Picture Canyon, Canyon in Comanche National Grassland, Colorado, US

Picture Canyon is a small canyon in the Comanche National Grassland of southeastern Colorado, named for its prehistoric rock art. Its south walls hold red and black pictographs and human and animal petroglyphs, while Crack Cave contains markings lit by the sun at the spring and autumn equinoxes. The canyon has easy slopes, springs, picnic tables, a 4-mile loop trail, and rock formations such as Balanced Rock.

Archaeological evidence shows people lived in this area for about 12,000 years, from early hunters through later Plains Woodland communities. This extended occupation history is visible in the marks and remnants left by these different groups throughout the canyon.

The canyon walls display petroglyphs and pictographs created by Plains Indians, showing human figures, animals, and markers tied to seasonal cycles. These artworks offer insight into how the people who lived here for thousands of years understood their world and expressed their beliefs.

A 4-mile (6.4 km) loop trail runs through the canyon past springs, picnic tables and rock formations such as Balanced Rock. Slopes are easy. Free tours of Crack Cave are led by the National Forest Service on the March and September equinox dates.

Crack Cave within this canyon receives direct sunlight illumination during spring and fall equinoxes, lighting up ancient markings on the cave walls. This natural timing reveals how the people who once lived here tracked the movements of the sun and seasons.