Schneider - Best easy day hikes. Canyonlands and Arches National Parks

Best Easy Day Hikes Series

Best Easy Day Hikes Canyonlands and Arches National Parks

Third Edition

Bill Schneider

Published in cooperation with the National Park Service and the Canyonlands Natural History Association

Copyright 1997, 2012 Morris Book Publishing, LLC

A previous edition was published by Falcon Publishing Inc.

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Project editor: Julie Marsh

Layout: Joanna Beyer

ISBN 978-1-4930-0493-5

The author and Globe Pequot Press assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.

Help Us Keep This Guide Up to Date

Every effort has been made by the author and editors to make this guide as accurate and useful as possible. However, many things can change after a guide is publishedtrails are rerouted, regulations change, facilities come under new management, etc.

We would appreciate hearing from you concerning your experiences with this guide and how you feel it could be improved and kept up to date. While we may not be able to respond to all comments and suggestions, well take them to heart and well also make certain to share them with the author. Please send your comments and suggestions to the following address:

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Thanks for your input, and happy trails!

Contents

Canyonlands Natural History Association

Canyonlands Natural History Association is a not-for-profit organization established to assist the educational and scientific efforts of the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and USDA Forest Service in southeastern Utah. CNHAs goal is to enhance each visitors appreciation of public lands by providing quality educational materials, both free and for sale in agency visitor centers. All sales items have been approved after a rigorous review process managed by CNHA and the three federal agencies.

Bookstore and mail order sales are CNHAs primary source of income, and proceeds support the agencies programs in various ways, including sales and free publications, seminars, outdoor education programs for Moab schools, equipment and supplies for rangers/naturalists, exhibits, new facilities, and research funds.

You can help the Association in efforts to preserve the parks and surrounding public lands by purchasing items in Association bookstores, with direct donations, or by becoming a member. You can get more information on Canyonlands Natural History Association at the Moab Information Center, at any park visitor center, or by contacting them at this phone and address:

Canyonlands Natural History Association

3031 South Highway 191

Moab, UT 84532

Phone: (435) 259-6003

Fax: (435) 259-8263

Toll Free: (800) 840-8978

E-mail: info@cnha.org

Website: www.cnha.org

Introduction

The area encompassed by Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, two scenic gems tucked away in the corner of southeastern Utah, is a big place. And for the hiker, including the beginner, both parks have a lot to offer.

Whats a Best Easy Hike?

While researching and writing a much larger book about this area called Hiking Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, I had frequent discussions with rangers on what kind of information hikers most requested. I had the same discussions with many hikers out on the trails.

It seems that there are at least two general types of visitorsthose who want to spend several days experiencing the depth of the Canyonlands backcountry and those who only have a day or two and would like a choice sampling of the special features of the Canyonlands. This book is for the second group.

The more comprehensive book, Hiking Canyonlands and Arches, covers every trail and backcountry road in both parks, including those that are neither best nor easy. Best Easy Day Hikes includes only shorter, less strenuous hikes that are my recommendations for the nicest day hikes in these parks.

These hikes vary in length, but most are short. With the exception of the hike to the Great Gallery, none have seriously big hills. (The Great Gallery is such a great hike that I decided to include it even though it has one steep climb.) All hikes are on easy-to-follow trails with no off-trail sections. In some cases, however, it isnt easy to get to the trailhead. You need a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle to reach the trailheads for hikes to the Joint Trail, Chesler Park Loop, Devils Pocket Loop, Moses, and the Granary.

Some of the hikes in this book might not seem easy to some but will be easy to others. To help you decide, Ive ranked the hikes from easiest to hardest. Please keep in mind that short does not always equal easy. Other factors such as elevation gain and trail conditions have to be considered. Also, in Canyon Country the midsummer heat can make any hike difficult.

Enjoy the best easy hiking in wonderful Canyonlands and Arches National Parks.

Types of Hikes

The suggested hikes in this book have been split into the following categories:

LoopStarts and finishes at the trailhead, with no (or very little) retracing of your steps, including lollipop loops with part of the route out and back on the same trail.

ShuttleA point-to-point trip that requires two vehicles (one left at the other end of the trail) or a prearranged pickup at a designated time and place.

Out-and-backTraveling to a specific destination, then retracing your steps back to the trailhead.

Ranking the Hikes

The following list ranks the hikes in this book from easiest to most challenging.

Leave No Trace

Going into a national park such as Arches or Canyonlands is like visiting a famous museum. You obviously do not want to leave your mark on an art treasure in the museum. If everybody going through the museum left one little mark, the piece of art would be quickly destroyedand of what value is a big building full of trashed art? The same goes for pristine wildernesses such as Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, which are as magnificent as any masterpiece by any artist. If we all left just one little mark on the landscape, the wilderness would soon be despoiled.

A wilderness can accommodate lots of human use as long as everybody behaves. But a few thoughtless or uninformed visitors can ruin it for everybody who follows. Hikers should also strictly adhere to the Leave No Trace principles (for more information, see www.LNT.org). We all must leave no clues that we have gone before.