Pictograph Fork To Harvest Scene
This is a loop hike to a famous pictograph panel in the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park.
Trail Head: 38.1862, -109.974
Trail Type: Hiking
Length: 9.2 Miles Round Trip
Difficulty: Strenuous
The Maze is extremely rugged and remote. Just driving to the trailhead is a challenging 4X4 adventure. The access road may be totally impassable during storms. There are several trails in this area, and we encourage people to seek them out, but they are beyond the scope of this website.
We include this trail because the scenery is exceptional, the rock art is spectacular, and because the desolate solitude is amazing.
The hike begins at the Chimney Rock Trailhead, just north of the Doll House, in the Maze District of Canyonlands. Use a good topo map to find the trailhead and plot the route. From Chimney Rock, the loop hike initially follows the Petes Mesa route.
The trail eventually drops into Pictograph Fork, deep inside The Maze, continues past the Harvest Scene and then loops back to Chimney Rock
This amazing ancient rock art is attributed to the Archaic People who lived in this area more than 2,000 years ago. The Great Gallery in Horseshoe Canyon is another famous rock art site from this era. The Harvest Scene is in the bottom of Pictograph Fork. The coordinates we give on the map are approximate.
This hike can be extended to include the Maze Overlook, which provides the best view of the labyrinth of canyons known as The Maze. Adding this spur brings the total distance to about 13.5 miles round trip. Climbing up to the overlook requires some serious scrambling and elevation gain. With the difficult terrain, the extended route is best done as an overnighter, but strong hikers can do it as a day hike.
Use Ctrl + scroll to zoom the map