Moab, Utah

Access to this trailhead is a few miles south of the Islands in the Sky Visitor Center in Canyonlands National Park. An easy drive from Moab or Interstate 70. Remember to get permits and check in with the rangers if camping. If just doing a day hike then no permits are needed. REMINDER: There is ...

Be advised, the NPS signs and maps that warn of a very difficult hike ahead are not hyperbole, as I thought at first. This hike is a loop around the famous Upheaval Dome on an unmaintained trail that leads you down over 1500 feet into the canyon, close to the Green River, then climbs back up 1500...

The first draw of this adventure is the roadtrip to the trailhead itself. Set out pre-dawn from Moab, UT and head 77 miles south and west to the Needles District Visitors Centre on Utah 211. En route you'll pass Newspaper Rock, a treasured collection of pictographs well worth the detour if you're...

A large part of the grandeur of Canyonlands National Park is the vast barren vista at Island in the Sky, but no visit to Canyonlands would be complete without the intimate and immersive desert experience that the Needles District offers. Drive two hours southwest of Moab away from cell phone rece...

The Needles District of Canyonlands receives 6 times as many backpackers as its more popular neighbor across the Colorado River, Island in the Sky. The Needles has an excellent trail network that is incredibly diverse, featuring amazing rock features as well as grassy meadows and savannahs.  Whil...