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.

Windwhistle Interpretive Trail

The Windwhistle Trail is a 0.5 mile interpretive loop located at the Wind Whistle Campground in the Canyon Rims Recreation Area in southeast Utah. Canyon Rims is a large area that sits to the east of Canyonlands National Park.

The trail winds through a pocket surrounded by a large sandstone formation. Water flowing off the rocks and the sheltered position seems to make this a rich area for local plants. The trail guide names 28 different plants at numbered stops.

There are several here that other botany trails in the region don't usually have. The Fremont Barberry has edible fruits eaten by wildlife and man. It has small shiny green holly like leaves that remain on the plant through the winter. I hadn't noticed this plant in other parts of the region.

Nestled high in a sheltered shady corner are a couple of Douglas Firs. These are usually high elevation mountain forest trees, but they survive here in a cool and moist micro climate. This view also shows slightly different sandstone layers with different patterns of erosion.

The Singleleaf Ash is unlike other ashes in having only a single leaf rather than three to seven leaflets per leaf. Wildlife eats the seeds and early settlers used the tough wood for tool handles.

False Mockorange grows in rock crevices and is in the Saxifrage Family along with Gooseberries, currents, and hydrangeas. Wildlife will browse the leaves when other plants are scarce. This short trail is a good introduction to the vast space of the Canyon Rims Area.

Cave Springs Trail

The Cave Springs Trail in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park is a short 0.5 mile loop that features some of the human history of the area, along with the natural history.

The trail leads to some alcoves that were used as cowboy camps from the late 1800s until as recently as 1975, when grazing was discontinued inside the Park.

A collection of cowboy artifacts are on display, although you can't get up close to see them. The cowboys had a tough life, leading the herds over a large rugged area. The trail guide says that the Scorup-Sommerville Cattle Company had up to 10,000 head ranging over 1,800,000 acres.

The Cave Spring was the reliable water source for the cowboys, though it doesn't look like much. The water seeps down through the porous sandstone until it reaches an opening. Maidenhair fern adds a nice touch, growing along the alcove walls.

On the alcove wall above the Springs there are some pictographs indicating the past use of the same site by Ancestral Pueblo people. There are a few ruins sites in other parts of the park such as the Roadside Ruins and Tower Ruins and a small granery near Paul Bunyan's Arch.

After the cowboy alcoves, there are two ladders to climb to get up on the sandstone slickrock, where there are scenic views. Along the trail, the local plants are well marked.

The lower area of the trail has a lot of sagebrush, salt bush, and greasewood, plants that look similar from a distance. The slick rock area has Pinon Pine and Juniper trees. This is a botany trail also, with several of the native plants identified with signs.