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Paint Lick Mountain is located in Tazewell County Virginia and is between Wardell and Maiden Spring. This land is leased by a hunting club who open it up once a year to the public to view the Indian cliff paintings. These paintings are believed to be from the middle 1600's and were probably done by the Pisgah or Cherokee Indians who lived in the area. Nobody really knows why the paintings were done, but some speculate that they have some type of religious significance, are tributes to the Winter and Summer Solstice or were done by a medicine man in a sacred place. The paintings were first written about in the early 1800's by some of the early settlers to the area. The Smithsonian first came to study the paintings in 1880 and have been back several times since to investigate them further.
There are only two known places east of the Mississippi River where Indian paintings have been found. Both are in Virginia. One is in a cave in a place that I can't remember, the other is here in Tazewell County.
There were over 200 people in attendance, most all of whom rode the tractor the three miles to the base of the mountain, and then hiked about one mile straight up a new path to the area where the paintings are located. I saw kids who looked to be a few months old being carried in by their parents, and some people who were in their mid eighties hiking the trail. The weather was perfect and the entire event was a huge success!
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Six tractors taking 120 people to Paint Lick Mountain in the background. About 90 people on horses preceded us.There were people from 3 months to 84 years old in attendance.The day was perfect and the crowd was enthusiastic. They have been doing this trip for 20 years!