Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

Summary: Newspaper Rock is a prominent boulder above the Virgin River, which has over 50 petroglyphs representing animals, people and geoemetric shapes.

Site type: Rock engraving
Number of motifs: 50
Motif/s: Anthropomorph, Lines, Man, Sheep, Snake
Quality: 4.5/5
Condition of site: Good

A prominent boulder above the Virgin River in the Beaver Dam Mountains Wilderness, Newspaper Rock is located between Littlefield (Arizona) and St. George (Utah).

IMG 4100 LR Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

The Native American rock art site has over 50 petroglyphs on one side of the large boulder.

The petroglyphs include a number of animals including goats and snakes, as well as people and geometric shapes. It also contains graffiti, some recent and some dating back to the 1870s (the words “Ide 1876 Feb” probably referring to the Ide family who lived in St. George).

IMG 4105 LR Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

IMG 4104 LR Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

IMG 4107 LR Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

IMG 4107 LR lds Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

IMG 4108 LR Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

IMG 4108 LR yye Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

Just beyond Newspaper Rock is another boulder with 1870s graffiti.

IMG 4111 LR Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

About 90m south-west of Newspaper Rock, is the Da Vinci Panel.

Getting to Newspaper Rock

There are a couple of routes to the Newspaper Rock and the Da Vinci Panel, both of which start from the Interstate 15. Neither has a signposted or formal trail – but there are some social trails you can follow (taking care that they are going in the right direction)! Both trailheads start from a wide shoulder on either side of the I-15 where it’s safe to park, and both routes are about 0.8miles (1.2km) one-way.

The “south bound trailhead” if you’re coming from St George is arguably a little easier, as you don’t need to cross the Virgin River. However, you do need to crawl under a barbed-wire fence from the parking area before heading away from the freeway towards the ridge.

I preferred starting from the “north bound trailhead“; the downside of this approach is you are following the freeway for about a 0.4 miles (600m) along a service trail, which is not too pleasant (you could also drive along this road – a 4WD is highly recommended).

IMG 4071 LR Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

IMG 4072 LR Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

As you near the freeway bridge over the Virgin River Gorge, the road ends and a rough hiking trail continues down into the valley. After passing though a gate the route towards the bridge.

IMG 4074 LR Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

IMG 4075 LR Newspaper Rock on the Virgin River

The trail drops down into the gorge after crossing under the bridge, to reach the Virgin River. From the river onwards there are no obvious trails; you will need to cross the river along one of the shallow sections. After passing the Da Vinci Panel, continue a little further to Newspaper Rock.