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.

Confluence Overlook Trail

The Confluence Overlook Trail in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park is an 11 mile round trip to the point where the Green River and Colorado River Flow together. The trailhead is at the west end of the main park road.

The first segment descends into the canyon and crosses to the other side.  Like many of the hikes in Canyonlands the trail climbs up and down in rough canyons and follows along the canyon bottoms or along the rims. 

Some of the spots along these trails seem impossible, but there are often helpful ladders or steps arranged to make the trip a little easier. These spots are a reminder to stay on the trails and keep your eyes alert for the rock cairns marking the route. 

There are several high points along the up and down route where views of the nearby LaSal Mountains or the amazing Needles are visible.

Close to the confluence point, there are roads that allow vehicles and mountains bikes to arrive.

The view that keeps you going is the point deep in the Canyonlands to see the mighty Colorado, flowing from the right meeting the Green River from the left. The view is from about 1000 feet above the streams.

The two rivers flow together to the south toward Cataract Canyon, and further to Lake Powell behind the huge Glen Canyon Dam. It was a relatively cool June day, about 70 degrees F. and it took me 5:00 hours to complete this trip, spending only 10 minutes at the overlook. I finished the last of my 2 liters of water about 10 minutes before the finish.

                                  

Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs

Newspaper Rock is an easily accessible Petroglyph Panel along Utah Highway 211 on the way to The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in southeast Utah. It is a comfortable location and easy to view. The interpretive information at the site indicates that 2000 years of man's activities in the area are recorded here.


There are no methods of dating scratchings on the sandstone and there are no conclusions from scholars on what the drawings mean. I notice that there are several human figures with animal heads and many of the foot print drawings have six or more toes. The Navajo name for the site is "the rock that tells a story."

The 200 square foot rock panel is a part of the vertical Wingate sandstone cliffs that dominate the upper end of Indian Creek Canyon. This layer is below the Navajo and Entrada Sandstone layers that are seen near Arches National Park and above the Cedar Mesa Sandstone that forms the Needles in Canyonlands.

The setting for Newspaper Rock is along Indian Creek, a lush riparian habitat area fed by water flowing north from the Abajo Mountains. The area along the shady creek banks are thick with cottonwood trees.

In 2003 this area experienced a major flash flood, which washed out a section of Highway 211. This flood damaged the majority of campsites that are across the road, burying fire rings and damaging picnic tables. The campground has been closed for restoration and due to the possibility of more flash floods.

 In the vicinity of Newspaper Rock, there is also Indio Arch and the Shay Canyon Petroglyph site that are not pointed out with signs but are interesting to visit. Past Shay Canyon is another Indian Creek Petroglyph site.

Dead Horse Point Trails

Dead Horse Point is a Utah State Park across from the Shafer Canyon Overlook in the Island of the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park.

The park has about 10 miles of trails along the rim of the point giving views to the east and west.
I walked a segment from the Visitor Center to Basin View about a 1.5 mile round trip. From here there are views of the Colorado River downstream of Moab and upstream of the confluence with the Green River.

An odd site along this segment is the series of blue lagoons down in the canyon. The Visitor Center interpretive information describes the lagoons as drying beds for potash, a component of fertilizer.
They inject Colorado River water into the deep salt beds, saturating the water with salt, and then the desert sun evaporates the water. Wilderness and industry side by side.


Further south is Dead Horse Point. The same trail allows views to the south, down the canyon and shows the White Rim Road that comes down from Canyonlands.

Slightly to the west is a gooseneck of the Colorado. This can't be seen from the overlooks in Canyonlands. Looking over to the west, you can see the cars at the Shafer Canyon Overlook.

The hike around the point is only 1.0 miles and gives some of the most spectacular views anywhere. Dead Horse Point State Park also has the Intrepid Trails and the Big Cheif Loop that visit the north half of the park.

Neck Springs Trail

The Neck Springs Trail in Canyonlands Island in the Sky is a 5.8 mile loop that tours the canyon alcoves just below the "Neck" and visits the seep springs that flow from the sandstone walls. The trail head is just a short distance south of the visitor center at the overlook for Shafer Canyon.

The "Neck" is a 40 foot wide strip that provides the only access to the 43 square mile "Island in the Sky." The trail descends down into the canyon below the road that crosses the Neck.

There are remnants from the old days when ranchers used the springs as a water supply. The trail follows the old rancher trails and those used by wildlife to get to the springs.

There are two main alcoves under the Neck that have some spring water seeping out. The vegetation near the spring is a little more lush than in the desert terrain of the rest of the canyon.

Further on, after several dry alcoves, there is another spring called Cabin Spring. The water flow for all these is just a modest seep.

The trail climbs back out of the canyon and crosses a grassy pasture area, recrosses the road and gives some views both to the west canyon where the hike was and to the east across Shafer Canyon to Dead Horse Point. The Dead Horse Point is part of a Utah State Park and provides spectacular views of the Colorado River.

It took me 3:00 hours to walk the trail. It was about 70 degrees and was a windy spring day.