Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area

A 48,438-acre conservation area about 15 miles south of Henderson, Sloan Canyon preserves one of the most significant petroglyph sites in the Mojave Desert. The main attraction is Petroglyph Canyon, a narrow slot canyon whose walls are covered with rock art left by the Ancestral Puebloans and Southern Paiute over a period of more than 3,000 years.

The trailhead is off Interstate 15 south of Henderson. The round trip to the petroglyph canyon takes about two hours on easy to moderate terrain. Bring water — there is none at the site — and plan for an early start in summer. The Bureau of Land Management manages the area; there is no entry fee.

things to do sight
A story
The Petroglyph Canyon within Sloan contains over 1,700 individual petroglyphs — rock carvings made by the Southern Paiute and earlier peoples over several thousand years. The images include bighorn sheep (the dominant motif), human figures, sunbursts, and abstract symbols whose meanings have been lost. The canyon floor trail passes directly beneath the carved faces, and in the morning light the figures seem almost to move.