Southern Utah’s National Parks - American Southwest - page 586

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stop at the Grand View Point Overlook, at the south end of the paved road. Hiking the
Grand View Trail, which is especially scenic in the late afternoon, literally gives you the
“Grand View” of the park. Allow about 1 1 / 2 hours for the easy 2-mile walk. We also
recommend the Upheaval Dome Overlook Trail, which should take about half an hour
and will bring you to a mile-wide crater of mysterious origins.
Outdoor Pursuits
Canyonlands has little shade and no reliable water sources, and temperatures soar to
100°F (38°C) in summer. Rangers strongly advise that hikers carry at least a gallon of
water per person per day, along with sunscreen, a hat, and all the usual hiking and emer-
gency equipment. If you expect to do serious hiking, try to plan your trip for the spring
or fall, when conditions are much more hospitable. Because some trails may be confus-
ing, hikers attempting the longer ones should carry good topographic maps.
In the Island in the Sky District, the Mesa Arch Trail provides the casual visitor with
an easy .5-mile (round-trip) self-guided nature walk among piñon and juniper trees,
cactus, and a plant called Mormon tea, from which Mormon pioneers made a tealike
beverage. The loop trail's main scenic attraction is an arch, made of Navajo sandstone,
that hangs precariously on the edge of a cliff, framing a spectacular view of nearby moun-
tains. Allow about a half-hour.
An easy 2-mile hike, especially pretty at sunset, is the Grand View Trail , which
follows the canyon rim from Grand View Point and shows off numerous canyons and
rock formations, the Colorado River, and distant mountains. Allow about 1 1 / 2 hours.
A bit more strenuous is the 5-mile Neck Spring Trail, which starts about .5 mile south
of the Island in the Sky Visitor Center. Allow 3 to 4 hours for this hike, which follows
old paths to two springs. You'll see water troughs, hitching posts, rusty cans, and the
ruins of an old cabin. Climb to the top of the rim for a great view of the canyons and
the Henry Mountains, some 60 miles away.
In the Needles District, one relatively easy hike is the Roadside Ruin Trail, a short
(.3-mile), self-guided nature walk that takes about a half-hour round-trip. It leads to a
prehistoric granary, probably used by the Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloans), some 700 to
1,000 years ago, to store corn, nuts, and other foods.
For a bit more of a challenge, try the Slickrock Foot Trail, a 2.4-mile loop that leads
to several viewpoints and takes 2 or 3 hours. Slickrock—a general term for any bare rock
surface—can be slippery, especially when wet. Viewpoints show off the stair-step topog-
raphy of the area, from its colorful canyons and cliffs to its flat mesas and striped nee-
dles.
From Elephant Hill Trailhead, you can follow several interconnecting trails into the
backcountry. The road to the trail head is gravel, but it is graded and drivable in most
two-wheel-drive passenger cars; those in large vehicles such as motor homes, however,
will want to avoid it. The 11-mile round-trip Elephant Hill-Druid Arch hike can
be done in 4 to 6 hours and is moderately difficult, with some steep drop-offs and quite
a bit of slickrock. But the views are well worth it. You hike through narrow rock canyons,
past colorful spires and pinnacles, and on to the huge Druid Arch, which somewhat
resembles the stone structures at Stonehenge.
The Confluence Overlook Trail , an 11-mile round-trip day or overnight hike,
leads to a spectacular bird's-eye view of the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers
and the 1,000-foot-deep gorges they've carved. The hike is moderately difficult, with
steep drop-offs and little shade, but it splendidly reveals the many colors of the Needles
District, as well as views into the Maze District of the park. Allow 4 to 6 hours.

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