Sight · Canyonlands National Park
Spires and sandstone benches line a bend in Big Spring Canyon.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Canyonlands Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Canyonlands National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Canyonlands audio tourRecorded for this place
Big Spring Canyon and Slickrock“You're approaching Big Spring Canyon Overlook, at the end of the paved Needles road. Stop for sandstone spires around a broad canyon bend, with some of the view visible from the parking area.”
Plays as you drive up to Big Spring Canyon Overlook in the Parkwolf Canyonlands Tour Guide.
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“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Big Spring Canyon Overlook is a roadside viewpoint and trailhead at the end of Needles Park Road, about 6.5 miles beyond the Needles Visitor Center. It’s an easy addition to a Needles drive: part of the canyon view opens from the paved parking area, with several spaces around the roundabout and along the last stretch of road.
For a closer look, walk over the rocky, uneven ground among the formations. This stop has more to offer if you want to get out and explore than if you’re only looking for a quick pull-in.
The view follows a bend in Big Spring Canyon, where tall rock spires rise above bands of multicolored sandstone. Big Spring helps trees and plants grow more thickly here in spring and summer, adding a greener pocket to the dry canyon.
The Big Spring to Elephant Hill loop is a separate, strenuous commitment: 10.8 miles, with extended slickrock and mesa-top stretches and two ladders in the pass between canyons. The overlook itself is a short stop; the loop is for hikers prepared for a challenging day.
You can see part of the canyon from the paved parking area. For a photo, use the pale sandstone slabs as foreground and frame the capped towers across the bend; walking among the rocks brings changing perspectives, but the footing is uneven.
Wildlife
48 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
47 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
12 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
30 sightingsWestern RattlesnakeMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
18 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
18 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Canyonlands. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingConfluence Overlook Trail11 mi · 5.5 hr · At the trailheadA strenuous day hike to the Green–Colorado rivers’ dramatic meeting point.
ModerateSlickrock Trail2.4 mi · 2 hr · 0.2 mi awayFour canyon overlooks on an open slickrock loop marked with cairns.
EasyPothole Point Trail0.6 mi · 45 min · 0.8 mi awayA short cairn-marked loop among rain-fed pothole gardens.
EasyColorado River Overlook Walk3 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.4 mi awayA rough-road walk ends at an unguarded view over the Colorado River.
ChallengingWooden Shoe Canyon to Lost Canyon Loop Trail8.7 mi · 5.5 hr · 2.5 mi awayTwo canyon floors, slickrock climbs, and one ladder in a rugged loop.
ChallengingPeekaboo Trail10.8 mi · 6 hr · 2.5 mi awayTwo ladders and high slickrock make this a serious Needles day hike.
ModerateBig Spring to Wooden Shoe Canyon Loop Trail7.5 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.5 mi awayTwo canyons, one high saddle, and a rougher route between them.
ChallengingBig Spring Canyon to Elephant Canyon Loop Trail10.5 mi · 5 hr · 2.5 mi awayTwo ladders cross a slickrock pass between Big Spring and Elephant.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayPothole PointRain-fed pools bring a small world to life on bare sandstone.
Picnic area · 1.1 mi awayNeedles Scenic Drive Picnic AreaA shaded stop where rain brings tiny desert creatures to life.
Campground · 2.4 mi awayThe Needles CampgroundCamp among sandstone spires, with Needles hikes close at hand.
Sight · 2.7 mi awayWooden Shoe Arch OverlookA quick stop for one unmistakable shoe-shaped arch.
Visitor center · 3.2 mi awayThe Needles Visitor CenterGet ranger advice before choosing a Needles hike or 4WD road.
Sight · 3.2 mi awayStone StorehouseA quick loop to an ancient granary beneath a sandstone alcove.
Sight · 3.5 mi awayConfluence OverlookAn 11-mile hike to where the Green and Colorado meet.
Entrance station · 3.5 mi awayThe Needles Entrance StationBuy your park pass here before continuing into The Needles.Parkwolf’s Canyonlands ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
