Pecos Trail Region

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Comstock offers several nearby opportunities to view the Native American rock art seen throughout the Texas Pecos Trail Region. Rock shelters in lower Pecos River canyons serve as massive canvases for world-class ancient pictographs. Drawn thousands of years ago using natural pigments, the rust-colored rock art reveals much about prehistoric life and beliefs. Near Comstock, a popular site is Fate Bell Shelter, centerpiece of Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site. Interpretive tours offer close rock art views. Visitor center exhibits depict life in a rock shelter, as well as the continent’s oldest and southernmost buffalo jump, an ancient hunting event at nearby Bonfire Shelter. Other exhibits chronicle the clash of U.S. Army soldiers and Native Americans, early ranching and railroading, and construction of the Pecos High Bridge. Replaced in 1944, the bridge still offers a panoramic view of the Pecos River canyon, where another major rock shelter, White Shaman Preserve, is open for rock art tours. The 300-acre White Shaman Preserve and nearby Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site feature painted images of red, black, yellow, orange and white — all traditional colors of the ancient artists’ palette. Located near Comstock, both sites feature some of the country’s largest and most diverse examples of rock art, consisting of pictographs, painted images, petroglyphs, carved or etched images and mobile art, including painted pebbles. Although the danger of pollution and increased humidity is a constant threat, this ancient art provides a glimpse into the expressions of shamanistic ritual.