Three Long Needles Day Hikes

The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in southeast Utah is remote but a spectacular hiker park. There are many different trails and routes to follow, but if you want a long day hike that is representative, there are a few choices.

The trail to the heart of the Needles is the Chesler Park Trail. Start at the Elephant Hill Trail Head that is along a side road near the Squaw Flat Campground. The trail heads south with mostly easy walking toward Chesler Park, a wide open area surrounded by the sculpted Needles.

This area has a network of trails and there are several options, including Druid Arch and Devils Kitchen. The Elephant Hill 4WD road also heads for the heart of the Needles and can be used to make a loop route. It is about a 6 mile round trip to Chesler Park and back. Druid Arch is an 11 mile round trip. The Needles formations are the Cedar Mesa sandstone layer, a deeper layer than the Entrada sandstone that features the arches found in Arches NP.

The Canyonlands Park is divided into three districts by the Colorado and Green Rivers. These two famous western rivers flow together in the middle of the park. The Confluence Trail, at the west end of the district leads 5.5 miles to an overlook of the confluence, a view from 1000 feet above the rivers.

This trail starts off descending into a canyon then climbing out and uses some of the distant 4WD roads towards the end of the trail. The two rivers usually are different in color and the flow of each can be clearly viewed.

On the east side of the Needles District, the Salt Creek and Horse Canyon area has enough water to have supported the people who lived here before the arrival of pioneers. The Salt Creek Trail leads toward Peekaboo Springs and an excellent example of the rock art that can be found in the area.

 The hike to Peekaboo is a good destination, and further up Horse Canyon is the Paul Bunyan arch and the Tower Ruins site. Peekaboo Springs is a 5.4 mile round trip. Hiking all the way to Tower Ruin, past the Paul Bunyan Arch is a 9.6 mile round trip. Be sure to carry plenty of water on any of these hikes.

Horse Canyon Trail to Paul Bunyan's Arch

The Horse Canyon Trail to the arch called Paul Bunyan's Potty starts at the Salt Creek trail head in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in southeast Utah.

It is about 2.2 miles along this sandy 4WD road to the junction with Horse Canyon on the left. The Salt Creek route continues on the right to Peekaboo Springs and the not to be missed pictograph.

I thought this arch was Paul Bunyan's Potty but it actually belongs to someone smaller and doesn't seem to have a name. Paul apparently has a two holer. It took me about 1:15 hours to get to this point. The canyon floor here is fairly dense with vegetation and there appears to be a project of reducing the invasive Tamarisk trees.

It is possible to get off the trail and down into the wash for a closer look. This area has a lot of alcoves and cave formations that look like possible ruins sites. The ruins sites in this area mostly appear to be small storage sites.

About 15 minutes past the first arch there is a small storage ruin right at eye level along the sandy trail. These sites usually seem to be placed higher and are more hidden than this one.

The interpretive information at the Roadside Ruins site indicates that this region may have been used seasonally for farming but not so much for year round habitation.

The Paul Bunyan Potty arch is looming just above the small storage ruin only a minute further away. There is a sign making the identification clear. Hiking past the Paul Bunyan arch toward Tower Ruin, both of the arches can be viewed at the same time.

There is a short side trail from the small loop parking area to get up under and get the clear sky view through the arch. It took me about 1:30 hours to get here hiking. This is a somewhat tiring route due to the sand.

I was always searching for a firmer surface to walk on. From the Paul Bunyan arch it is about 40 minutes further to get to Tower Ruin. My total hike was 4:10 hours for this 8 or 9 mile round trip.

Tower Ruin Trail in Horse Canyon

The Tower Ruin Trail is a side route to a small ruins site off of the Horse Canyon trail in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in southeast Utah. It took me about 2:00 hours of hiking up Salt Creek and Horse Canyon to get to the side trail.

The trail junction is about 1.0 miles past the Paul Bunyan Potty arch and is marked with a small sign. The Horse Canyon Trail continues for several more miles to the south. It is about 0.7 miles more to arrive at the ruins site.

The Tower Ruin overlooks a broad grassy area surrounded by steep sandstone walls. This area looks somewhat like nearby Chesler Park but without the Needles. The trail to the ruins site was a little more firm and a relief after the sand of Horse Canyon.

The Tower Ruin is a small site but is in a towering position. It appears to be a storage site but someone may have lived there also.

The ruins site appears to be a tricky place to get up to and doesn't have much room, but it appears to be well preserved with some roof beams still in place.

On the return hike, further to the south, a large arch is visible about a mile away. The park map shows Gothic Arch to be in that area. It took me 2:30 hours to hike to Tower Ruins with stops at the Paul Bunyan arch and the smaller arch before it. The return hike took 1:40 hours for a total hike of 4:10 hours for this 8 or 9 mile round trip.