Short drive takes you to a place lost in time
This is a great destination for a fall one day trip, especially when the leaves are changing color. The Rochester Rock Art Panel is one of the premier rock art panels in Utah.
It has a beautiful location in a small canyon above a stream called Muddy Creek. There are several panels concentrated near a rock bench above the creek and consists of many petroglyphs from the prehistoric Fremont culture. These people inhabited the area 2,000 years ago.
The collection of images chipped into the rock wall appear to represent multiple generations of activity. This location may have been an ancient meeting site. There are petroglyphs of more recent origin that include depiction of horses.
To visit the Rochester Rock Art Panel drive to Price and turn south on Utah Highway 10. Turn off Highway 10 at Mile Post 16 for the Moore Cutoff. You will drive down this road only about a quarter mile before you see a sign pointing to your right directing you to the Rochester Panel. You will drive five and a half miles on an excellent dirt road to a parking lot. From the parking lot you will find the trail head to the Rochester Panel.
The foot trail follows a cliff south and near the end the trail splits. The left fork goes down to the Muddy Creek and the right fork goes up to the bench and the rock art panel. It is approximately a half mile easy walk to the rock art.
The name Rochester comes from the fact that the nearby community now called Moore was originally called Rochester. That name was the hometown in New York of M.B. Whitney who was involved in the development of the area in 1895. In 1940 the town was renamed Moore after L.C. Moore who had been land development project leader in 1907.
Because this is a short excursion to view rock art it is suggested that when you get back to the Moore Cutoff road, turn right and drive 6.85 miles to a good size parking area on the north side of the road. North of the parking area are several boulders with Fremont Indian prehistoric petroglyphs. There are a couple of snakes with one of them over 10 feet long. This area is officially known as the Molen Reef Petroglyphs. East of the petroglyph boulders is a sloping boulder with a row of dinosaur tracks on it.
For more information on email ed.helmick@gmail.com . (Helmick is a Serve Daily contributor.)
