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Newspaper Rock is a rock panel with one of the largest known collections of petroglyphs in the United States. It’s located along UT 211, which is the highway leading to the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park.
What is Newspaper Rock?
Newspaper Rock features over 650 etchings made by the native Fremont, Ute, Ancestral Puebloan, Puebloan, and Navajo cultures. Some of these petroglyphs date back over 2,000 years. The last ones were added around the beginning of the 14th century. They represent a variety of figures, including animals, people, tools, and more abstract forms.
The rock covers 200 square feet (19 square meters) and is one of the best preserved and easily accessed petroglyph sites in the Southwest. It was designated a State Historical Monument in 1961 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as Indian Creek State Park.
The rock is called Tse’ Hane in the Navajo language, which translates to “rock that tells a story”. While we know that Native Americans used the rock to communicate with each other, nobody will ever know what stories they were trying to tell! It’s fun to admire these etchings and try to decipher what the messages meant. There are also etchings made by pioneers as well as some unfortunately more recent graffiti left by modern visitors
Visiting the Rock
Newspaper Rock sits within the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument, which is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It’s part of the cliffs along Indian Creek Canyon and a great place to stop on your way to the Needles district. The cliffs are also popular with rock climbers.
The site is open to the public 24 hours a day and there’s no entrance fee or permits required to visit (as of November 2025). There’s a large parking lot right next to the rock. You’ll also find a free first-come, first-served campground as well as a picnic area across the highway.
