Explore rock art at Wees Bar Petroglyph Site in southwestern Idaho
Wees Bar Petroglyph Site is in rural southwestern Idaho along the Snake River. The site features hundreds of ancient petroglyphs and is worth visiting if you are in the area, but you can expect to work for it.
How to get to Wees Bar
The trailhead is located at the Swan Falls Dam, about a 45-minute drive from the greater Boise metropolitan area. It’s a 12-mile round trip from the dam to the Wees Bar Petroglyph site.
To get there, you cross the dam and hang a quick left before switching back towards the dam. In a short bit, you will come to a fork. You want to take your right. From there, you will hug a jeep trail along the Snake River until you get to the site. We visited on a spring day, and let me tell you, without any shade available along the trail, it was hot! We decided to mountain bike back there to cut some time off the trip.
About halfway to the site, you come across the old Priest Ranch Homestead and Orchard. The home is long gone, but some trees survive more than 100 years later. Once we got there, we were greeted by 100’s of prehistoric petroglyphs on dozens of massive boulders. It’s believed that the rock art was carved into the basalt boulders by the ancestors of the Shoshone Paiute/Bannock tribes up to 10,000 years ago. Because of its remote nature, the Wees Bar Petroglyph site is incredibly well preserved.
We spent a few hours relaxing at the site and enjoying the scenery. It’s a great place to have lunch and appreciate some genuinely unique history that not many people get to visit.
Other things to do near Wees Bar Petroglyph Site
Once you are done and have returned to the trailhead, check out Celebration Park. It’s another incredible petroglyph site along the Snake River, about 20 miles from Swan Fall Dam. Celebration Park is also easy for folks who can’t trek to Wees Bar. The rock art is very close to the parking lot.
Dedication Point and the Boise/Meridian Initial Point are also worth a quick stop and are located nearby. While you are exploring the area, make sure to keep an eye peeled for raptors! You will be going through the heart of the Morley Nelson Birds of Prey National Conservation Area.
