June 20: Canyonlands National Park - Needles district

Our first venture into Canyonlands National Park was south on the 191 into the Needles District. Along the way are a couple of interesting stops: Wilson Arch (can't miss it, south of Moab on the 191) and Newspaper Rock Historical Monument in BLM land on the 211 which leads into Needles. Newspaper Rock is quite impressive as one of Utah's foremost examples of prehistoric rock-art.

The scenery on the 211 heading into Needles is great.


With the persistent heat, we opted for one of the easier trails, Cave Spring, which included some Pictographs, and a couple of ladders heading up onto slickrock, then down into more rock overhang / cave areas. Very fun trail.





Spent a little while walking around the Big Spring Canyon Overlook area; wish we could have done the hike to the Confluence Overlook (where the Colorado and Green Rivers meet and go into Cataract Canyon).


Last but not least, Wooden Shoe Arch, which I think is the one of the coolest arches I've seen!

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