90 miles from Las Vegas, a Nevada canyon holds 700 carvings most drivers never see

The rock art that’s lasted 900 years

Ninety miles south of Las Vegas, just outside Laughlin, a canyon cuts through the Newberry Mountains and holds something most people drive right past without knowing it’s there.

Over 700 images carved into desert boulders line the walls of Grapevine Canyon, and some of them are nearly 900 years old. The mountain looming above the canyon isn’t just scenery.

To ten Native American tribes, it’s the place where life began. That context changes everything you see when you walk in.

Chipped from the rock by hand over 800 years

Artists created these images by chipping through dark desert varnish on boulders to expose the lighter rock underneath. The result is permanent.

The oldest work here dates to around 1100 AD, and the newest to about 1900, meaning people were adding to these walls for eight centuries. The site spans roughly 250 rock panels.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec. 15, 1984, which gives you a sense of how seriously researchers and federal agencies take what’s here.

What you’ll actually see carved in the stone

Circles, geometric patterns, and curving lines cover many of the boulders. You’ll also spot desert bighorn sheep, lizards, and stick-like human figures worked into the rock.

Some panels stack so densely that images overlap each other, layer on layer.

A few are carved as high as 12 feet above the ground, which raises its own questions about how artists reached them.

The full meaning of the rock art belongs to living cultural traditions, and the tribes ask that visitors respect it rather than try to interpret it.

The short walk in from the parking area

The petroglyphs sit about a quarter-mile from the trailhead, along a sandy, flat wash.

The walk is easy enough for most people, and reviews from visitors on crutches confirm it’s manageable even with limited mobility. When you reach the canyon’s mouth, look on both sides.

The south-facing boulders on the right tend to have the heaviest concentration of images. There’s no entrance fee, and a basic restroom sits at the trailhead.

Bring your own water because none is available at the site.

The mountain that ten tribes call their birthplace

The peak rising above the canyon is Spirit Mountain, called Avi Kwa Ame in the Mojave language. It tops out at about 5,639 feet, the highest point in the Newberry Mountains.

Ten Yuman-speaking tribes, including the Mojave, Hualapai, Havasupai and Quechan, consider it the place where their people originated. The Hopi and Southern Paiute hold it sacred as well.

Spirit Mountain was listed as a Traditional Cultural Property on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, and the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe serves as its caretaker.

A green ribbon of life in the middle of the desert

Past the petroglyphs, the canyon surprises you. A freshwater spring flows through here during non-drought years, and the water feeds cottonwood trees, wild grapevines, cattails and rushes.

That green corridor cuts through otherwise dry desert slopes the way a river cuts through rock, sharp and unexpected. Desert bighorn sheep come down to drink.

On the approach trail, you’ll pass cholla cactus, barrel cactus, Joshua trees and mesquite. The grapevines are what gave the canyon its name, and you’ll see why once you’re inside.

The upper canyon is worth the extra miles

If you want more than the petroglyphs, a trail continues up-canyon for roughly 3.3 miles round trip. About a mile in, the canyon narrows into a slot worth poking through.

After heavy rain, water drops over rock ledges in small falls, though that depends entirely on recent weather. The terrain gets rougher the farther you go, with some rock scrambling once you’re past the petroglyph area.

Wear sturdy shoes if you plan to go that far. Casual sandals work fine for the short walk to the rock art.

Now part of America’s newest protected monument

President Biden signed the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument into existence on March 21, 2023, putting roughly 506,814 acres of Mojave Desert under federal protection.

The designation capped years of work by Native American tribes, conservation groups and local communities.

It’s Nevada’s fourth national monument, and it connects protected land running from the Mojave National Preserve in California all the way to Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

That makes it one of the largest contiguous blocks of protected wildlife habitat in the country.

Desert animals that call this monument home

Desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoises and Gila monsters all live within the monument. Golden eagles hunt the ridgelines.

The western section holds one of the largest Joshua tree forests in the world, and over 200 plant species grow here that are found nowhere outside the Mojave Desert.

The monument was designed partly to protect this concentration of life that exists in an ecosystem most people cross at 80 mph on their way to somewhere else.

The rules that protect what no one can replace

In 2010, a man shot at the petroglyph panels with a paintball gun, defacing 38 areas. He went to federal prison for 15 months.

That case went through federal court under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, which covers sites like this one.

Colorado River tribes view the canyon as sacred ground, comparable in importance to a church or temple.

Touching the panels, climbing on the boulders, or disturbing any part of the rock art carries real legal consequences and causes damage that no one can undo.

How to get there from Las Vegas

Drive south from Las Vegas on US-95 through Searchlight, then turn left on Nevada Highway 163 heading toward Laughlin. About six miles west of the Arizona state line, you’ll see a sign for Christmas Tree Pass.

Turn north there and follow the gravel road about two miles to the Grapevine Canyon turnoff. The road handles regular passenger vehicles without trouble.

The parking area is large and easy to find. The whole drive from Las Vegas runs about 90 miles.

When to go and what to watch for

Summer temperatures can hit 100 degrees by 9 a.m. Fall, winter and spring are the seasons to plan around. Rattlesnakes live among the rocks, so watch where you step and where you put your hands.

Cell service is unreliable in the canyon, so download any maps or information before you leave. If you’re thinking about bringing a dog, check current pet regulations before you go.

Christmas Tree Pass Road continues past the canyon and makes for a scenic desert drive through the Newberry Mountains if you want more time out there.

Visit Grapevine Canyon in Nevada

To see the petroglyphs yourself, head to the Grapevine Canyon Trailhead off Christmas Tree Pass Road, about eight miles west of Laughlin. The address is Grapevine Canyon Road, Searchlight, NV 89046.

The site is free and open year-round, but plan your trip between October and April to avoid the worst of the heat. Give yourself at least an hour for the petroglyphs alone.

If you want to hike the full canyon, block out half a day.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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