Parking
Use the Campground Loop A trailhead in The Needles Campground. Big Spring Canyon Overlook and Elephant Hill are separate access points, not the start of this loop.
Overview
About Big Spring Canyon to Elephant Canyon Loop Trail
Why go
- A true circuit through two named canyons and their connecting pass
- Banded sandstone, open slickrock benches, and a shady spring pool
Heads up
- Strenuous rocky grades and two ladder climbs
- No dependable water source along the route
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Canyonlands map
Full mapElevation5,131–5,568 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Canyonlands alerts
- ClosureRain-damaged Needles backcountry roads impassableRecent rains have made several Needles backcountry roads impassable; do not drive these routes.Official details
- CautionMaze access roads require high-clearance 4WDOnly use high-clearance 4WD to reach Hans Flat or Horseshoe Canyon in The Maze; low-clearance vehicles are not recommended on these damaged, rutted, muddy routes.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Canyonlands Tour Guide
Your drive to Big Spring Canyon to Elephant Canyon Loop Trail, narrated.
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 trailhead
The Needles Campground0:00 / 0:32
“You're nearing The Needles Campground, a base for longer hikes among juniper, pinyon pine and red sandstone. Its twenty-six sites make most sense for settling in overnight, rather than a quick sightseeing stop.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Canyonlands Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- How a Cliff Grows a Garden
- The Moth That Packs the Pollen
- The Jay's Hidden Pantry
- Elephant Hill and Druid Arch
- 43 audio storiesacross Canyonlands’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Coyote, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 63 trails, 65 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Big Spring Canyon to Elephant Canyon Loop Trail
A strenuous canyon circuitThis 10.
This 10.5-mile loop starts at Campground Loop A in The Needles and is listed at four to six hours. It links Big Spring Canyon, the slickrock benches between drainages, and Elephant Canyon before returning over a laddered pass. Expect a strenuous day: open mesa country gives way to sandy washes, steep rocky grades, and two ladders. The listed 443 feet is overall elevation change; the repeated climbing adds up to considerably more.
How the loop runsFrom Campground Loop A, follow the Big Spring side to the connector toward Chesler Park, then…
From Campground Loop A, follow the Big Spring side to the connector toward Chesler Park, then descend into Elephant Canyon. The route heads south along the sandy bottom before turning into a smaller side canyon. Climb to the ridge, cross the laddered pass, and follow the bench above Squaw Canyon toward Big Spring Canyon. The last stretch returns to the campground along the short shared approach. Cairns mark open slickrock sections, with signs at junctions; keep checking for the next cairn where a worn tread fades.
Slickrock and canyon wallsThe walk alternates between broad slickrock benches and canyon bottoms.
The walk alternates between broad slickrock benches and canyon bottoms. From the mesa tops, look out at sheer walls and banded sandstone towers; the sandstone forms change from broad shelves to narrow, shadowed cuts as the route drops. On an open bench, include a strip of foreground slickrock with a tower beyond it so the photo shows both the route's footing and the scale of the formations.
Springs are not a water planA shaded spring-fed pool is described after Big Spring Canyon, and water may sit in the…
A shaded spring-fed pool is described after Big Spring Canyon, and water may sit in the streambed, but neither is dependable. Carry your full supply; the park recommends at least 1 liter per person per hour on this route. Bring snacks as well—there is no food stop on the trail.
Before you set outThe laddered pass and rough, uneven tread make this a poor fit for anyone uncomfortable with…
The laddered pass and rough, uneven tread make this a poor fit for anyone uncomfortable with ladders; it is not wheelchair accessible. Snow or ice can occur in winter. Dogs are prohibited on the route, and an overnight backpacking trip requires a backcountry permit. If 10.5 miles is too much, the 7.5-mile Big Spring Canyon to Wooden Shoe Canyon loop also starts at Campground Loop A.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Canyonlands
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.
