12 Best Hikes in Canyonlands National Park

2. Chesler Park/Joint Trail Loop

Distance: 10.7 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation Gain: 1,188 feet
Time Required: 5-7 hours
Section: Needles

This ranks among the geologically dazzling best hikes in Canyonlands National Park. There are multiple ways to hike the lovely, almost dreamlike Chesler Park area, including substantially shorter out-and-backs and loops.

This long walkabout gives you just about the best tour possible as you venture through the base of The Needles formations.

Chesler Park is a broad grassland basin edged by remarkable sandstone spires and pinnacles, part of the Cedar Mesa Sandstone formation.

Starting from the Elephant Hill Trailhead, the trail to Chesler Park leads through pinyon-juniper scrub, traverses the depths of Elephant Canyon, and serves up views westward toward the staggered drop-down country of the Grabens as well as the toothy Needles.

What’s more is that after basking in the vantage of the Chesler Park Viewpoint, you’ll make your way through the Cedar Mesa Sandstone that narrows to only about two feet across.

1. Grand View Point

A trail weaves down a rust colored mountain in Canyonlands National Park.

Distance: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: 73 feet
Time Required: 1 – 2 hours
Section:

Finally, we reach the Grand View Point of Canyonlands. The Great Island in the Sky mesa peters out at its south end to the ridiculously scenic peninsula of Grand View Point overlooking the Green/Colorado confluence.

Canyonlands National Park Map

2 trails mapped — click a pin to learn more

Attraction Trail Viewpoint

Canyonlands National Park at a Glance

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Conditions and Construction Affecting Cataract Canyon Takeouts

Trip-planning tips for 2026

Location

Utah

Established

1964

Size

337,598 acres

Annual Visitors

911,594

Entrance Fee

$35 per vehicle (or $80 annual pass)

Best Time to Visit

April - May, September - October

Monthly Crowds (based on NPS visitor data)

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This is the culmination of the Island in the Sky District scenery, and the easy walk hitting up two different viewpoints, one of the shortest best hikes in Canyonlands National Park, is accessible to a broad spectrum of park visitors.

To begin with, a short paved path accesses the first viewpoint, and then the trail descends to bare sandstone to reach a second vantage.

Subsequently, the far-reaching vistas sweep from the White Rim, the garden of spires called Monument Basin, and the deep cuts rivers far beyond the Needles and the Maze.