Griffith Canyon Petroglyphs (Washoe County, Nevada)

Far out in northern Sparks, another small canyon holds a few petroglyph panels. I recently read about this area and decided to make the quick trip out to explore the area. The pavement yields to gravel and then to washboard dirt, before arriving crossing over the top of the canyon. A second dirt road splits off here and runs parallel to the one I was on and the junction of the two offers a reasonable place to park the jeep.

A few yards ahead of where I parked, a suburban appears to have gotten stuck and abandoned in the area between the two roads. Broken windows and shotgun holes in most of the body panels attests to the remoteness of the area.

I begin to make my way down the canyon. A trail has been worn by past visitors and offers as good as path as any to follow. This top part of the canyon doesn't have any rocks with enough surface area to have been blessed with rock art, but the canyon is still quite beautiful. The light golden grasses cover the hillsides with the occasional section of small stones adding a touch of crimson.

Further into the canyon, it begins to twist and turn before finally coming up on sections with boulders large enough to have panels. I begin scanning the surfaces carefully, but fail to find anything. Then finally, I see the first panel. It only has a couple of figures, but it's a good place to start.

Continuing, I have to do a little scrambling in and around the mostly dry creek bed at the base of the canyon. At one point, I find what I believe are the primary panels of the canyon. The figures include wavy lines, spirals, inter-crossed lines, and other patterns. It's actually a very nice panel and I take time to get several pictures. of it.

Not knowing if there are more petroglyphs beyond, I walk just a bit further until the canyon narrows and moves over a number of dry waterfalls. The pools below the falls though do contain some frozen water. It's not all that cold, but in the shadows of these hills, it must drop below freezing over night. 

Failing to find any more rock art, I turn and make my way back to the jeep following the same path I took into the canyon. Another group of adventurers pull up in a another jeep just as I am taking off my windbreaker. They ask about the trail conditions and the wind in the canyon. I answer their questions and wish them a good hike. Out and back the trail was only about 1.3 miles, but it's always nice to find more rock art near home.