Canyonlands NP - Needles District - National Parks (U.S.) on Waymarking.com

Canyonlands is a unique National Park in that it has three land districts, yet you can not drive directly between them. The Needles district is in the Southeast corner of the park and is named for the colorful and jumbled sandstone pillars that dominate the area.

The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park maybe just 15 miles south of the Island in the Sky District, but to get from one to the other you must travel 137 miles by road. This is one park where the visitor has no trouble determining where the parks name came from. And sometimes it appears as if you are literally on top of the world with views of enormous canyons seemingly all around.

As with all the National Parks we have visited, the visitors center is an excellent resource for planning your visit to the park. Also be advised that this is not an easy park to visit. Sure, there are many vistas to be seen from the road, but the real park is seen by hiking the numerous trail to places that may be historical, awe inspiring, or places that can only be seen in books and on TV, yet here you are in person, realizing that those pictures don't even begin to due justice to what you are seeing.

Depending on how much you want to see and do, it may take part of a day, or several days or more to see everything and hike the most promising trails. For those that want to over night in the part they do have the usual NPS campground with small sites and no hookups. Roughing it in some ways, but the views of the sun setting over the settling over the needles makes it worthwhile.

If you have to leave the park after a long day of enjoying some of the best nature can provide, be prepared for sunset views that are simply beyond words.