If you have the chance, go for it!

If you have the opportunity to visit a rock art site or any other type of archaeological site in the southwest, - whether it's an organized tour or on your own - don't pass up the experience.  Archaeology is contagious, and for me it's "Rock Art".  It took only one visit to the Valley of Fire and I was hooked.

The "Mecca" for rock art is pretty much considered Utah and the four corners regions of the southwest, but here in southern Nevada we also have some very nice areas to visit.  Among those are the Valley of Fire, Red Rock, Grapevine, Keyhole, and Sloan Canyons to name a few.  These "Public Rock Art" sites and others can be found on our "Nevada Public Rock Art Sites" web pages.

• As you approach a site take a few seconds to pause and "take in" the site and its surroundings.  Do a visual check of the site including the area in front of, below, above, and adjacent to the rock art / archaeological site.  This will not only give you an idea where to step and not to step, but can give you a feeling for what happened at that particular site a long time ago.

• Do not climb on, touch, chalk, wet down, or do rubbings of the petroglyphs or pictographs, as irreversible damage can occur.

• Enjoy rock art by viewing, sketching, and photographing it.  Any kind of direct contact may cause these ancient works to begin disintegrating.

• Removing any artifact is illegal - taking home souvenirs can land you in jail.  Click here for "The Curse of the Stolen Artifacts", a short animated video by the BLM.

• Be watchful where you and other members of your party - including pets - walk, camp, target practice, climb, dig, and place your hands.  "Stepping in the wrong place can be hazardous to your body"

• If at all possible, keep on established trails and use only designated camp sites.  If you can't use a designated campsite, please be aware of where you build your camp fire.

• Enjoy what you are seeing, and leave with only photographs, memories, and whatever you brought in with you.  Leave everything else in place for the next person to see and enjoy.

If you see vandalism in action

If you observe any damage or vandalism occurring at a site, please call the BLM Resource Protection hotline (800) 722-3998 as soon as possible.  All of us need to take the responsibility to protect our public lands.  If we don't, more and more public areas will be closed and none of us wants that.  Help by being a "steward" of the site that you are visiting.

Please Note:  If you observe vandalism, damage, evidence of illegal trapping or hunting, photograph it if you can.  If you observe someone in the act of committing vandalism, try to photograph them and their vehicle with the license plate number.

Major Warning:  Unless you are a 9th degree black belt, Jackie Chan, or Steven Segal - in that case you can do whatever you want -  do not put yourself in a situation where you could get broken into a lot of little pieces or even worse.  No amount of vandalism is worth a life.  Take photos and stay out of harms way.

Know your limits

The most important thing, especially if you are new to the desert, is to "know your limits".  For more information, please see our section entitled "A Few Tips for Hiking in the Desert".