Utah Part 2: Canyonlands

The second park we visited on our Utah excursion was Canyonlands. We decided to spend only one day (we needed to leave a little bit to explore for future trips). We hiked Horseshoe Canyon to the Great Gallery, which is located in the northern part of the park. One of the reasons we chose this hike is because of the petroglyphs and dinosaur prints along the trail. The trailhead is about 2.5 hours away from Moab and was added to Canyonlands in the 70s.

I loved driving in Utah. The scenery is so different from what we have out east. We were glued to the windows. The miles went by so much faster because we were so amazed by everything. We spent some more time on a BLM road and had a blast kicking up dirt and taking hairpin turns to make our way to the trailhead. The plateaus that surrounded us were ginormous. I kept imagining that we were kingdoms long ago! The white, red, and green colors that layered them were beauitful- nothing like I have seen before.

The trailhead was about 30 minutes from the highway. Literally in the middle of nowhere! When we arrived there were some other cars in the lot (we probably saw about 10 people on the trail during the day). From here, we began our descent into the canyon. It was nice to start our hike downhill. The ground was a mixture of sand and huge slabs of rock. About a half mile into the hike (before the farm tools), you will see a circle of rocks on the left side of the trail (and a couple hundred yards further, you will see another circle). This is the first dino print! The second one is a little deeper and easier to see. THIS WAS SO COOL!

We continued our way to the base of the canyon. The trail is a nice gradual downhill (don’t worry- it wasn’t that bad going back up!).  It is about a mile from the trailhead to the base of the canyon. The further down you go, the view of the canyon opens up. The remainder of the hike to the Great Gallery is flat and mostly on sand. Hiking on sand is interesting. It is nice and soft on your joints, but a little extra work at times.

Along the trail, there are 4 sets of petroglyphs. The trail goes right by them and some of the markings are dark and easy to spot. The further along the trail, the drawings are more intricate. Some of these pictographs date back to 2000 BC!! The final pictographs are located at the Great Gallery. This area had the most detailed drawings.We caught up to an older couple as we approached the GG. We would point out different details we saw- snakes, dogs, kings. There are benches and binoculars here to get a closer look. We sat there for a while in amazement thinking about how old these drawings are and what kind of settlers designed them.

The canyon was very dry during out hike. The trail goes along what can be a creek at times. Because there was no water flowing, we were able to hike a more direct path on the way back (the trail leads you closer to the petroglyphs). On the way back we saw our second sign of wildlife (first was a snake climbing a tree near the GG). There was a pack of donkeys right off the trail. We knew there were donkeys in the canyon (you will see there poop), but didn’t think we would see any, but we did! You will notice a fence on your way into the canyon to keep the donkeys in. Unfortunately, they did not offer to take us up the canyon, lol. Right around this point, we noticed we were low on water, with the only hill on the trail coming up. We had gatorade and another bottle of water in the car waiting for us (all were finished instantly).

Looking up the trail from the bottom of the canyon looks steep and long, but it goes by quickly! There is a little bit of shade as you walk along the side. The first half is on sand. When you exit the fence you are back on the rock slabs. This hike is just over 7 miles and it took us about 3.5 hours. We hiked at a good pace and didn’t take breaks except for at the petroglyphs. We are excited to explore more of Canyonlands on our next trip to Utah. After this hike, we made our back to Arches to hike the Delicate Arch.

Hiked in May 2018

Horseshoe Canyon

Sunny/Clear Skies/85 degrees