Roadside Ruin Trail

The Roadside Ruin Trail is a short 0.3 mile loop trail is a small granary ruin in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in southeast Utah.

The trailhead is just a little past the visitor center and is one of the first attractions a first time visitor would come across. In addition to the small ruin, this is also a botany trail, identifying nine of the common plants in this desert environment.

Visible along the trail are the Pinon Pine and Utah Juniper trees, along with Prickly Pear Cactus, Big Sagebrush and Four-wing saltbush. Two grains mentioned are Indian Ricegrass and Peppergrass.
The ruin is tucked up under a small rock alcove. The interpretive information says that granaries were common in this area but there are few dwellings, indicating that farming was carried on here but the area was occupied only seasonally.
Granaries like this were used as storage for corn, seeds, and nuts. Canyonlands is mostly a geological hiking park, but there is a cultural overlay of ruins and rock art that adds interest to this carved rocky landscape. There is a similar granery near the Paul Bunyan Arch in Horse Canyon.

Indio Arch Trail

Indio Arch is along Utah Scenic Route 211 on the way to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in southeast Utah. There is not a sign pointing it out, but it is only 0.7 miles past the Newspaper Rock Historic Site.
 

To see the arch well you have to pass through some old campsites and find a path down to Indian Creek, step across the creek and climb the bank on the opposite side.


Climbing up the bank out of the creek bed, it looks like there is an old 4WD road under the cliffs. From the old road you can get up under the arch to see blue sky through it. In the fall there isn't much water in the creek, but there could be quite a bit of flow in the spring.

The Indian Creek flows out of the Blue Mountains to the south and creates a lush corridor in an other wise dry area. The cliffs along Indian Creek are popular with climbers and give a taste of the rocky world of Canyonlands.

The road to the old campsites is blocked, probably due to flash floods that occurred a few years ago. There is enough room to pull over and park along the highway. Information on finding this arch and others south of Moab, Utah can be found in the small guide book Natural Arches of the Moab Area (South) by Chris Moore.

Anticline Overlook Trail

The Anticline Overlook Trail is a short loop at the extreme north end of Canyon Rims Recreation Area in southeast Utah.
 The first view area is about 150 yards up the trail. This view area is to the east of the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park.

The view to the north finds the Colorado River winding through an area where the layers of rock have been bulged upwards, the curving layers obvious. From here there are also views of the potash mining ponds, large blue lagoons sitting among the red rocks.

Following the rocky loop trail clockwise, the view shifts from the Colorado River canyon to the Kane Creek Canyon. There is a rough looking road down below that crosses the Hurrah Pass from Kane Creek to the Colorado River side. The road isn't as rough as it looks from here. It is possible to easily drive and hike there.

In the extreme distance an arch is visible. My guess is that it is the South Window in Arches National Park.

Following around and looking southeast the La Sal Mountains loom over more of the Kane Creek Canyon. The overlook trails here are well equipped with guard fences and numerous benches to enjoy the overwhelming views.

Minor Overlook Trail in Canyon Rims

The Miner Overlook is a short gravel loop around a large rock outcrop and provides vews of the Colorado River in Canyon Rims Recreation area in southeast Utah. It is named for Park Service Worker David Minor who worked for many years in this area.

This view point looks to the west towards Dead Horse Point State Park and the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. The views of the Colorado are as good or better than from those two more famous viewpoints.
To the northwest there is a view of the Potash Mining activity. Colorado River water is pumped into the salt bed underlying the rock formations here, then returned to the surface and evaporated, leaving the raw product.

The train tracks that carry the material to market are visible near Arches National Park and along Potash Road near Moab.
Most of the attention here is directed west toward the Canyonlands area but there also good views to the east of the nearby LaSal Mountains.

Wineglass Arch Trail

The Wineglass Arch is a short distance off the main road, close to the Anticline Overlook at the north end of Canyon Rims Recreation Area in southeast Utah. It is one of about 50 reasonably large arches south of Moab and outside of Arches National Park.

The Wineglass Arch is visible from the road. There are some trail segments, but it is easy just to cross the open field to the base of the rock outcrop. If you spend enough time in this area, I think you become more interested in becoming an arch spotter, taking time to see these small but otherwise rare formations.
Glancing up as I made my way toward Wineglass, there is a second arch about 100 feet to the north. Not a famous arch, but it appears to meet the three foot opening standard and qualifies.

Since there were two arches here, I continued around the backside of the formation looking for more, but I didn't see any.