Camp > Destinations > Wyoming > Trail Lake Road > Rock Art

Trail Lake Road,
Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Area &
Whiskey Mountain Bighorn Winter Range

Rock Art

This page contains a discussion of the rock art found along Trail Lake Road and near Torrey Lake in Wyoming. All photographs are from our our personal collection. If you'd like to see more rock art from this location, or if you'd like to see higher resolution or larger images, send us an e-mail message and we'll see what we can do.

Because most of the rock art panels along Trail Lake Road are on private property, we were not able to visit more than just a few of the site close to the road. In addition, we weren't able to spend much time at any one site due to the swarms of mosquitoes no doubt coming off the nearby lakes and marsh areas.

The Dinwoody rock art that we found on these few panels are, indeed, reminiscent of those we've witnessed at Legend Rock State Petroglyph Site west of Thermopolis, Wyoming. Though more scattered over a longer distance than those at Legend Rock, the unusual anthropomorphic forms are definitely of a similar type. Many of the sites that we were able to see are on boulders, often times concealed behind trees and low shrubs and tall grass. Other images are difficult to make out to to heavy lichen growth over the exposed surfaces.

Archaeological Resources Protection Act Hotline: 800-227-7286.
See Archaeological Site Etiquette.
See American Antiquities Act of 1906.
See Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979.
See More Rock Art Sites.

The photo at the top of this page is more indicative of what we would expect from a Dinwoody petroglyph site. The anthropomorphic figure dominates the panel with its chubby torso, short raised arms, and toes protruding from the bottom of the form. The interior designs are also common and fascinating.

The figure to the left can be seen in scale with the anthropomorph in the photo above. It is to the right of the main figure.

This also may be an anthropomorph, but is of a different style. It also might represent a thunderbird or some other bird-like creature. However, it does appear to have two legs with long toes where its feet would be. It also appears to have male genitalia.

The outstretched arms may have feathers, but that is uncertain. The head is cone shaped and may have a single feather protruding from its top. On the other hand, if this does represent a bird, then the "feather" might be a bill or beak.

It's hard to determine what this might represent. Perhaps it is a ceremonial mask. There is what looks a bit like a face inside of the larger "torso" or circle, but it difficult to say if that is true.

This piece shows a good bit of the lichen that covers many of the panels in this area. It appears that perhaps someone attempted to clean away some of the lichen from this mage, and perhaps some of it has grown back.

No matter what it is, it makes an interesting image.

More Rock Art

All of these photos have been resized and manipulated in Photoshop to give the best representation of the image. Some color distortion is inevitable. If you would like to see higher quality versions of these shots, or if you would like to use these images for any purpose, please contact us and we would be glad to help if we can.

Select an image to see a larger representation.

	An anthropomorph (detailed from the main photo at the top of this page) that appears on a large boulder sitting high above the road, facing south, as if guarding the lake below. The figure appears to have a wavy halo behind its head. There are interior designs, as well as several small circles on either side of the torso that give the impression of bubbles. The way the circles are lines up suggest that this figure may represents some type of calendar, perhaps marking the seasons.
	This figure is made up of parallel lines within a round cornered rectangle. There is an array of dots above the figure, and down its sides. Your guess as to what it represents is as good as mine.
	This panel shows the relationship of several figures, as well as the dense lichen cover found on many of the surfaces.
	There are several zoomorphs and perhaps one anthropomorph on this segment of panel. One of the zoomorphs appears to have a rider, perhaps indicating that this figure represents a horse. If that is so, then we can assume that at least that figure is more recent than many of the others.
	This zoomorphic figure possible represents a pronghorn, due to its long straight horns.
	It's difficult to guess what this figure might be. It could be scribbles, but, with a little imagination, it looks a bit like an anthropomorphic figure with arms raised over its head, possibly throwing a net to capture game or, perhaps, fish in the nearby lake.
	This image shows what could be a rider on a horse, but due to the amount of lichen it is difficult to be sure. Part of the figure is hidden and may conceal marks that would give a totally different interpretation.
	This indistinct figure is made up mostly of pecked dots that have weathered considerably. It may be an anthropomorph with a round torso (or shield), but it is difficult to say.
	Due to the squiggly nature of the lines it is difficult to determine if this is an anthropomorphic figure or not. There does appear to be a "hand" in the upper right, but that is uncertain. Note the small tick like figure to the right of the main image. See below for details.
	This small tick-like figure could be a zoomorph, but in the Dinwoody world, compared to other figures at this site and other locations, this might also be an anthropomorphic figure.
	This impressive boulder, sitting under a tree, shows the colorful lichen that covers many of the figures in this area. It also appears as if someone has removed some of the lichen at some point in an attempt to reveal the petroglyphs below. See the following images for details of this panel.
	This is the main anthropomorphic figure visible on the boulder above. It has the typical Dinwoody build with the short legs clearly visible. It also has the typical interior designs.
	This also appears to be a typical Dinwoody anthropomorph, but due to the lichen it is difficult to tell.
	This also appears to be a small anthropomorph, of a slightly different style because it has no interior lines. But the feet and short arms would place it within the overall Dinwoody style.