Horseshoe Canyon

The Holy Ghost in the Gallery

Canyon Wall Along Horseshoe Canyon

The Gallery

Sandy Path Through Horseshoe Canyon

Horseshoe Canyon belongs to Canyonlands National Park as a detached island located near the Maze District. The marked dirt road leading to Horseshoe Canyon is located just south of the entrance to Goblin Valley State Park and is accessible to touring cars. As an interseting bit of information, Horseshoe Canyon is the canyon Aron Ralston exited out of after cutting off his arm and rapelling out of Blue John Canyon.


The hike from the trailhead to the gallery is about three miles. The trail begins with a descent into the canyon from the parking area above. This is a very beautiful canyon. There is a sandy path leading between redrock walls the entire way. Walking on the loose sand will slow you down, so give yourself a little more time than you normally would to complete this six mile round-trip hike.


You will pass two or three rockart sites before reaching the Gallery. There are side trails leading to these sites and they are not hard to find since the canyon is so narrow. The main destination on this hike is the Gallery. This is a large wall filled with a lot of art work. Thankfully, the National Park Service has provided two sets of binoculars (located in metal boxes) at the base of the Gallery for you to use to see the artwork in more detail.

Devils Kitchen

Narrows Section

Looking Towards the Kitchen

The Trail into Devils Kitchen

Devils Kitchen Area from Afar

Devils Kitchen is a beautiful loop hike through the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. The best place to begin this hike is from the Elephant Hill Trailhead, but because I was hiking it in February, the dirt road was too snowy and muddy for my vehicle. So I began from the Squaw Flat Trailhead. Beginning from Squaw Flat adds just over a mile each way to the hike.


I had originally planned to hike to Chesler Park on this hike because of some beautiful photos I had seen from that area, however, once I got to the trail junction forcing me to choose between Chesler Park and Devils Kitchen, I chose Devils Kitchen do to the amazing rock formations I was seeing in that area. The Devils Kitchen Loop lets you walk among the various rock spires in the area. It is very personable.


I hiked Devils Kitchen the first week of February and saw no people, only ravens, until on my way back to Squaw Flat I bumped into two hikers. They were the only people I saw in two days of hiking the Needles. While hiking the Needles in February provides solitude, it can also make for some slippery conditions. When slick rock gets covered with snow, it becomes especially slick, though luckily there were no major ascents or descents on the slick rock on this hike.


The amount of trails and forks in the road in the Needles District can be overwhelming. You have the option of switching trails every mile or two depending on how you are feeling. Because of all many interconnecting trails, the Needles would make a great place to backpack. There are about ten different designated campground areas for backpackers, some of them very scenic.

Squaw Canyon to Big Spring Canyon

Trail Junction at the End of Squaw Canyon

View Near the End of Squaw Canyon

View from the Top of Big Spring Canyon

Rock Wall Seperating Big Spring and Squaw Canyons

I arrived at the Needles District of Canyonlands in the first week of February about four hours before sunset. Playing it safe, I decided to do the shortest hike from the Squaw Flat Trailhead. This happened to be the Squaw Canyon - Big Spring Canyon Loop Hike. This was a pleasant hike with little elevation change (with the exception of the ridge you must ascend and descend to get from one canyon to the other).


If I were to do this hike again, I would wait a until a little bit later in the year. There is a short steep climb up the end of Squaw Canyon which was coverd in ice and snow while I was there which was difficult to ascend, and the descent into Big Spring Canyon was a fairly steep climb down slick rock which was covered with a layer of icy snow. This section had me a little nervous. But if you go after the snow has melted, these sections would not be a problem.


But the good thing about hiking the Needles the first week of February is that you can have the place almost entirely to yourself. I hiked over twenty miles in the Needles in two days, and only saw one group of two people the entire time I was there. The only other sign of life I saw were various large ravens who followed me around and watched me closely while I was there.


While this was an enjoyable hike with nice views of the surrounding area, it is not as interesting at some of the other hikes in the area. In my opinion, Druid Arch, Devils Kitchen and Chesler Park take you to more beautiful parts of the Needles District. So I would hike these first, unless you are looking for a bit shorter hike like I was.