The Hondo Wash pictographs sit where granite boulders narrow the canyon to a passage. Rock art on both sides of the wash, exactly the kind of spot where people would pause as they moved through.
The site features both petroglyphs and painted images in red and black. What's unusual here is the mix of design elements. The dominant pictograph is a large bifurcated linear design that extends well above head height, with strange box-like features on its two "legs" and a small arrow at the top. Other elements include a burst figure with a rectangular center, bisected circles and lines common in Serrano territory, and some abstract designs that seem atypical for the area. A faint handprint and some black abstract elements round out the panels. All of the rock art here is hard to see.
A 1986 survey of the drainages flowing east from the San Bernardino Mountains documented over 1,500 petroglyphs and 500 pictographs, placing Hondo Wash within a significant concentration of rock art showing strong Great Basin influence, most likely created by the Serrano.
The site is well known locally and people camp at the end of the road right where the boulders come together. Repeated campfires and heat damage have caused the granite to exfoliate badly, and some designs have been lost.
Please observe proper rock art etiquette when visiting this site. No campfires near the rock art.
