Michigan's only ancient rock carvings

Out in the farm country of Greenleaf Township is something you can’t see anywhere else in the state: a slab of sandstone covered in Native American rock carvings made hundreds of years ago. The Sanilac Petroglyphs — ezhibiigaadek asin, “written on stone,” in the Ojibwe language — are the only known prehistoric carvings in Michigan. There are more than a hundred of them on one big rock, depicting birds, animals, handprints, and a figure holding a bow and arrow, carved somewhere between 300 and 1,000 years ago.

The carvings stayed hidden in the forest until the great fire of 1881 burned the land bare and uncovered them. Today they’re protected as a state historic park, co-managed by the Michigan DNR and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, with a roofed shelter over the rock and a quiet hiking trail through the woods along the Cass River. Admission and parking are free; the shelter over the carvings is open seasonally, so check ahead if you want to see them up close.