diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvserver/replica_raftstorage.go b/pkg/kv/kvserver/replica_raftstorage.go
index ba7c5a0c8826..23086d72165a 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvserver/replica_raftstorage.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvserver/replica_raftstorage.go
@@ -214,6 +214,27 @@ func (r *Replica) GetFirstIndex() kvpb.RaftIndex {
 	return r.raftFirstIndexRLocked()
 }
 
+// LogSnapshot returns an immutable point-in-time snapshot of the log storage.
+func (r *replicaRaftStorage) LogSnapshot() raft.LogStorageSnapshot {
+	r.raftMu.AssertHeld()
+	r.mu.AssertRHeld()
+	// TODO(pav-kv): return a wrapper which, in all methods, checks that the log
+	// storage hasn't been written to. A more relaxed version of it should assert
+	// that only the relevant part of the log hasn't been overwritten, e.g. a new
+	// term leader hasn't appended a log slice that truncated the log, or the log
+	// hasn't been wiped.
+	//
+	// This would require auditing and integrating with the write paths. Today,
+	// this type implements only reads, and writes are in various places like the
+	// logstore.LogStore type, or the code in the split handler which creates an
+	// empty range state.
+	//
+	// We don't need a fully fledged Pebble snapshot here. For our purposes, we
+	// can also make sure that raftMu is held for the entire period of using the
+	// LogSnapshot - this should guarantee its immutability.
+	return r
+}
+
 // GetLeaseAppliedIndex returns the lease index of the last applied command.
 func (r *Replica) GetLeaseAppliedIndex() kvpb.LeaseAppliedIndex {
 	r.mu.RLock()
diff --git a/pkg/raft/log.go b/pkg/raft/log.go
index 09ab8a1d35f8..779b2bd2c7e8 100644
--- a/pkg/raft/log.go
+++ b/pkg/raft/log.go
@@ -23,6 +23,28 @@ import (
 	pb "github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/raft/raftpb"
 )
 
+// LogSnapshot encapsulates a point-in-time state of the raft log accessible
+// outside the raft package for reads.
+//
+// To access it safely, the user must not mutate the underlying raft log storage
+// between when the snapshot is obtained and the reads are done.
+//
+// TODO(pav-kv): this should be part of the Ready API. Instead of pre-fetching
+// entries (e.g. the committed entries subject to state machine application),
+// allow the application to read them from LogSnapshot in the Ready handler.
+// This gives the application direct control on resource allocation, and
+// flexibility to do raft log IO without blocking RawNode operation.
+type LogSnapshot struct {
+	// first is the first available log index.
+	first uint64
+	// storage contains the stable log entries.
+	storage LogStorage
+	// unstable contains the unstable log entries.
+	unstable logSlice
+	// logger gives access to logging errors.
+	logger Logger
+}
+
 type raftLog struct {
 	// storage contains all stable entries since the last snapshot.
 	storage Storage
@@ -409,8 +431,12 @@ func (l *raftLog) lastEntryID() entryID {
 	return entryID{term: t, index: index}
 }
 
+func (l *raftLog) term(i uint64) (uint64, error) {
+	return l.snap(l.storage).term(i)
+}
+
 // term returns the term of the log entry at the given index.
-func (l *raftLog) term(index uint64) (uint64, error) {
+func (l LogSnapshot) term(index uint64) (uint64, error) {
 	// Check the unstable log first, even before computing the valid index range,
 	// which may need to access the storage. If we find the entry's term in the
 	// unstable log, we know it was in the valid range.
@@ -418,7 +444,7 @@ func (l *raftLog) term(index uint64) (uint64, error) {
 		return 0, ErrUnavailable
 	} else if index >= l.unstable.prev.index {
 		return l.unstable.termAt(index), nil
-	} else if index+1 < l.firstIndex() {
+	} else if index+1 < l.first {
 		return 0, ErrCompacted
 	}
 
@@ -518,6 +544,35 @@ func (l *raftLog) scan(lo, hi uint64, pageSize entryEncodingSize, v func([]pb.En
 // The returned slice can be appended to, but the entries in it must not be
 // mutated.
 func (l *raftLog) slice(lo, hi uint64, maxSize entryEncodingSize) ([]pb.Entry, error) {
+	return l.snap(l.storage).slice(lo, hi, maxSize)
+}
+
+// LogSlice returns a valid log slice for a prefix of the (lo, hi] log index
+// interval, with the total entries size not exceeding maxSize.
+//
+// Returns at least one entry if the interval contains any. The maxSize can only
+// be exceeded if the first entry (lo+1) is larger.
+//
+// TODO(pav-kv): export the logSlice type so that the caller can use it.
+func (l LogSnapshot) LogSlice(lo, hi uint64, maxSize uint64) (logSlice, error) {
+	prevTerm, err := l.term(lo)
+	if err != nil {
+		// The log is probably compacted at index > lo (err == ErrCompacted), or it
+		// can be a custom storage error.
+		return logSlice{}, err
+	}
+	ents, err := l.slice(lo, hi, entryEncodingSize(maxSize))
+	if err != nil {
+		return logSlice{}, err
+	}
+	return logSlice{
+		term:    l.unstable.term,
+		prev:    entryID{term: prevTerm, index: lo},
+		entries: ents,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+func (l LogSnapshot) slice(lo, hi uint64, maxSize entryEncodingSize) ([]pb.Entry, error) {
 	if err := l.mustCheckOutOfBounds(lo, hi); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	} else if lo >= hi {
@@ -576,13 +631,13 @@ func (l *raftLog) slice(lo, hi uint64, maxSize entryEncodingSize) ([]pb.Entry, e
 
 // mustCheckOutOfBounds checks that the (lo, hi] interval is within the bounds
 // of this raft log: l.firstIndex()-1 <= lo <= hi <= l.lastIndex().
-func (l *raftLog) mustCheckOutOfBounds(lo, hi uint64) error {
+func (l LogSnapshot) mustCheckOutOfBounds(lo, hi uint64) error {
 	if lo > hi {
 		l.logger.Panicf("invalid slice %d > %d", lo, hi)
 	}
-	if fi := l.firstIndex(); lo+1 < fi {
+	if fi := l.first; lo+1 < fi {
 		return ErrCompacted
-	} else if li := l.lastIndex(); hi > li {
+	} else if li := l.unstable.lastIndex(); hi > li {
 		l.logger.Panicf("slice(%d,%d] out of bound [%d,%d]", lo, hi, fi, li)
 	}
 	return nil
@@ -598,3 +653,14 @@ func (l *raftLog) zeroTermOnOutOfBounds(t uint64, err error) uint64 {
 	l.logger.Panicf("unexpected error (%v)", err)
 	return 0
 }
+
+// snap returns a point-in-time snapshot of the raft log. This snapshot can be
+// read from while the underlying storage is not mutated.
+func (l *raftLog) snap(storage LogStorage) LogSnapshot {
+	return LogSnapshot{
+		first:    l.firstIndex(),
+		storage:  storage,
+		unstable: l.unstable.logSlice,
+		logger:   l.logger,
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/raft/log_test.go b/pkg/raft/log_test.go
index eb0ca2601bc7..13c2a8c0ce48 100644
--- a/pkg/raft/log_test.go
+++ b/pkg/raft/log_test.go
@@ -706,7 +706,7 @@ func TestIsOutOfBounds(t *testing.T) {
 					require.True(t, tt.wpanic)
 				}
 			}()
-			err := l.mustCheckOutOfBounds(tt.lo, tt.hi)
+			err := l.snap(l.storage).mustCheckOutOfBounds(tt.lo, tt.hi)
 			require.False(t, tt.wpanic)
 			require.False(t, tt.wErrCompacted && err != ErrCompacted)
 			require.False(t, !tt.wErrCompacted && err != nil)
diff --git a/pkg/raft/rawnode.go b/pkg/raft/rawnode.go
index 4bb4b6990818..cd119d6be4b2 100644
--- a/pkg/raft/rawnode.go
+++ b/pkg/raft/rawnode.go
@@ -115,6 +115,24 @@ func (rn *RawNode) Step(m pb.Message) error {
 	return rn.raft.Step(m)
 }
 
+// LogSnapshot returns a point-in-time read-only state of the raft log.
+//
+// The returned snapshot can be read from while RawNode continues operation, as
+// long as the application guarantees immutability of the underlying log storage
+// snapshot (returned from the LogStorage.LogSnapshot method) while the snapshot
+// is being used.
+//
+// One way the application can implement an immutable snapshot is by blocking
+// the entire log storage for new writes. This also means the Ready() handling
+// loop isn't able to hand over log writes to storage.
+//
+// A more advanced implementation can grab an immutable storage engine snapshot
+// that does not block writes. Not blocking writes is beneficial for commit tail
+// latency, since it doesn't prevent MsgApp/Resp exchange with the leader.
+func (rn *RawNode) LogSnapshot() LogSnapshot {
+	return rn.raft.raftLog.snap(rn.raft.raftLog.storage.LogSnapshot())
+}
+
 // Ready returns the outstanding work that the application needs to handle. This
 // includes appending and applying entries or a snapshot, updating the HardState,
 // and sending messages. The returned Ready() *must* be handled and subsequently
diff --git a/pkg/raft/storage.go b/pkg/raft/storage.go
index de4b03c53891..a445a2deb712 100644
--- a/pkg/raft/storage.go
+++ b/pkg/raft/storage.go
@@ -38,11 +38,8 @@ var ErrSnapOutOfDate = errors.New("requested index is older than the existing sn
 // are unavailable.
 var ErrUnavailable = errors.New("requested entry at index is unavailable")
 
-// LogStorage is a read API for the raft log.
+// LogStorage is a read-only API for the raft log.
 type LogStorage interface {
-	// InitialState returns the saved HardState and ConfState information.
-	InitialState() (pb.HardState, pb.ConfState, error)
-
 	// Entries returns a slice of consecutive log entries in the range [lo, hi),
 	// starting from lo. The maxSize limits the total size of the log entries
 	// returned, but Entries returns at least one entry if any.
@@ -87,6 +84,16 @@ type LogStorage interface {
 	// TODO(pav-kv): replace this with a Prev() method equivalent to logSlice's
 	// prev field. The log storage is just a storage-backed logSlice.
 	FirstIndex() uint64
+
+	// LogSnapshot returns an immutable point-in-time log storage snapshot.
+	LogSnapshot() LogStorageSnapshot
+}
+
+// LogStorageSnapshot is a read-only API for the raft log which has extended
+// immutability guarantees outside RawNode. The immutability must be provided by
+// the application layer.
+type LogStorageSnapshot interface {
+	LogStorage
 }
 
 // StateStorage provides read access to the state machine storage.
@@ -103,6 +110,13 @@ type StateStorage interface {
 //
 // TODO(pav-kv): audit all error handling and document the contract.
 type Storage interface {
+	// InitialState returns the saved HardState and ConfState information.
+	//
+	// TODO(sep-raft-log): this would need to be fetched (fully or partially) from
+	// both log and state machine storage on startup, to detect which of the two
+	// storages is ahead, and initialize correctly.
+	InitialState() (pb.HardState, pb.ConfState, error)
+
 	LogStorage
 	StateStorage
 }
@@ -212,6 +226,12 @@ func (ms *MemoryStorage) firstIndex() uint64 {
 	return ms.ents[0].Index + 1
 }
 
+// LogSnapshot implements the LogStorage interface.
+func (ms *MemoryStorage) LogSnapshot() LogStorageSnapshot {
+	// TODO(pav-kv): return an immutable subset of MemoryStorage.
+	return ms
+}
+
 // Snapshot implements the Storage interface.
 func (ms *MemoryStorage) Snapshot() (pb.Snapshot, error) {
 	ms.Lock()