"We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope." ~Edward Abbey

Canyonlands National Park is what we would consider a hidden gem and somewhat off the beaten path. Established in 1964, the park preserves 527 square miles of colorful landscape that has eroded into countless canyons, mesas, arches and buttes by the Colorado River and its tributaries. The Colorado and Green rivers divide the park into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the rivers themselves. We set off to Canyonlands while on a winter trip in the LaSal Mountains in Utah. Unaware of the vastness of this National Park and all it had to hold, we had only set aside one day to explore part of the Needles district. Our trip began down a snow covered, but somewhat clear road leaving LaSal and continued to an unplowed, snow drift covered road that made us feel utterly unprepared in the small rental car we had chosen at the airport. We gingerly drove down ice covered hills knowing that we probably couldn't make it back up until things warmed up later in the day. During this trip it was the first time I was able to see the desert truly blanketed in snow. It was breathtaking to say the least. We rounded a bend and found ourselves looking at the greatness of a desert land partially covered in snow and partially bare, but both lit by morning sunlight and aglow.

We entered Canyonlands National Park and it was dead still. The sun was shining, the temperature had rose to about 40 degrees and there was not even an attendant present to take our pass; the sign simply said "fees not collected in winter." Perfect. It's not often that you venture to places like this and realize that you literally have it all to yourself. We drove to the trailhead, checked the map, packed up and started off. Our destination was Druid Arch. We hoped to do a loop run with the Arch being an out and back in the middle of the run.

We started at the sign marked loop A for Squaw Flat trailhead, where the trail began as mostly sand and then within a short time ascended and we began to run on rock. Thank god. Because no one, I mean no one, likes to run for miles on sand.

For most of this run you are up above the canyon on a unique path only marked by small cairns. The views are amazing with the snow covered LaSal mountains coming in and out of view. You will pass through small slot canyons and climb ladders up and over rocks to reach the next part of the trail before descending to the the trailhead for Druid Arch

Druid Arch is a 2.5 mile out and back through what looks like an old riverbed, with a decent scramble at the top that is definitely worth it and you need to finish that last stretch!

Our return portion of the loop followed Big Springs Canyon trail and provided once again a running playground high up above the Canyon below with amazing views.

This run was about 16.5 miles in total and took us about 4 hours with some stops and time for taking pictures. There is about 3200 feet of elevation gain and loss so you're not looking at totally dead legs during any of this run. Overall this run was nothing but fun! We added Canyonlands to our list of favorites right along with Zion and are eager to get back as we realized we really only saw a very small portion of what this amazing place has to offer to people who love to live their lives OUTDOORS.

#canyonlands #utah #thelifeoutdoorsproject #druidarch