The Flint Trail is famous, but as a spur just before descending, the Big Ridge Road takes 4x4ers out to some of the most beautiful almost-road-accessible scenery atop the Orange Cliffs in the Maze District of Canyonlands. (At least in…
Pinto Arch near Moab, Utah
I’ve hiked to Corona Arch twice. But I’d never even heard of Pinto Arch until I was researching hikes in the Moab Area a couple of years ago. It was marketed as an off-trail trek diverging from the Corona Arch…
Climbing Fern’s Nipple
I finally found my favorite hike in Capitol Reef National Park, but it has a ridiculous name: Fern’s Nipple. So the story goes, Butch Cassidy named it after one of his girlfriends. I prefer the story of an early settler…
Gloria Falls in Little Cottonwood Canyon
I needed a short hike on a rainy day south of Salt Lake City that didn’t have an entry fee. That’s a lot of specifics for a single hike, but three different waterfalls hit the spot: Gloria Falls, Hidden Falls,…
Explore Willow Springs Canyon
Willow Springs Canyon is a mostly-unknown scramble of a hike near the western border of Arches National Park. You’ll need 4×4 to get to the trailhead, but with high clearance, you can get close enough to the trailhead to walk…
The Best Hikes in Canyonlands National Park
At this point, Canyonlands ranks as one of my favorite national parks to visit in Utah. I love the variety of long-ranging canyon views, rock formations, arches, slot canyons, mountain views, and exploration opportunities. There are also hikes for every…
Exploring Resurrection Canyon
In the way of explorable canyons, Resurrection Canyon near Big Water in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is a stand-out. It’s not a slot – it’s rarely less than 20ft. wide – but it boasts a wild assortment of rock…
Big Balanced Rock in Arches
I don’t believe I’d ever hiked around the Balanced Rock in Arches National Park until my most recent visit to the park. I figured that you could see it from quite a few places – and these things usually look…
French Spring above the Maze District
French Spring is one of the minimal number of attractions to see along NP-633 (the road between Hans Flat and the top of the Flint Trail) in the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park.* It’s one of the more difficult…
Hiking to Elephant Arch
I sometimes imagine that it must be hard for explorers to come up with original names for the features they discover. How many Beacon Rocks, Twin Peaks, Old Baldies, Haystack Mountains, Sugarloaf Peaks, and Flat Top Mountains are there in…