Canyonlands National Park and escaping the cold weather

April 6, 6:32 PMSalt Lake City Hiking ExaminerPeter Yaworsky

Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Salt Lake City Hiking Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

View of the Needles and the canyons.

Canyonlands National Park- Needles

While the majority of Salt Lake City's hiking is buried under the snow, there is still plenty of adventure and warm weather to be found farther to the south!

For my spring break I decided to warm weather and escaping the inversion sounded like a grand idea. So I headed down to Southern Utah to Needles in Canyonlands National Park. I will warn you, Moab is the last place with decently priced gasoline you will pass through and it is 75 miles from the park's visitor center.

My first day there I hiked the Big Spring Canyon-Squaw Canyon loop trail. It is a beautiful hike over slick rock, through dry creek beds, and up steep mountain sides. The views from the high-points are amazing and allow you to see the Needles and you will also understand why it is called Canyonlands.

The trail itself, is marked with stacked stones and is easy going and easy to follow for the most part. There are some steep parts here and there, but nothing you can't handle. The most difficult part about this loop trail is its distance. It is 7.5 miles round trip, but should be enjoyable for anyone with comfortable shoes and some motivation.

The one thing you do not want to forget is water. Even in March it was hot and dry. I did not come across any water I would describe as drinkable.

So why it is cold and snowing here, I hope you get a chance to escape to this beautiful (and warm) adventure.