Next Adventure: Canyonlands/Arches National Parks

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678) 09/13/2018 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

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I am very uninformed about the National Parks in Utah and will have a couple of days to go explore Arches and Canyonlands parks. I have a pretty decent itinerary put together for Arches but am overwhelmed with information about what exactly to do in Canyonlands. I have found information about the straightforward scenic drive through Island In the Sky Mesa area along with a few short hikes. But anyone more familiar with the rest of the park? I will have just one day for Canyonlands and would just like to get in a nice hike of another section of the park. I also am trying to figure out where in the parks I would like to camp. I would probably do two nights in one park and just day trip to the other park nearby.

I will have my Subaru as transportation so I am not going to be able to access any of the 4x4 trails or any of the more remote stuff, nor do I really have the time to enjoy that properly anyways.

My itinerary for Arches:

Arches National Park (8-12 hours)

Drive the park road to Devils garden (0.5 hours)

Hike Devils Garden to Double O Arch (2 hours)

Drive to Delicate Arch with stops along the way (1 hour)

Hike to Delicate Arch (1 hour)

Drive to Windows with stops along the way (1 hour)

Hike Windows area (1 hour)

Drive to exit with stops along the way (1 hour)

Return to campsite (0.5 to 1 hour)

Slop time (1 hour+)

My itinerary for Canyonlands:

Canyonlands National Park (12+ hours)

Drive the Island in the Sky Mesa scenic road and do short hikes (5ish hours)

Drive to the Needles district? (2 hours)

Do some hiking in Needles? (5+ hours)

Return to campsite (2 hours?)

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/13/2018 at 09:35

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Get a 4” lift  and drive the white rim trail. I did it in an Outback, an STi should do fine with minimal damage.

HammerheadFistpunch > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/13/2018 at 10:02

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i have some ideas. ill get back to you wh en im fully awake

HammerheadFistpunch > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/13/2018 at 11:04

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Okay, so first you need to know that the hike to false kiva (in your lede pic) is closed permanently and recently due to repeated graffiti . so if that was on your list you can scratch it.

For arches I think you are generous with your times, it won’ t take you an hour to drive from devils garden to the parking for delicate, for example, probably more like 20 minutes. though if you want to make it an hour stop and do sand dune arch with no shoes. totally worth it.

The thing with Arches too is that if its a busy time, the line to get in is LONG...plan on that if you are going on the weekend. There is a “ sneaky” and fun back way in, but its no place for an STI...an outback maybe but not an STI.

So as to where to camp? I got you covered. You want to camp on willow flats road. Its free, its got bathrooms, and its close to both places. Just turn off at the sign, if you are coming in on 191 and you’ve reached the archview gas and camping...you’ve gone too far, its back up the road less than a mile.
its good camping.

You can shoot for in park camping if you’d like but the chances of arches this time of the year are slim and there aren’t great spots IN canyonlands (at least not in the sky district). there are some cool campgrounds on the highway to canyonlands (horsethief, for example) , and there are some really cool sites near needles , but otherwise willow flats will be your guy. Its actually pretty great. Remember this is peak season for locals right now.

For Canyonlands you have to remember a simple fact - nothing is fast. to GET to the entrance to the IS district takes a good 30-40 minute drive. And IS is the accessible one. Its a pretty incredible place and its certainly worth taking it all in at once at the overlook

The thing with IS is that its all about views. And they are kickass views. not alot of hikes. Skip upheaval dome, its dumb. if you are feeling spicey you can try for lanthrop or wilhite but the are all day affairs and probably not worth it given your time.

If you want to try a fun drive you could probably do most if not all of shaffer trail, though it might be best to drive to an overview of the switchbacks rather than attempt them, they aren’t hard but they are steep and single speed awd system don’t love it heat wise.

As for needles. THAT is a long drive, but very cool.

hour and a half from arches to GET to the visitors center . though again there is some great FREE camping off of lockhart basin road .

Hiking there, well I’ve only done smaller stuff hike wise since kiddos, but the hikes we did were fun. Pothole point and cave spring. if you want a 10 mile hike the confluence overlook is pretty great.

Frankly my favorite part of that park would be chesler park and the joint trail. very neat place.

After needles you will definitely want a 4x4 in your life.

Which one would I do for the first time?  Island in the sky.  Canyonlands is just too big to try and fit it all in and the IS district give you the most bang for your buck...but needles is much more remote and hikable.  

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 09/13/2018 at 13:10

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Lol I figured I would get this response. I can't do any modifying, I'm not at home. More importantly my tires are quite shot so it would be pretty easy to get stuck I imagine. Even brand new, 200tw tires would not be great for dirt I imagine. 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/13/2018 at 13:22

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I highly don’t recommend taking a Subaru on any of these trails, it will get trashed, stuck and broken at the worst . That being said they rent Jeeps in Moab and if you are at all comfortable doing some type of offroad driving that would be a pretty awesome experience. The White Rim trail is pretty easy and could be traversed in one long day since it is about a 110 mile loop.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > HammerheadFistpunch 09/13/2018 at 13:23

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This is some awesome advice! I’ll definitely try to camp on Willow flats road (did you mean Willow Springs Rd? I found that less than a mile North of archview) . I had eyed horse thief as well so now at least I have a couple options worth my time. The times I listed for Arches were intentionally generous. I planned to be there on a weekday since it does get more crowded. But I wanted to leave extra time to explore all of the overlooks and stops along the way and deal with traffic from other tourists.

For Canyonlands, I figured doing IS is my primary goal but since it did not involve any hiking I would be able to easily fit that in within a half day if I start early. The hiking in needles looks amazing but like you said, it’s FAR. I’ll be looking into hikes there to see if it’s worth 4 hours of round trip driving. I’ll be chasing daylight at that point but days are still pretty long right now.

I’m planning to get an America the Beautiful pass if I can since I’m definitely going to do Arches, Canyonlands, and Zion while I’m in Utah. And then within a year I’m sure I will go to Yosemite and kings/sequoia at some point at home.

HammerheadFistpunch > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 09/13/2018 at 13:24

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I’d certainly be a long day.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > HammerheadFistpunch 09/13/2018 at 13:26

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What do you think? I’d say 10 hrs on dirt would be about right. I seem to remember it being mostly 2nd gear with a few 1st gear areas.

BobintheMtns > HammerheadFistpunch 09/13/2018 at 13:58

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To add to Hammerhead’s post—

Emphatic YES on Chessler Park/Joint Trail in the Needles District of Canyonlands- Yeah, as noted, a bit of a drive but WELL worth it. (Note- there’s two highway patrolmen that LOVE out-of-towners. They usually lurk by the highway turnoff into the Needles district/montecello zone... you’ve been warned!)

The best trailhead for Chessler/Joint is the Elephant Hill Trailhead. And if you’re a quick/competent hiker, you can include the hike out to Druid Arch from chessler park. Super, super cool zone.

And camping out on lockhard basin road is super nice- but can be crowded/noisy at times..

Beef Basin road (on left, couple of miles before lockhard basin rd- look for climbers’ bulletin board/shitters) is usually a much quieter zone. Head down the beef basin road and cross the creek (easy this time of year) your first right will take you to AWESOME campsites a the base of the Bridger Jack . Road up to bridger jack is a *little* technical, but not full-on 4x4 technical.

If up by Bridger Jack doesn’t work- keep going on beef basin- you’ll see some nice campsites on the right up against the walls a mile or so after the Bridger Jack turnoff.. Super nice zone out there if Lockhart is crowded.

Regarding Arches.. that place can be hit or miss depending on traffic. I’d almost suggest spending two days in Canyonlands... versus one in each... But another NEAT zone is the Fisher Towers - Up River Road (15 miles or so from Moab). There’s a nice 2-3 mile out-and-back hike that weaves through the towers that’s totally amazing.... It’s a amazing zone if you’ve got just a few hours to kill.

But if you do hit up Arches- the Fiery Furnace is where it’s at. It’ll melt your brain it’s so cool. But you gotta watch a movie, get a special permit to go in there, but so worth it.

And one more piece of beta for a campsite — if it’s still hot as fuck when you’re there- Hit the La Sal Mountain loop road - accessed by either Castle Valley (Up by Fisher Towers) or where the loop road comes out south of town on the way towards the Needles District. You can blaze up the road into the La Sal mountains, and quickly you’ll be at 9000-10,000 feet and it will be nice and cool. (versus sweating balls all night in your tent). This is a really neat option, cuz you’ll be in your fleece and it’ll be in the 50's up there- but you’ll be looking down at Moab and Arches just shimmering in the heat....

And remember, when exploring in the desert, there’s two things you don’t want to be without: Lots of water, and drugs.

Have fun!!

HammerheadFistpunch > BobintheMtns 09/13/2018 at 14:03

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I was going to suggest onion creek and the towers, but if you haven’t seen Arches and Canyonlands... I don’t know.  Hard to say but I can’t disagree with picking up the low hanging fruit.

HammerheadFistpunch > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 09/13/2018 at 14:17

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I remember it being a long day 2 and 3 when I did it with kids.  you could do it in 10 solo.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 09/13/2018 at 14:18

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I definitely wouldnt do it solo either way. I will have plenty to see just sticking to the roads anyways while see ing a bit more by hiking. With only two days there I dont have time to go get lost in the wilderness lol.

BobintheMtns > HammerheadFistpunch 09/13/2018 at 14:19

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Yeah- Moab’s a tough place to decide what to do if you’ve only got a day or two..............!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > BobintheMtns 09/13/2018 at 14:25

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Its better than my original plan to hit up arches and canyonlands in ONE day by just doing a “best of” tour of both. At least with a full day in each, I feel like I can see all of the popular, easily accessible stuff. The hardest part will be getting up early since im sure places are less crowded in the morning. I am working nights so waking up before noon is tough right now. But I can sleep when I am dead.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/13/2018 at 14:26

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There is literally only one road so it’s nearly impossible to get lost. The main danger is driving off of a 2,000 foot cliff into a canyon.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > BobintheMtns 09/13/2018 at 14:28

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Yup I have my 3L pack, 2L pack, and two gallon jugs that will all be full of water. Plus I have some gatorade to supplement. So I should have plenty of water and be able to go find water to refill in town if necessary. I definitely would love getting up to some elevation to cool off but I am just accepting that it will be hot. If it stays below 100, I will consider it a “cool” day and be happy. 110+ is where I start being pissed off at the heat and make faces at the assholes who say “but its a dry heat”. Haha thanks for the suggestions though, I will look at all of those for ideas.

HammerheadFistpunch > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 09/13/2018 at 16:23

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well, the biggest danger is becoming stranded, but this is a popular time of the year, so that contingency is pretty low.

Ready for an adventure! > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/13/2018 at 17:01

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find long ca nyon road and drive through Pucker Pass. You will not forget that for a long time. it is a 3 on a scale of 1-6, but very beautiful and a lil challenging.

Just did it with my son in August and he loved it, even though he is not a jeeper...

Ready for an adventure! > HammerheadFistpunch 09/13/2018 at 17:03

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imma change my answer to the last paragraph in Hammer’s post above

HammerheadFistpunch > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/13/2018 at 17:09

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sorry yes, willow springs. I do that a lot.  its the road you can take all the way into to arches and dumps you at balanced rock if you have outback or better vehicle.  

InFierority Complex > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/13/2018 at 22:14

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I’d recommend checking out Dead Horse Point on your way to Canyonlands. It’s a state park so it would be an extra entrance fee, unfortunately.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > InFierority Complex 09/14/2018 at 06:57

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That was my plan! Yeah it seems worth it for the view I suppose. And hopefully I will be able to fit in Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Zion in the days after that. So I will have quite a bit to take in on the tail end of this trip. Thinking about cramming the Grand Canyon North Rim in there too since its nearby-ish.