The sheer size of Canyonlands National Park is pretty incomprehensible. For hours in every direction, you’re surrounded by monoliths, cliffs, plateaus, and geological formations (to name a few). And then somewhere between all those things, both the Green River and the Colorado River ebb and flow, cutting the Earth’s crust for an unfathomable amount of time.
About an hour and a half outside of Moab sits The Needles District; a section of Canyonlands National Park known for its enormous grouping of Cedar Mesa Sandstone spires. It’s a much lesser-visited part of the park than Island in the Sky due to being much more remote.
We had decided to do the Chesler Park Loop Trail; a moderate 10.5mi loop where one side meandered through sandstone spires and the other side cut through slot canyons.
The slot canyons were for sure the most exciting part of the hike, but the sandstone spires were pretty other-worldly in their own right. And throughout the hike, we could spot Island in the Sky in the distance, trying to wrap our head around the sheer magnitude of the park. In the desert, everything seems so close.
Tomorrow, we would hit the road to Natural Bridges National Monument and Leprechaun Canyon.