Canyonlands Needles District: backpacking the Elephant Hill and Druid Arch Trails.
Elephant Hill trail, Chesler trail, Druid Arch trail.
Canyonlands National Park Needles District, Monticello Utah
Trailhead: Elephant Hill Trailhead.
Itinerary:
This video is about the hiking of day 1 of an overnight backpacking trip in the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park which included the Druid Arch Trail and the Chesler Park loop.
Day 1 itinerary: Elephant Hill trailhead to EC2 camp site (Elephant Canyon 2) via the Elephant Hill and the Chesler park Trails. Druid Arch trail to Druid Arch, then back to EC2 Camp site for the night.
Trip total: Approx. 9 mi including side exploration (trail mileage about 7.5), 1,450 ft elevation gain.
Hike Notes
The Druid Arch Trail along with the Chesler Park trail is probably the most popular hiking trail of Canyonlands Needles district. For good reasons. The Druid Arch itself is spectacular, but also the surrounding area and the canyon hike to the Arch is absolutely beautiful. This hike can be easily done as a day hike of about 10 miles, consequently there is a lot of foot traffic. The hike from the Elephant Hill Trailhead is the most direct, therefore the most popular. I was able to get a camping permit for the Elephant Canyon 2 camp site, so I combined the Druid Arch hike with the Chesler Park loop (also a very popular day hike) in two consecutive days. The Druid Arch trail is a (relatively) low effort / high reward hike and it is certainly one to do with limited time in the Needles district because it offers a good variety of the district's landscape. The Arch is massive and imposing; it has its unmistakable shape. The location of the arch is very spectacular also as it sits above the canyon and offers a great view of the surrounding walls with many rock features.
Camping at EC 2 was great. It is a beautiful location right above the canyon and golden hours are very beautiful in the evening and also in the morning. Loved this hike.
Music:
Lone Traveler by Gabriel Lewis
Licensed by Epidemic Sound.
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