A unique way to explore Canyonlands National Park in Utah is through their off road trails. The Elephant Hill trail runs through the Needles district which is in the southern portion of this beautiful landscape. As with many places in Utah the scenery is amazing. Around many turns or over hills reveal much to see and take in. After entering Canyonlands we needed to stop at the visitor’s center in order to obtain a free permit to travel their off road trail. There are a limited number of those given out each day and my friend and I were lucky enough to obtain one for this beautiful, sunny day.
It was time to hit the trail so we stopped at a pulloff on the way to the trailhead to get the Jeep ready for some rock crawling adventures. In a short time we had the tires aired down and the suspension prepared for the trail. While stopped I had to photograph some of this incredible scenery in this beautiful park. A few minutes more and we were heading to Elephant Hill.
The trail gets right into the difficult portion with steep climbs and sharp turns. There’s no mistaking this for a casual gravel road. In no time at all we had climbed to the top of Elephant Hill and began to wonder what was left for a challenging four wheel vehicle. Fortunately there was plenty more to enjoy. Along the way we took time to park the Jeep and take in the incredible views all around us. The top is relatively flat and extends for a bit of a distance allowing you to look around and see the different rock formations and canyons leading to the reason for this park.
Near the end of this plateau there’s a sign directing vehicles towards the trail. This is the only place there was a sign indicating the trail goes down through here. I found it entertaining that the icon was of a Jeep. Once getting part way down the hill it was obvious why. A sharp turn requiring off road vehicles to back through a portion of the trail along with tight turns while climbing rocks is already challenging enough. To do this with a truck which has a longer wheel base is even more difficult to near impossible. There was a Toyota Tacoma coming up the hill forcing us to wait at the top for awhile as it grappled with these tight turns up steep rocks. More than once we listened to tires screeching as it tried to make it up. Once at the top the driver looked extremely uneasy and glad to have finally made it through proving it is possible. Just not for the faint of heart as we had passed the drivers wife earlier in the trail walking away from this portion unable to watch as the Tacoma struggled to get to the top.
During a portion of the trail we were warned of some tight areas that could lead to damage on vehicles. As we approached one of these we were unsure of being able to make it through. Approaching this tight canyon slowly it became apparent the Jeep would get through with a bit of room on each side but very little opportunity for errors to avoid rubbing against the canyon walls. It was fun to glide through and fortunately the top comes off it we got stuck so we wouldn’t be trapped inside the vehicle.
Canyonlands National Park offers some amazing views with so many different rock formations and colors all around. I could have spent hours just taking in all of these views of the area landscapes studying the different types of rocks and rock formations. But there’s still a lot of trail left and much to see so on down the trail we went.
Much of the trial consists of rock ledges to climb over which aren’t extremely difficult but add to the fun while traveling through this beautiful park admiring the views both up close and off in the distance. Some of those views can become a bit distracting so thankfully accommodates in some places. Otherwise you could stop every few minutes just to look around and never drive the entire trail in one day.
Earlier in the day, while waiting for the Toyota Tacoma to make its way up Elephant Hill, we decided to grab lunch as we had plenty of time before being able to continue on the trail. It was an amazing spot to eat surrounded by all these beautiful rock formations under the big blue sky. Even though lunch consisted of sandwiches, chips, and an apple (so nothing fancy), I would take that every day with cool sunny skies overlooking the canyons instead of eating a warm meal trapped between four walls inside. As the day continued on we enjoyed climbing over numerous rock ledges and dirt roads all the while enjoying views from the top and bottom of the canyons while taking in a few short hikes here and there completing our day at Elephant Hill on the first full trail of an off road adventure.
