Canyoneering in the Needles

[dweaver2130]

Hey everybody, I am Don from Phoenix, and new to the forum. I am planning a trip for four to The Needles in December and have had some trouble finding some canyoneering and climbing beta. Does anyone know any decent routes?

[ratagonia]

Hey everybody, I am Don from Phoenix, and new to the forum. I am planning a trip for four to The Needles in December and have had some trouble finding some canyoneering and climbing beta. Does anyone know any decent routes?

Needles District of Canyonlands?

Awesome hiking.
Awesome jeeping.

Not much in the way of technical canyoneering.

Kinda crazy strange technical canyoneering, discouraged by the Park, no fixed anchors allowed.

Of course, Amazing Climbing just outside the Park in Indian Creek, the Six Shooters, etc.

Tom

[yetigonecrazy]

"canyoneering" in the Needles doesnt really exist. There are many many micro slots to explore in the cracks and fractures of the sandstone in that area. They make for great exploration, and some of them are quite narrow. As for true top to bottom canyoneering there isn't much at all.....

[Scott P]

There are actually a few fairly short nice technical canyons in the far SE part of the Needles, but the NPS in Canyonlands really frowns upon doing them. In fact, they will probably tell you that it is illegal (they did with us and were irritated that we were going in there). The real slots that are in Canyonlands are in the Maze section anyway.

Some good climbs are in the Needles section of the park (but as mentioned, no new fixed anchors). Balanced Rock Tower in the Horse Canyon complex is a good one, but last I heard the road is closed so you have to hoof it in. Not sure if it is open. As mentioned, Indian Creek and the Six Shooters have good climbing and are just outside the park. Lower Indian Creek has some good stuff and is less visited.

The Needles is excellent for exploring amoung the rock needles, finding hidden ruins, pictographs etc. Davis, Lavender and Salt Creek are my favorites. Be careful of cryptobiotic soil! Stay off that stuff! Stay on the slickrock and in the washes. The rimlands above Salt Creek, Davis, Lavender, and Horse Canyon are wonderful.

[peakbaggers]

Be careful of cryptobiotic soil! Stay off that stuff!

Last time we were in the Needles, park officials were very averse to any off trail activity. One rangerette scolded me for stepping off the trail & I wasn't even stepping on any crypto. (Was just trying to get a litle foreground for a photo.) The trail into and through Chessler Park is a fantastic & beautiful hike though and if you combine it with the "Joint Trail," you do get to pass through a non-technical slot section, brief though it is. Virginia Park, as we researched, which lies just over from Chessler Park, was considered off limits at the time. There's also a vast amount of slickrock hiking where we managed to explore at will and get out of sight of ranger surveillance, but again, the general attitude seems to be designated routes only, even though nothing in the park regulations or literature say that exactly.