Hiking Canyonlands and Arches National Parks: A Guide To More Than 60 Great Hikes

by Bill Schneider

Overview

Lace up your boots and sample more than sixty of the finest hiking trails in southeastern Utah, where the breathtaking canyons, multicolored sandstone arches, and magnificent spires of Canyonlands and Arches National Parks provide the setting for countless outdoor adventures. Let veteran hiker Bill Schneider lead you past eight sandstone arches on the Devils Garden Trail in Arches National Park; take you over slickrock to the Harvest Scene panel in the remote Maze District; and show you the sweeping view of White Rim Country through awesome Mesa Arch in the Island in the Sky District. With Hiking Canyonlands and Arches National Parks in hand, you'll discover the most spectacular trails and amazing scenery Utah's red rock country has to offer.
Inside you'll find:

• Accurate directions to popular as well as less-traveled trails
• In-depth trail information
• Difficulty ratings for each hike
• Detailed trail maps
• GPS coordinates for all trailheads
• Outstanding color photography

Whether you're a day-tripper or long-distance hiker, old hand or novice, you'll find trails suited to every ability and interest in Hiking Canyonlands and Arches National Parks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493027392
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2017
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	1,071,410
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Bill Schneider has spent forty years hiking trails all across America. In 1979 Bill and his partner, Mike Sample, founded Falcon Publishing. Since then he has written twenty books and hundreds of magazine articles on wildlife, outdoor recreation, and conservation issues. Bill has also taught classes on bicycling, backpacking, zero-impact camping, and hiking in bear country for the Yellowstone Institute, a nonprofit educational organization in Yellowstone National Park.

Table of Contents

Meet Your Guide xi

How to Use This Book xii

Map Legend xiv

Preface: What It's Like out in Abbey Country 1

Before You Hit the Trail 4

Planning Your Trip 5

Getting a Backcountry Permit 5

Reservation Fees 7

Other Camping Options 7

Finding Drinking Water 9

Finding Maps 9

Driving Backcountry Roads: AWD Versus AWD 10

For More Information 11

Trail Finder 12

Managing the Backcountry 16

Special Regulations for Backcountry Use 17

What Is At-Large Backpacking? 18

Hiking the High Desert 20

When to Hike 20

The Water Dilemma 20

The Desert Sun 21

Faint Trails 22

Sharing 23

Leave No Trace 23

Endangered Dirt 24

Make It a Safe Trip 25

You Might Never Know What Hit You 26

Hypothermia and Hyperthermia 28

Arches National Park

1 Park Avenue 34

2 Balanced Rock 37

3 Windows Primitive Loop 40

4 Double Arch 42

5 Delicate Arch 44

6 Sand Dune Arch 48

7 Broken Arch 51

8 Skyline Arch 53

9 Landscape Arch 55

10 Devils Garden Primitive Loop 57

11 Tower Arch 60

12 Fiery Furnace 63

Canyonlands National Park: Island in the Sky

13 Neck Spring 67

14 Lathrop 71

15 Mesa Arch 74

16 Aztec Butte 77

17 Wilhite 79

18 Alcove Spring 81

19 Whale Rock 84

20 Upheaval Dome Overlook 86

21 Syncline Loop 89

22 Crater Spur Trail 92

23 Upheaval Canyon 95

24 Moses 98

25 Alcove Spring/Syncline Loop 100

26 Murphy Point 105

27 Murphy Loop 108

28 Gooseberry 110

29 White Rim Overlook 113

30 Grand View 115

31 Fort Bottom 117

32 Gooseneck 120

Canyonlands National Park: The Needles

33 Roadside Rum 124

34 Cave Spring 126

35 Pothole Point 128

36 Slickrock Foot Trail 131

37 Confluence Overlook 133

38 Upper Salt Creek 136

39 Castle Arch 144

40 Fortress Arch 146

41 Peekaboo 147

42 Lost Canyon 151

43 Lost Canyon/Elephant Canyon 154

44 Squaw Canyon/Big Spring Canyon 159

45 Big Spring Canyon/Elephant Canyon 162

46 Elephant Hill to Squaw Flat 166

47 Druid Arch 168

48 Chesler Park/Devils Kitchen 172

49 The Joint Trail 177

50 Druid Arch West 181

51 Chesler Park Loop 183

52 Devils Pocket Loop 186

53 The Big Needles Loop 189

54 Lower Red Lake 195

55 The Tumbleweed Loop 199

Canyonlands National Park: The Maze, Orange Cliffs, and Horseshoe Canyon

56 The Great Gallery 209

57 The North Trail 213

58 Happy Canyon 216

59 The Golden Stairs 218

60 Maze Overlook 220

61 Harvest Scene 223

62 Colorado/Green River Overlook 227

63 Spanish Bottom 230

64 The Granary 232

Canyonlands National Park Backcountry Campsite GPS Coordinates 234

Backcountry Roads 237

Trail Finder 266

Author's Favorites 267

Canyonlands Natural History Association 270

Hike Index 272

Acknowledgments 273