Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Utah / Canyonlands and Capitol Reef

Chesler Park Loop and Druid Arch (Needles)

Canyonlands National Park, The Needles District (Elephant Hill Trailhead)

Chesler Park is a grassy opening ringed by stone needles in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. Utah.com says the overlook on the saddle above it is “worth the hike even if you elect to go no farther.” The loop around it adds the Joint Trail, which squeezes through narrow cracks in the rock.

With designated campsites in Chesler Park itself and in nearby Elephant Canyon, it’s also a base for the side trip to Druid Arch.

The hike

The NPS’s 2026 Needles map lists the Chesler Park Loop and Joint Trail at 10.7 miles round trip from the Elephant Hill area, about 5 to 7 hours, and the Chesler Park viewpoint alone at 5.8 miles. Utah.com rates the loop strenuous at about 11 miles.

Utah.com describes the route starting near Elephant Hill and dropping into Elephant Canyon, where it meets the Elephant Canyon Trail. About 3 miles in, a saddle overlooks Chesler Park and the Needles. The trail then descends and circles the park. Some sections follow sandy jeep roads, and on the west side the route takes the Joint Trail, which “drops into narrow cracks between sandstone slabs.”

Druid Arch is reached up Elephant Canyon. The NPS map lists it at 10.8 miles round trip from Elephant Hill as a separate hike; on a backpacking trip, forum posters describe camping in Elephant Canyon and walking up to the arch, one hoping to see it “in morning light.”

Water is the main problem. Utah.com says flatly that “there is no water along this trail,” and the NPS map advises carrying all you’ll need and drinking at least a gallon a day. In a 2013 Backcountry Post thread, one poster said spring water was abundant in spring but “not so much” in fall; another found only a stagnant pool below a dryfall in Elephant Canyon, and a third mentioned a pool “about 100 yards or so up canyon towards Druid Arch.” All said to filter, and one noted that rangers “generally have an idea where water is” and will mark a map.

The NPS backpacking page says Needles permits are “highly competitive” in spring and fall and may need to be reserved up to four months ahead, especially for March.

For a longer Needles trip with more water and rock art, see Salt Creek Canyon.

Tips

Camping

Permits are required for all overnight backcountry trips. The 2026 NPS map shows five designated backpacking sites in Chesler Park (CP1 to CP5) and three in Elephant Canyon (EC1 to EC3). The NPS backpacking page says solid human waste must be carried out in a commercial waste bag at Needles designated campsites, and that the Needles District and Backcountry Reservation Office lend ratsacks and bear canisters free to permit holders. Pets aren’t allowed on hiking trails. Stay on trails and roads to protect biological soil crust.

Inside Intel: In a 2013 Backcountry Post thread, one poster called CP1 hard to beat except for the lack of water, with a sunset view a short walk behind camp. Another wrote, “I highly recommend EC3,” and a third found EC2 “really nice, overlooking the canyon,” with a pool up canyon toward Druid Arch.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

A tent among the Needles spires:

The five Chesler Park sites sit in a grassy opening ringed by stone needles, with no water along the trail. See the backpacking tents reviewers like.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.