Just beyond the Elephant Hill trailhead bulletin board the path climbs steeply up a stone steps and ledges before heading south along a sandstone bench. The trailhead is located at the southwest end of the Elephant Hill parking area (see driving directions). You will encounter a ladder that you will need to climb up. Continue across the flat, open section until you pass into a meadow with towering pinnacles on either side of you. UT – Canyonlands NP, Needles District – Chesler Park, Joint and Druid Arch Trails Canyonlands is divided into three areas, Needles District, Island in the Sky District and the Maze District. Canyonlands National Park does require a fee that can either be covered by a week long pass, a Southeast Utah Park Pass Annual Pass, or the American the Beautiful Pass. At this point, you will reach a junction for the Joint Trail and Druid Arch. Loop length: 14 miles. Starting at Elephant Hill trailhead makes most sense. Wag bag. The Chesler Park, Druid Arch, Joint, and Devil's Pocket trails can all be accessed from this trailhead. Tall, circular spire on the north side of Chesler Park. About 2/3 of the way from Chesler Park, the trail will drop about 300 feet in between two sandstone fins. Making sure you are well prepared with water and sun protection is essential. Much of the following trail was through sandy, dry washes, causing a constant flow of sand into my shoes. This time I hiked the Chesler Park/Druid Arch variation, which is also a scenic 11 mile hike. This would be a quick overnighter into the Needles District, as Ranger Joan (aka Rambling Hemlock ) was working at Arches National Park and had time off limited to weekends. This hike is consistently cited as one of the best trails in America. New Mexico and Fall Folliage at San Juan Skyway. Follow the trail until you reach the parking lot. Hike One (or More) of the Short Trails in Island in the Sky. This is where I split off from the Chesler Park/Joint Trail and went on the Chesler Park/Druid Arch Trail. Jokingly referred to as the much-favored older child of Canyonlands, it is easy to overlook the other two districts: The Needles and the Maze. Most people visiting Canyonlands National Park visit the Island in the Sky District. The temperatures are more bearable and there are less people flooding the parks. While making for a long day (or two or more), Elephant Canyon offers up a whole new set of adventures: camping along the Squaw, Spring and Lost Canyons; petroglyph hunting; or in my case, Druid Arch. Druid Arch and Chesler Park - Canyonlands National Park - Needles District. In addition to seeing a spectacular arch, however, hikers can experience much of the special environment of the Needles area on the trail to the arch. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Druid Arch, with its angular profile and two narrow, elongated openings, looks more like a formation from Stonehenge than the typical crescent-shaped span. Just a few days ago, I had the opportunity to take a solo trip to the Needles District to hike to Druid Arch, a magnificent geological formation that has a mystical energy, via Chesler Park. You will ascend 300 feet up the cave-like cleft before you level out again. Meander along the perimeter of Chesler Park for the next 1.5 miles. Kayaking Painted Cave, the longest and deepest sea cave in the world; Channel Islands. To get back to the trailhead, head back down the rock scrambles until you reach the wash. A short and narrow slot between two rocks is encountered about 1.5 miles into the hike and 2 miles in you will reach the wash that travels into Elephant Canyon or Chesler Park. Druid Arch is no easy hike because of the sand and scrambling required. At this point, you are only 0.3 miles from Chesler Park. Drop steeply to the floor of Elephant Canyon at 2.1 miles. There are also rocky scrambles and slickrock that can get slippery when wet. Familiar and spectacular colorful spires of Chesler Park! There is additional parking just down the road in the direction you came from. The usual starting place for the hike to Druid Arch is … Sign up today to get 10% off AVA Rafting and Zipline Trips and receive access to exclusive content. Looking back where I came from, the length of Elephant Canyon. Located 75 miles southwest of Moab, UT, The Needles District is known for its colorful Cedar Mesa sandstone spires. The connector trail was really cool, as it provided some awesome views of the surrounding spires, and as a bonus we had the entire trail to ourselves. The Park Service has done a wonderful job adding improvements to the trails where needed while still keeping the overall experience that of a true desert wilderness. The hike is 11 miles RT with 500 ft elevation gain. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. I stopped several times to empty out all of this sand, actually enjoying the broken slickrock and other rocky features. This time I hiked the Chesler Park/Druid Arch variation, which is also a scenic 11 mile hike. Turn right onto UT-211 W and continue for 37 miles. In the spring, the weather is a windier, and there’s more of a chance for rain. Doom), Kayaking Jackson Lake – Grand Teton National Park. Length 11.2 miElevation gain 2,162 ftRoute type Loop. Just past the turnoff for the Chesler Park campsites, you’re given one of two choices: complete the loop, or head straight and join up with Elephant Canyon. Taken as I was leaving Chesler Park. The route follows the drainageway to the arch. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. After climbing up the slickrock, go left, following the cairns. However, this hike took more time as it required frequent wading/crossing of the river and loads of time looking for those tiny cairns. The trail is primarily used for hiking, camping, and backpacking. You could do a spur to the west on the Joint Trail and back. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. I’m going to have to ask you for a promise: if you hike and are ever in Needles, DO THE CHESLER PARK … Spring and Fall are the ideal times to visit the deserts of Utah. Leaving from Elephant Hill Trailhead, we did the 11 mile Chesler Park Loop, which includes the Joint Trail, and added on the 4 mile (roundtrip) spur to Druid Arch. Backpacking at Canyonlands, Needles District | Chesler Park, Joint Trail, and Druid Arch - YouTube. A path forks west, up the far side of the canyon towards Chesler Park, while the Druid Arch route continues south, mostly right along the stream bed, for 0.8 miles to a third junction, signed Squaw Flat 5.9 miles. It passes through a slot then comes to the first of several well-marked junctions at 1.5 miles; turn right (west) for Druid Arch. Before visiting the park, make sure to review regulations for permits and reservations and the pet policy. Trail: This is almost entirely a slickrock trail, with stone cairns marking the way. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. At this point, you are only 0.3 miles from Chesler Park. Druid Arch to Chesler Park is a 11.2 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Monticello, Utah that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as difficult. At Elephant Hill trailhead, the start of the Chesler Park trail system. Typical scenic view while on the trail, with the trail zig-zagging left and right all over the place. Go left towards Druid Arch. We headed out on Friday. You can reach Druid Arch from several routes, but the most commonly used route is the out-and-back route from Elephant Hill Trailhead. From here, you will walk through a wash in Elephant Canyon before climbing up another steep, rocky section rising up to see your first views of the incredible Needles this district gets its name from. Maps: USGS The Loop and Druid Arch; Trails Illustrated Needles. Winters in Utah can be just as unforgiving as summers with frigidly cold temperatures. End of the arch. Squeeze through the Joint The trail to Druid Arch follows the first section of the trail to Chesler Park. This hike is consistently cited as one of the best trails in America. A second junction, in Elephant Canyon, is for the 2.5 mile path to Druid Arch, which provides an alternative entry into Chesler Park via a connecting trail that forks west after 1.3 miles. Druid arch in the Needles section of Canyonlands has been on my list for quite some time. To access the trailhead, follow signs in the Needles District for Elephant Hill. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website.
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