Overview

The Crystal Wash Entrance rock art site is a desert area of volcanic-ash boulders along a sandy wash. Ancient people apparently traveled through this area without stopping for long periods of time, although there is a small shelter site here. While passing through, they flaked a few stones and etched the rocks mostly with abstract images that might represent maps or other travel guides. There is one possible humanoid figure. The hike is about 1 mile round-trip.

The BLM and Lincoln County opened this area to the public, and Lincoln County printed a brochure with information about the site (including GPS coordinates) as part of their Get Primitive tourism campaign. Download the 57-page brochure from Lincoln County or snatch a copy of the entire guide or just the 2 pages about Crystal Wash Entrance. The BLM also printed a brochure for the area.

Link to Wide Area Map or Site Map.

Location

The Crystal Wash Entrance rock art site is located about 110 miles northeast of Las Vegas on Highway 93. From town, drive out to the Crystal Wash Entrance Trailhead Parking Area; park here; this is the trailhead. The last gasoline is at Ash Springs.

Hours

The area is always open, but it probably should be considered day-use only. There are no established camping areas here, but there are a couple at Crystal Wash Main.

Fees

None.

The Hike

From the trailhead (Table 1, Waypoint 01), the trail runs through a V-shaped gap in the fence, then follows the old road northwest for a minute or so. At the edge of a wash, a metal sign-in register box (Wpt. 02) is the first evidence that this is the correct route.

After signing in, the route drops into the sandy wash and heads upstream (northeast). There is no established trail, but when walking up the wash, petroglyphs start near the first big boulders on the right edge of the wash.

Sharp-eyed hikers might first notice Marker #2 on the left side of the wash against the rock wall. Skipping Marker #2 for the moment and walking a bit farther upstream, hikers will notice Marker #1 at the base of boulders on the right edge of the wash.

At about 0.22 miles out, just before arriving at Marker #1, however, notice the large boulder (Wpt. 03) on the right edge of the wash. The boulder, First Boulder, is unremarkable, but there is a small petroglyph on the back side (northeast side). Note that First Boulder marks the place where, on the return, the route exits the wash heading towards Sites 5 and 6.

From First Boulder (Wpt. 03), the route continues a few more yards up Crystal Wash to Marker #1 (Wpt. 04), on the east edge of the sandy wash bottom. Site 1 is the flat-faced boulder behind (northeast of) the marker.

From Site 1, the route crosses the wash (west) to Site 2. Nearing the west side of the wash, Marker #2 (Wpt. 05) comes into view near a cleft in the cliff. Site 2 is a single marked boulder tucked into the cleft in the cliff.

Continuing up the wash, Marker #3 becomes visible in the wash on the left where the wash bends to the east. The marker is against an unmarked boulder, which is somewhat confusing. From Marker #3 looking west, petroglyphs are visible on the large Site 3 boulder (Wpt. 06). Another petroglyph is located around the boulder to the right.

Continuing up the wash, Marker #4 becomes visible in the center of the wash at the point of confluence of two washes. Site 4 primarily is one boulder (Wpt. 07) on the point of the confluence that is marked on all sides.

Adventuresome hikers might walk from Site 4 to the Crystal Wash Main Archeological Site using the hard route (left at the fork to Crystal Wash Main, Site 5) or the easy route (right at the fork to Crystal Wash Main, Site 3). The hard route might be a bit more interesting, as it requires scrambling over and under boulders in a narrow canyon -- and a bit of route finding.

Continuing the Crystal Wash Entrance Loop, the route returns down Crystal Wash from Site 4 towards the trailhead. The route passes Sites 3, 2, and 1 back to First Boulder (Wpt. 03).

From First Boulder (Wpt. 03), the route exits the wash left to run southeast along the base of the cliffs. The route passes an open area and continues towards the next rocky ridge.

Just before reaching the rocky ridge, Marker #5 comes into view. Site 5 is a single boulder with an interesting tunnel all the way through (not visible on the approach). The tunnel is marked with petroglyphs, and it is thought that the entire tunnel was painted with pictographs.

Continuing a few yards farther southeast, Marker #6 comes into view at the base of a dark rock wall. Site 6 is the rock wall, which is covered with many curious petroglyphs. This is the largest collection of petroglyphs in this area.

From Marker #6, the route returns towards the trailhead. Hikers can return to First Boulder (Wpt. 03) and then turn down Crystal Wash, or they can hike southwest running more parallel to the wash until it is convenient to drop into the sandy wash-bottom.

Regardless, heading down Crystal Wash, hikers should watch for the sign-in register (Wpt. 02), which will be visible atop the wash bank on the left. From the sign-in register, the route returns over the old road to the trailhead (Wpt. 01).