Hot Springs, North Carolina: Paint Rock
Ancient and nearly invisible Native American roadside pictograph site has its own ancient but very visible historical marker.
- Address:
- River Rd, Hot Springs, NC
- Directions:
- From US-25 turn north onto River Rd at the Paint Rock historical marker. Drive 5.5 miles until you reach sharp 90 degree curve to the right. Paint Rock will be on the right.
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Paint Rock is a rock cliff face straddling the Tennessee-North Carolina border that has been a Native American medium for pictographs since 2500 B.C., and mentioned in print since the 1700s by colonial explorers.
Weathering and exposure to campfire smoke over the centuries have dulled and faded the once vibrant paintings. The last vestiges of the Paint Rock pictographs can be seen, but you have to search for them. Decades of tree growth cover the rock, but you can see a trace of the remaining red zig-zag pattern that looks like a finger painting.
It is remarkable that such work has been so durable and remains visible today.
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