Canyonlands Hiking Trails

Canyonlands offers a variety of great hiking options, from short strolls to strenuous day hikes and multi-day backpacks. Below we list many of the more popular trails.

Aztec Butte Trail
Ancient Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) people lived in this area and some of their rock structures can be seen on this hike. The trail ascends Aztec But...(more)

Big Spring/Squaw Canyon Loop
This is a fun loop hike through spectacular scenery, up one canyon and down the other. Hiking is fairly easy in the canyon bottoms. To complete the lo...(more)

Cave Spring
This short, easy hike provides great scenery plus glimpses into the past, as you view a historic cowboy camp and also prehistoric Native American rock...(more)

Chesler Park Loop
Chesler Park is a relatively flat grassy area surrounded by amazing rock formations, located in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. Thi...(more)

Confluence Overlook
The Confluence marks the spot where the Green River and the Colorado River come together, in the heart of Canyonlands National Park. The Confluence is...(more)

Elephant Canyon to Druid Arch
The hike described here extends from the Elephant Hill Trailhead up Elephant Canyon to an overlook offering great views of Druid Arch - one of the mos...(more)

Grand View Point
Grand View Point is a famous vista on the edge of Island in the Sky mesa, in Canyonlands National Park. It offers panoramic views of the surrounding a...(more)

Horseshoe Canyon (Great Gallery)
The Horseshoe Canyon Trail leads to The Great Gallery, a remarkable ancient Native American rock art site. The route follows a well-marked trail down...(more)

Lower Red Lake Canyon
This is a long, very strenuous hike through the Needles down to the Colorado River. It can be done as a long day hike but is better as a backpack trip...(more)

Mesa Arch
Mesa Arch is a famous structure in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. Impressive photos show rugged canyon country in the di...(more)

Peekaboo Trail
This trail runs between the Squaw Flat Campground and the Peekaboo Campground, in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. The trail is well...(more)

Pictograph Fork To Harvest Scene
This is a loop hike to a famous pictograph panel in the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park. The Maze is extremely rugged and remote. Just d...(more)

Pothole Point Trail
This trail loops around an area of slickrock where there are numerous potholes. These basins in the sandstone retain water after storms. The trail off...(more)

Roadside Ruin Trail
This short, easy hike allows visitors to see an ancient ancestral Puebloan granary built of stone and dried mud. (more)

Slickrock Trail
This trail follows a plateau finger out to vistas overlooking classic Canyonlands scenery. Bighorn sheep are sometimes seen in this area. The trail su...(more)

Syncline Loop
This strenuous trail circles Upheaval Dome, in Canyonlands National Park. Halfway around the loop there are two spur trails, one leading into the dome...(more)

Upheaval Dome Overlook
Upheaval Dome is a geographic oddity, an anticline where rocks have been pushed up and then eroded to produce interesting strata. Surrounding the dome...(more)

Upper Salt Creek
Some of Canyonlands’ most spectacular archaeological sites and arches are found in the Salt Creek drainage. The Upper Salt Creek Trail runs for 22.5 m...(more)

Whale Rock Trail
Whale Rock is a rounded, eroded sandstone fin that is fun to climb. Handrails are provided to help people reach the top, where you are rewarded with i...(more)

Easy Moderate Strenuous