Part IV of the Canyonlands Backcountry Series
In this article:
The Needles
The Needles district in the far southwest of Canyonlands National Park is characterized by vast open grasslands mixed with colorful pinnacles and narrow canyons. Despite its isolated location deep inside the Canyonlands basin, shielded from the outside world by the distant canyon walls to its south and east, it can be easily reached via a paved road. Due to this the Needles district ranks just behind the Island in the Sky in terms of popularity and can be quite busy at times - especially in the summer and fall seasons. This also applies to some parts of the Needles backcountry which are easier reachable than most of the backcountry of the Island in the Sky or the Maze. While the four-wheel drive tracks are some of the park’s most difficult and technical roads, there are a number of moderate hiking trails that lead deep into the backcountry offering relatively easy opportunities for full and multi-day hikes.
The Needles Campground is the district’s only developed campground and makes for a great base camp to explore the Needles main attractions - many of which are just minutes away by car. From here you will also be able to explore the nearby backcountry by foot via the Big Spring Overlook and Elephant Hill trailheads, both of which are connected to a dense network of hiking trails spanning throughout the Needles area. While there are numerous primitive backcountry campsites scattered throughout the Needles district, many backcountry attractions can be explored as part of a full-day out-and-back hike - a great way to experience this otherworldly landscape at a slow pace.
Hiking to the Confluence, Elephant Hill, and Devils Kitchen
Day 6 - After a long drive from the Maze to the Needles district the day before I was looking forward to some time off the road and on the hiking trails of the Needles backcountry. My first hike went from the Big Spring Canyon trailhead - less than 10 minutes from the Needles Campground - to the Confluence Overlook where the Green and Colorado rivers meet. This is the heart of Canyonlands National Park where the Island in the Sky, the Needles, and the Maze districts meet. Right after the trailhead the trail winds through the Big Spring Canyon up and down some very steep and rocky sections. But after the first 900 meters I was hiking mostly on flat terrain with a few climbing sections along the entire 8 km trail.
Along the way I stopped several times for some great views of the surrounding landscape. After traversing some side canyons and plateaus the trail ended and I had to continue along Devils Lane for the final 1.5 km - a track that had to be shared with 4x4 vehicles. There was some traffic but it was no problem at all for neither of us to share the road. Lucky for me all the Jeeps and Toyotas left just before I arrived at the parking lot and once I climbed up the final 500 meters to the overlook I noticed that I was once again all by myself. Only at the bottom of the canyon some 300 meters below on the river I saw a single kayak crossing the mighty confluence. A beautiful sight with the two different colors of both rivers continuing side by side for some miles before they eventually mix. It was an easy yet rewarding hike
and even though it was not too hot that day I was glad I brought an extra hat because the late September sun still was quite intense on this very exposed trail. Back at the trailhead after roughly 16 km and 3 hours I drove down to the Elephant Hill trailhead about 15 minutes and roughly 5 km via a well maintained unpaved road from the Needles Campground.
From the Elephant Hill trailhead there are numerous ways to either hike or drive into the heart of the Needles backcountry. From here I was planning to explore the Elephant Hill and Devils Kitchen area. Since there is a backcountry permit needed for any vehicles entering the backcountry I decided to hike the roughly 6 km one way along the 4x4 road over the Elephant Hill into the Devils Kitchen. These roads are amongst the most difficult of the Canyonlands National Park and so there was not too much traffic that I had encountered during my hike. In fact there was just one vehicle passing me during the entire three hour hike so I was able to enjoy the beauty of the Elephant Hill, the Devils Canyon, the Devils
Pocket, and also the Devils Kitchen all by myself.
The first 2 km were quite steep and narrow and I was glad I only had to hike these sections and not drive them all by myself. Leaving the Elephant Hill behind I continued through Devils Canyon past colorful sandstone cliffs and spires all the way to Devils Pocket from where I finally got a first glimpse of the iconic Needles rock formations in between Devils Kitchen and Chesler Park. It was already late in the afternoon and once I arrived at the Devils Kitchen Campground the dozens of pinnacles already glowed dramatically in the light of the setting sun. I found a way up some nearby rocks from where I could enjoy the dramatic scenery, set up my provisional camp and got out some snacks and water. There were some people at the Devils Kitchen Campground but it was nowhere near as busy as the developed Needles
Campground or at any of the sights along the paved park road.
While the Needles backcountry felt more busy than the backcountry of the Island in the Sky or the Maze it was still such a rewarding experience to be out here with most of the crowds preferring to stay on the paved roads. So I enjoyed some of these last moments in the Canyonlands backcountry, taking in the warm colors of the dramatic sandstone rock formations that surrounded me on all sides and soaking up as much of the peace and quiet as possible before returning back to the developed and civilized world of ours for good. Before it got dark I started the one and a half hour hike back to the trailhead watching one
last dramatically colorful desert sunset over Canyonlands from atop Elephant Hill. Filled to the brim with colorful impressions, personal insights, and lasting memories I drove back to the Needles Campground and got ready for bed. After a week out in the desert mostly by myself I did not know if I was quite ready yet to leave all of this behind.
Quick facts about the Needles backcountry:
main roads: Elephant Hill Road / Devils Lane
campsites: 17 / Top Picks: Devils Kitchen, Chesler Park
accessibility: easily accessible via hiking trails / extremely technical 4x4 trails
good to know: Elephant Hill Trailhead as main access point / quite busy sometimes
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