Canyonlands National Park - Needles Travel Guide.

Canyonlands National Park - Needles

The Needles forms the southeast corner of Canyonlands and was named for the colorful spires of Cedar Mesa Sandstone that dominate the area. Hiking trails offer many opportunities for long day hikes and overnight trips. Foot trails and four-wheel-drive roads lead to such features as Tower Ruin, Confluence Overlook, Elephant Hill, the Joint Trail, and Chesler Park.

·         Location is 14 miles north from Monticello along Hwy 191, 35 miles west along Hwy 211 to Park entrance. (total mileage = 49 miles from Monticello)

·         There is no access to the Island in the Sky section.

·         The Park is open 24/7, year round; the Visitor Center is open March thru November, 9am-4pm; restrooms & drinking fountains are open 24/7.

·         Camping - 26 sites + 3 group sites at Squaw Flats; reservations via NPS website, or first come/first serve.

·         Pets – only allowed in parking areas, paved roadway & must be leashed; owners are expected to pick up after their pet(s).

·         Tours are subject to Ranger Programs; check the schedule at website for availability.

·         Backcountry Permits for hiking & 4-wheel drive trails are available at the Visitor Center.

·         Website: https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/needles.htm

·         Phone: (435) 719-2313

At the toll booth, you will receive a Canyonlands "newspaper" which will contain maps, hiking and 4-wheel drive information plus lots more.  Go inside the Visitor Center to obtain permits, or to talk with the park rangers for more information.

There are NO services at the park, so always start the trip with a full tank of gas, drinking water (3-4 quarts/person; double that amount if hiking), healthy snacks, and bring a picnic!

Mary Cokenour

Let Me Guide You Through Canyonlands Needles..

So here is my part two of visiting Canyonlands  - Needles District in the winter; still saying "that's crazy!?!"  During the day, dependent on the month, the temperatures are 50s to 70s; at night is when the cold seriously creeps in with the night sky.  If staying in the nearest town, Monticello, there are several hotels and motels to hide in at night; RV campgrounds with full hookups too.  Then there is Canyonlands Lodging which does offer the use of their beautiful cabins year round; or the Runnin' Iron Inn and Line Camp Steakhouse.  Still confused on what to do; check out Tripadvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ for reviews that will help you make your best decisions.

Enough with advertising (and I don't even get paid for doing it!!!), after that short hike at the Roadside Ruin ( http://www.southwestbrowneyes.com/2017/06/an-easy-hike-in-canyonlands-needles.html ), the very next pull-in was to view Woodenshoe Arch.  Put the imagination cap on and yes, it does look like one of those wooden shoes associated with Holland.  This is also where you'll get your first viewing of the Needles themselves.  Hint, you have to be in the park between 8am to 11am to get the best lighting for viewing and photographing the Needles.  After 11am, the sun begins traveling overhead and west, so the Needles become covered in haze.

Haze over the Needles.

Here is where I'm going to be really nice to all my readers...a map of Canyonlands - Needles; in winter, the visitor center inside the park is closed, so you can't get a map.  See the red line on the map, that indicates the paved section of roadway through the park.  If you still think you need help, or are lost, stop at the Canyon Country Discovery Center at the northern end of Monticello (just before you enter the City limits on Highway 191) for more information.

By the way, the National Parks (Canyonlands, Arches) do not have stores, so make sure, before beginning the journey, fill up the gas tank, have plenty of water (3-4 quarts per person; double that if long hikes are planned for), healthy protein snacks and ALWAYS take a picnic!   If traveling with person(s) that have walking restrictions, Route 211 has loads he/she/they can see along the way; and Needles will offer them some great sightseeing too!  Now you can understand why I worked for over four years at the Monticello Welcome Center; I know this stuff and made sure visitors were aware!

We continued on the paved roadway towards Big Spring Canyon Overlook, but first stopped at the pull-in area for the Slickrock Foot Trail.  We didn't walk that trail as we were too interested in what we spied on the other side of the roadway.  That shouldn't mean that you don't do the trail; Roy and I just happen to enjoy doing "Oooo, bunny" stuff; you know, "Oooo, what's over there?" or "Oooo, where does that road go?"

Across from the Slickrock Foot Trail

Looking upwards, I spotted an opening and thought it was either a cave, or an arch; inside though, looks like there's a ruin there (ancient or modern I don't know).

One thing I always enjoy is photographing plant life, wild life and desert landscape...it's like being on another world!.











...and for some reason, Roy enjoys photographing me, photographing.










Back to sightseeing...

Looking across, you can make out Big Spring Canyon Overlook.

Just a short drive down to the next pull-in area, welcome to Big Spring Canyon!

,,,and Roy taking my photo, so I took his too.

Next stop, Elephant Hill Road; the Needles can be seen here too (one mile along road - graded to make passenger car accessible), but, again, the haze makes it difficult to see the layers of coloring.

Reaching the parking area, there are actually two trails; 4 Wheel Drive is rated one of the most extreme in Utah, and the hiking trail.  We didn't drive the 4WD trail, but walked the first 1/4 of a mile and even that was a bit on the nerve wracking side; had to pay attention to avoid a fall, spraining or even breaking something.  It starts out easy on dirt, and then quickly switches to uneven rock!

Wait till you see the views from the point we stopped walking.

It's around 4:30pm and time to head on back to Monticello, as the sunset will begin soon enough (remember, this was February 2017). Time enough to take a quick photo of the hiking trail before we go.








Hope you enjoyed our winter journey through Canyonlands - The Needles District.  See, there's lots to do in the desert parks...in winter!

Mary Cokenour

Canyonlands, the Needles District - Part Two or the Whole Enchilada.

A good many people who visit the Needles District expect to be up close and personal with the formations that they have seen on postcards, in travel brochures or in books about the area. Not going to happen; well not going to happen unless you are going to do the eleven mile hike to Chesler Park or Elephant Canyon; or the 7.5 mile hike from Big Spring Canyon. Then there is the Needles Overlook located in the Canyon Rims Recreation Area; yes, you'll be a bit closer to the Needles themselves and the hike will only be about nine miles. I wanted to get this information out of the way immediately as this is one of the top questions I usually get asked.   Should you not go to this Park then if you cannot be as close as you want to the Needles?  That's up to why you want to go; how important is it to you to simply experience the area, or is a photo all you want?  If it's the latter, then simply buy a photo and be done with it; for the former, well keep reading and see what other adventures await you in Canyonlands - The Needles District.



View from our picnic area.

So we now follow our intrepid adventurers, Roy and Mary, as they have left Cave Spring and are back on the paved road heading towards Elephant Hill.  The road eventually turns to unpaved, graded roadway, but is car accessible just like the road to Cave Spring.  All along the road we saw awesome formations of sandstone, and slickrock dropping off into canyons.  We stopped at one pull-in point to have our picnic lunch; the sandstone in the area had formed itself into, what we saw as, little tables, so how could we resist the invitation to dine.  As we ate, folks driving by would wave and shout out "Hello!", and we would answer back in kind; it was a most memorable and pleasant experience.  We did a little exploring and I found a sandstone rock that the swirling wind and sand had formed into a seashell shape.  I so wanted to take it home, but a photo would just have to do.  After cleaning up our dining area, back on the road we went and couldn't help noticing how the formations began to resemble the legs and feet of elephants.  Now at the very end of the paved road is a parking area, with picnic tables for those who don't want to sit on the ground or rocks I guess.  The Elephant Hill Trail itself  is for hiking or Jeeps; I know brochures say 4 wheel drive vehicles, but a sign at the trailhead said Jeeps required for trail driving, so...anyway, three miles in will bring you to the Chesler Park Overlook.

Sandstone rock formed into seashell shape
 



Nearing Elephant Hill Trail

We dumped our garbage into the trash bins at the picnic area and ended back out towards Pothole Point. Roy was especially looking forward to this spot as he often talked about how microscopic marine life (brine shrimp mostly - remember "sea monkeys"?) lives in the holes. That is if there is water in the potholes, and with the drought season we were in at the time, no water; therefore the life was in hibernation.  The views in the area are spectacular though, from the Needles to the White Rim located at Canyonlands - Islands in the Sky (accessible via Route 313, eleven miles north of Moab).  Again you'll notice how the elements of wind and water have formed the sandstone into interesting formations.

Hole "drilled" into sandstone wall by the elements.

Now before I post photos of the Needles, we're going to make the last stop on the paved road at Big Spring Canyon Overlook.  Once again you can see out as far as the White Rim and even a formation called "Murphy's Hogback".  In one photo I left the information sign and road barriers in, so you can see the sheer immenseness of the formations in the area; it definitely leaves you in awe.  From this area, the hike to the Needles themselves is only 7.5 miles; closer than the eleven miles from other places.  We were so busy dealing with our eyes popping out of our heads (not literally of course) from viewing this area to even look for the Needles.  Don't say I didn't warn you about this section of Canyonlands having lots of great adventures within it.

Murphy's Hogback and the White Rim in the Distance.

 

 

Just to let you know, taking photos of the Needles, from a distance, can be rather difficult due to the haze.  Even though I had a hood attached to my zoom lens, the haze still caused unclear photos and I've done my best to clean up the ones I am posting.  The Needles are red and white spires of Cedar Mesa sandstone; hundreds extending for miles!  It doesn't really matter if you're not up close and personal, it's impressive from near and afar.  Between both of our cameras, we might not have been able to take National Geographic quality photos, but we can happily say, "We were there and we saw them!".

Raven flying through the spires

 

I've read some reviews on Canyonlands - The Needles District and they were negative because of the distance from the paved road viewpoints to the Needles themselves.  As I said earlier, if all you want is a photo, then go buy one; if you want to experience a park full of astounding natural formations, then visit and enjoy.

 

Mary Cokenour