Canyonlands is actually made up of three distinct areas: Island in the Sky, Needles and The Maze. Island in the Sky is the area we visited the other day where you're up on the mesa looking down at the canyons. The Needles forms the southeast corner of Canyonlands and was named for the sandstone spires that dominate the area. The needles themselves are accessible only by strenuous hikes.
The drive from Moab takes you 40 miles or so south and then 34 miles into the park. That last 34 miles are fabulous. It passes by Newspaper Rock, a rock wall where Native Americans have been engraving and drawing for over 2000 years. Further up the road toward the park, sandstone cliffs rise on both sides of the narrow road. It's a spectacular ride.
Our first stop in the park was at a short hike to a 1000 year-old Native American storage building tucked under a rock overhang. Amazing that it was completely intact.
We also took a hike on the slickrock to some panoramic views of the park. We were overwhelmed by the vastness of the landscape, and it was a hike we both greatly enjoyed, even though the wind was blowing pretty hard.
We took another trail up on the slickrock that provided distant views of the Needles and some neat rock formations.
Great day!
Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/73yGh7g77vxbBGrX6 The video is of some of the road into/out of the park.
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