Cave Spring and Cowboy Camp

Cave Spring Trail is a 0.6-mile loop through a sandstone alcove in The Needles, with a spring, a preserved cowboy camp and prehistoric rock art. It takes about 45 minutes and gains 67 feet. I'd keep it in the plan if you want a little history with your walk; the full circuit adds two ladders, so it asks more of you than the distance suggests.

Rain seeps through porous sandstone and wears back the rock face, forming the alcove. That reliable spring made this a useful place for isolated cowboy camps, which were used from the late 1800s until cattle ranching ended inside the park in 1975.

From outside the barrier, you can see tables, benches and cupboards left in the camp. Cowboys cooked over open fires with Dutch ovens and simple cookware; the usual food included beans, bacon, potatoes, canned goods, sourdough biscuits and coffee. The park asks visitors not to enter, touch or remove anything.

In the alcove beyond camp, look for the soot-darkened ceiling, handprints and painted figures. The spring drew people long before cattlemen arrived, and descendants of the region's Indigenous people still consider it sacred. Stay out of the spring and don't touch or mark the rock art.

The upper section climbs two ladders to slickrock, then returns across rough ground and stone steps. It isn't wheelchair accessible. Some visitors turn around after seeing the spring and camp rather than climbing the ladders; that shortens the walk but skips the upper views toward the Abajo Mountains and Six Shooter Peak. The La Sal Mountains can appear on clear days. No potable water is listed at the trailhead, so bring your drinking water; the spring is protected.