A short hike to a famed arch that sits atop a sheer horseshoe shaped cliff wall complete with views of the La Sal Mountains as a partial backdrop. Absolutely fantastic views extend outward towards the rising sun in the AM. Incredibly popular, and even in the off season gets a fair share of visitors.

I believe the 'official loop', which is unmarked as they don't want it to be worn in is 2.1 mi and ~500 ft, while my hike had me at 5.54 mi and 1,027 ft. Rock Climbing is allowed I believe, but regulated. Be aware of temperatures extremes, as it is named fiery furnace for a reason; hike early.

A wildly entertaining choose your own adventure style hike within the Fiery Furnace, a canyon in between large sandstone walls and fins. Multiple large and small arches may be viewed along the way and a variety of terrains passed. Requires scrambling through narrow spaces and wedging along walls.

Absolutely! I’d live to see it in spring when you get the extra dimension of plant coloration.

As noted yesterday, I combined this trail and the Chesler Park Loop into one mega-hike. A large section of this hike crosses sand and gravel and adding the loop onto it kind of turns this into a slog, so if you've got the time, it would be better to do as two separate hikes.

At the far end of Elephant Canyon stands a massive, 150 ft tall arch known as Druid Arch, which rises 450 ft above the canyon floor below and belongs on the cover of an epic fantasy. Trail follows along a wash with a variety of easy to tough terrains as well as some scrambling and a ladder climb.

A few Mule Deer traipsing away after the third and final time I ran into them on the early morning hike. An open shrub land may be seen in front of several large pillars of cedar mesa sandstone.

#MuleDeer #Wildlife

I did this hike combined with the Druid Arch Trail, making a monster 19.1 mi hike; there may be a 14 mi version of this trail as well, but I am unsure. While thoroughly enjoyable, I would recommend doing them separately, as I was fairly spent by the time I got to Druid Arch and the return was rough.

A fun loop with a variety of terrains to cross; with some potential height and claustrophobia issues if that's not your thing. The trail takes you above, over, and through the various geological formations located in the Needles District. Sandstone spires and slot canyons abound in a visual specter.

More information about the formation of The Needles may be found on this brief summary provided by NPS

www.nps.gov/places/eleph...

This short hike takes you up to a vantage point offering views of Elephant Hill as well as views of The Needles, spiky columns reaching into the air. These formations, like the nearby Arches, owe their existence to salt under the rock layers. Trail connects to Chesler Park Loop & Druid Arch Trails.

I guess the photos had some issue uploading, here they are again.

In May 2024, two people were filmed stealing artifacts from the cowboy camp by the park service, who request any information that may help lead to their apprehension. Shameful behavior. Not that it makes it any better, but these artifacts don't even have monetary value.

www.nps.gov/cany/learn/n...

Located in the backcountry Needles District of Canyonlands NP, the lower portion of this short loop visits a historic cowboy camp used from the 1800s until 1975, while the upper provides views of the surrounding area. Upper area requires a ladder climb, but is otherwise relatively easy to traverse.

More of a pulloff than an actual hike, Newspaper Rock is a large (~200 square ft) slab of sandstone which contains some of the most accessible and best preserved petroglyphs in the Southwest. Petroglyphs here range in age from the BC times until 1300 AD as well as 'modern' engravings from Europeans.

Takes you to several different arches; including Tunnel, Pine Tree, Navajo, and Partition Arches along with a few 'lesser' arches. Easily gets to Landscape Arch, the longest in the Park, before a moderate ascension along the fin-like slabs of sandstone with steep drop offs to reach Double O Arch.

Yeah, winter is a fantastic time to visit assuming the weather holds out. Such a magical area to visit.