TWO OF THE ANTHROPOMORPHS FEATURED IN THE MAIN PANEL AT UPPER SAND ISLAND -- LOCATED HIGH UP ON THE CLIFF OVERLOOKING THE SAN JUAN RIVER. OCTOBER 2, 2025.

Sand Island Petroglyphs Gallery


I have visited the Sand Island Recreation Area to look for petroglyphs on three occasions.  My first visit was on October 23, 2013, and was a brief visit to the panel near the campground, located in the west end of the recreation area.  I  was pressed for time on this visit, so I only took one photograph of the panel and did not do any exploring.  For my blog post about the trip that includes this visit to Sand Island, look here. 

My second visit to Sand Island was on June 8, 2018.  I had read about several large panels at Sand Island that were on the east side of the recreation area that were known as the “Upper Sand Island Petroglyphs”.   These panels are accessed by a trail that begins near the restroom located to the east (or left) of the ranger station.  For my blog post about the trip that includes my visit to Upper Sand Island in June of 2018, look here.  Upper Sand Island contains several different styles of petroglyphs, and the main panel is very well executed and contains some beautiful elements.  Unfortunately the sun was not ideal for my visit and there was quite a bit of summer foliage near the San Juan River which also made photographing the very difficult difficult. 

My third visit to Sand Island was on the early evening of October 2, 2025, the last full day of my early Fall 2025 Rock Art Trip.  I wanted to shoot a few photos since I had heard that some of the foliage along the cliff wall that has the petroglypths had been removed during the recent construction of a portion of the Bluff River Trail — hoping that I would get some better looks.  I especially wanted to get some photographs (with my D500 Nikon camera and my 500mm prime lens) of the main panel that the site is best known for.  When I first arrived, the light was inconsistent in the area of this panel, so my results were okay, but not what I would consider extraordinary or outstanding.  Below are a couple of galleries that contain photos taken during this last visit.  

The One Photo I Took on My October, 2013 Visit to Sand Island…

The panel on the east side of the Sand Island Recreation Area, on the San Juan River near Bluff.

The Photos Below Are From My June 2018 Visit To The Upper Sand Island Petroglyph Sites…

The Photos Below Are From My June October 2, 2025 Visit To The Upper Sand Island Petroglyph Sites…


These first three photos were taken with my D500 and 500mm prime lens in RAW format and processed in Lightroom Classic.

THE MAIN PANEL AT UPPER SAND ISLAND CONTAINS NUMEROUS ANTHROPOMORPHIC ELEMENTS. THREE OF THE ANTHROPOMORPHS ARE QUITE LARGE AND ARE BEAUTIFULLY DECORATED.
THE ANTHROPOMORPH ON THE FAR LEFT OF THIS PHOTO IS QUITE UNIQUE AND MY FAVORITE ELEMENT AT THIS SITE.
THIS PHOTO FEATURES THE OTHER TWO LARGE ANTHROPOMORPHS FOUND IN THE MAIN PANEL AT UPPER SAND ISLAND. UNIQUE!

The remainder of my photos from October 2, 2025, are in standard JPG format without any processing, displayed in a Media Grid Gallery …