Canyonlands National Park In Only 2 Days
First and foremost, I would highly recommend staying near Canyonlands National Park for more than just 2 days or even more than 2 weeks if possible! We had time constraints, so I figured I would let you all know what we were able to hit up and enjoy!
Needles District
Needles District is the southern portion of Canyonlands National Park and has a bunch of epic rock spires called the needles. In this district there are quite a few cool viewpoints of the lower part of Canyonlands as well as some epic hiking trails/offroad trails to hit up.
We first stopped by the visitor center in the Needles District to get some advice from a park ranger (highly recommend doing this) to see what they would recommend we visit during our short stay. She said if we could only do one trail within the Needles District, we should hit up the Cave Spring area. SO…we did.
Roadside Ruins
Before we hit up Cave Spring though, we tackled a very short trail (.3 miles) called Roadside Ruins. This short little jaunt takes you back to an ancient grain storage built into a cliff dwelling style crevasse. We then headed over to Cave Spring.
Cave Spring Area
In the Cave Spring area you will find an awesome trail along with some epic views of the surrounding area, a cowboy camp, and even some petroglyphs hidden in plain sight. The trail in this area is somewhere between moderate and easy as there are some ladders and a bit of small rocks to scramble up…but most of it really is just flat terrain.
Elephant Hill Area
The ranger also recommended the Elephant Hill area as there is an epic vista of the Needles themselves and there is a cool little road that takes you back to some trails (some much longer than others). Back in this area we just hiked a 1/4 mile to a 1/2 mile back on the Elephant Hill Trail to explore and see if we could come across any epic vistas. I feel like we did (see photos!)
Pothole Point
After taking a quick glance at Elephant Hill, we hopped back in the truck, drove through all the rugged roads, and made it back to the main road towards Pothole Point. Although this area was definitely lacking any water during our adventure, apparently all these potholes collect water during the wetter season. Not only is that aspect of this trail cool, but there is also another overlook area of the surrounding Needles and canyons beyond.
Big Spring Canyon Overlook
Big Spring Canyon Overlook is a nice and easy place to get to via your vehicle. There is a small parking area (so get there early during peak seasons) and you just have to jaunt over less than a mile to the overlook. Here you can see a dried up wash that I’m sure has water flowing through it as well during the wetter season. This was our last little adventure in the Needles District and we had to get back to Blaze. Next up, Island in the Sky!
Island In The Sky
Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands is perfect for those who truly want some epic viewpoints and overlooks. This is much higher than the Needles District (thus the name Island In The Sky). We didn’t stay here very long either, but were very happy to have made the trip over.
Mesa Arch
On our trip to Island In the Sky we decided to skip the visitor center and head straight to some of the places we had researched prior. Just as the ranger said at Needles, I think if you had one place to stop at during your exploration of Island In the Sky…it would be Mesa Arch. It is a very short hike to an incredibly out of this world view of the canyons below.
Upheaval Dome
Right after Mesa Arch (we got the park fairly early), we headed towards Upheaval Dome. We BARELY got a parking spot at Upheaval Dome, but we were exploring the greater Moab area during the peak season in October so it was to be expected. At Upheaval Dome you have choices of short and longer hikes, so we chose the shortest possible due to another time constraint.
We just hiked over to the first overlook of the upheaval dome (still amazing) and then started our way towards the second overlook. I managed to injure my ankle on the way to the second overlook and kind of lost my appetite for hiking for the day. BUT, this area is definitely a must see as well if you are up for a little hiking.
Grand View Point Overlook
Since it does take a while to drive around Canyonlands, Grand View Point Overlook ended up being our last stop for the day in Island in the Sky. Should you go to this viewpoint? Yes. Although Mesa Arch offers a amazing vantage point to see the canyons through the arch itself, Grand View Point Overlook is the mother of all viewpoints. We just recently hit up the Grand Canyon (spoiler alert) and I would say this view rivals that of the epic canyon in Arizona.
Although each of these adventures at both Needles District and Island in the Sky were fairly short, we were able to see so much and were extremely satisfied with our visits. Will we be back to hit up other trails and vistas we missed? Most certainly. Not to mention we never even touched the Maze District…but may require a more capable off-road vehicle than our extremely heavy F250.
OTHER “NEARBY” ADVENTURES
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Favorite Hike at Rocky Mountain National Park
Alluvial Fan Rocky Mountain National Park
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
NOTE FROM WRITER
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Adventure On!
