The Needles District is located in the southeastern corner of Canyonlands National Park, about a 90-minute drive from the town of Moab, Utah. Often less crowded than the more accessible Island in the Sky District, this area is a fun place to explore on foot. The Needles contains fascinating red rock formations made of Cedar Mesa Sandstone, many of which are accessible by hiking trails and 4-wheel drive roads.

We began our loop hike at the Elephant Hill Trailhead, which was located at the end of a scenic bumpy access road just beyond Squaw Flat Campground. The dirt and gravel road did not require a high-clearance vehicle. The Chesler Park Trail climbs slightly over slickrock, then levels out while passing the Chesler Park Overlook, which offers amazing views of the Needles and the La Sal Mountains to the north. Travel 1.5 miles and then at the next two trail junctions, choose the trail to the right and follow the signs towards Chesler Park. At the third trail junction, take the short trail to the left that heads directly into the Chesler Park Loop and make sure to take in the views behind you. The official Chesler Park Loop begins about 2.5 miles from the trailhead at Elephant Hill.

We decided to hike the 5-mile loop counterclockwise after reading several trail reviews. The views in Chesler Park were amazing, which made for a really fun and rewarding experience. Chesler Park itself is like a large meadow that is surrounded by tall red and white sandstone spires. Hiking counterclockwise, the trail climbs in and out of washes, over slickrock, and is generally downhill until it reaches a sandy 4-wheel drive road. We hiked on the road for 0.4 miles, taking care to keep to the left at the fork. This spur road leads back to the loop trail after a half mile, which will take you through The Joint section. We were surprised to see an outhouse and picnic table at the end of this spur road, as they were not on the map.

The Joint was a super fun section of the trail that squeezes through narrow cracks that form a deep ravine in the rock. One very short section required a scramble up an old log, and it was helpful to have a partner to lend a hand.

After exiting The Joint, we admired more views of Chesler Park under blue skies lined with jet streams from passing planes. Continuing counterclockwise, there were several designated backpacking campsites along this portion of the trail. You can apply for overnight permits here https://canypermits.nps.gov/.

We decided to add a side trip to Druid Arch, so we took a 0.8 mile connector trail to the Druid Arch Trail. The connector trail was really cool, as it provided some awesome views of the surrounding spires, and as a bonus we had the entire trail to ourselves.

Meeting up with the Druid Arch Trail was like merging onto the freeway. This popular trail follows the dry, sandy and rocky streambed of Elephant Wash for a total of 3.4 monotonous miles. Fortunately, at this junction we only had 1.8 miles to the arch. There were a couple of sketchy scrambles up some slickrock pour-offs, and one section near the end of the trail that utilized a metal ladder and some re-bar. These sections could be dangerous in wet or icy conditions. In the end, the crowded trek was worth the view of Druid Arch.

After taking in the immensity of the Druid Arch, we turned around and followed the trail for 3.4 miles through the wash, past the junction to Squaw Flat, and on to the junction of the Chesler Park Trail. At this point, we took the trail to the right and continued back to the Elephant Hill Trailhead, enjoying the afternoon scenery.