The White River Valley has been home to Native American peoples for millennia. The valley was integral to their hunter-gatherer culture and provided the resources needed to survive and thrive in the arid area known as the Great Basin. Much of the White River Valley is wide and open, however, one short section carves its way through rock creating a cliff lined canyon. This short section, known as the White River Narrows, was clearly an important place for Native American peoples, as they have left petroglyphs and pictographs along its walls.

After the coming of the Euro-American settlers in the 1800s, the Native American peoples left the area. Their rock art remains as a part of their long history and legacy in the area. For those that enjoy visiting and pondering rock art, White River Narrows should be high on your list to visit. The narrows contain hundreds of figures in both the Fremont style or the older hunter-gatherer style.

A few notes on visiting:

• The BLM discusses the sites via the numbers I-VI. I have used the same numbers that they used to reference the sites.
• Visiting requires a high-clearance vehicle or the willingness to walk to a few of the panels. On our visit, we didn’t use 4-wheel drive but had a couple of wash crossing that required high clearance.
• I describe the panels in the order that I think makes the best experience visiting them, but obviously they can be visited in any order.
• You could see all the panels described in an hour if you are hurried, but most will want a half to full day to take in all the amazing art.