***Important Note:
Due to ongoing National Park Service management decisions related to this particular section of Canyonlands National Park, we are currently unable to offer this trip for the remainder of 2023 or 2024. If you’re interested in another excellent backpacking option in southern Utah, we highly recommend the Boulder Mail Trail in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Another option to experience outstanding archaeology and canyon hiking is our Grand Gulch Backpacking in Bears Ears National Monument.
Trip Description
The Needles District of Canyonlands is a desert hiker’s paradise and a trip through Salt Creek Canyon is perhaps the best way to experience all that this incredible park has to offer. Towering rock pinnacles, slickrock mazes, shimmering freshwater pools, natural arches and archaeological wonders abound. Spend your days exploring the endless twists and turns and relax in the evenings beneath star-studded skies. The Fremont and Anasazi cultures called this canyon home as far back as 1000 years ago and farmed the broad, open benches, irrigating with the abundant water…a rarity in this otherwise arid landscape. The many signs they left behind are definitely a highlight of this adventure. From the pine forested trailhead along the flanks of the Abajo Mountains, we descend into wide open canyon bottoms, past innumerable cliff dwellings and natural arches and into a narrowing maze of colorful rocks. The exciting hike along the Peek-a-boo Trail on your last day is an epic finale to this outstanding backcountry journey!