River

Anticline Overlook

Rarely visited by most travelers but is worth the effort. The view is overlooking Deadhorse state park and Canyonlands National Park Islands in the Sky district, to the north, looking over Hurrah Pass and the Kane Creek.

Everything Else...

Golf Course Rock Art Moab Utah 3

The Moab Man

See the famous “Moab Man” petroglyph near Moab’s golf course, plus other interesting images like Santa’s Sled and the Happy Sheep

2022 08 27_8 27 01

Courthouse Wash Rock Art

Visitors to Moab drive right by this easily accessible rock art panel next to the bridge over the Colorado River every day without ever knowing it is there.

Cisco Ghost Town Utah

Cisco Ghost Town

Cisco was once a thriving town in the 1880s, with hotels and saloons, and was a natural provisioning center for the ranchers in the area. Today there is a small revitalization of Cisco by artists.

Faux Falls Moab Utah 6

Faux Falls

Faux falls are man-made via an outflow from Ken’s Lake reservoir. Being so close to Moab, the pool at the bottom of the falls makes for a great shallow swimming hole for people and dogs in the summer. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Buy Framed Prints

Images on this website are available as framed prints to support running the website
Browse Prints For Sale

 

Featured Posts