Legend Rock State Petroglyph Site

Visit a world-renowned petroglyph site that has been a sacred site for Native Americans for thousands of years.

Legend Rock Petroglyph Site is located in Hot Springs County, Wyoming. Legend Rock has hundreds of individual petroglyphs covering the face of a rock. Some of the etchings have been eroded, but most have been preserved for the public to enjoy. A pictograph is a painted image or symbol, and a petroglyph is an image or symbol carved into a rock. Both pictographs and petroglyphs stand for specific words or phrases. In general, these were a means of communication using images instead of words.

Legend Rock State Petroglyph Site is near a vertical cliff and is 1,312 feet long. It has more than 92 prehistoric petroglyph panels with over 300 petroglyph figures. You can see petroglyphs depicting large human or human-like figures with headdresses whose torsos are often decorated with lined patterns. The site and surrounding area are not promoted; however, Legend Rock is a world-renowned petroglyph site. It has been a sacred site of Native Americans in the region for thousands of years.

The Native Americans came to the site to be one on one with the spirits. Many would travel here with a couple of others to help them with their vision quest. Afterward, the ancient people would use this spiritual empowerment from their visit to help them in their everyday life. Some worried about the protection of this sacred site, and in 1973, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the same year it was established as a historic site. There is a visitors center, interpretative trail, and a picnic shelter at the site. While visiting, remember that these images were carved over thousands of years by prehistoric groups who made their living hunting and gathering in the Bighorn Basin. Discover this unique piece of Wyoming's history with your friends and family.