Parking
Park at Campground Loop A Trailhead on the south side of the Loop A road.
Overview
About Big Spring to Wooden Shoe Canyon Loop Trail
Why go
- Links two canyons over a high saddle with broad Needles views.
- Sculpted sandstone towers line the Big Spring descent.
Heads up
- Steep slickrock pitches are hazardous when wet.
- Cairn-marked junctions need close attention.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Canyonlands map
Full mapElevation5,095–5,469 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 to Wooden Shoe 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
- Wooden Shoe Arch Overlook
- 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 to Wooden Shoe Canyon Loop Trail
What this loop asks of youBig Spring to Wooden Shoe Canyon Loop Trail is a 7.
Big Spring to Wooden Shoe Canyon Loop Trail is a 7.5-mile loop from Campground Loop A, linking two canyons over a high slickrock saddle. Allow three to four hours. It is a moderately strenuous day hike with a sharp change from sandy wash walking to steep, exposed rock. Come when the rock is dry; the saddle pitches can be dangerous when wet. Spring and fall are more comfortable than summer heat.
Start on the Wooden Shoe sideFrom Campground Loop A Trailhead, walk about 200 feet south to the fork.
From Campground Loop A Trailhead, walk about 200 feet south to the fork. The clockwise route takes the left branch into Wooden Shoe Canyon, called Squaw Canyon in older directions. The path begins across scrub flats on packed dirt, climbs a low sandstone ridge, then threads through junipers toward the canyon. Cairns matter where the route crosses the wash or slips around bends and side canyons. Stay on the main route at junctions for Lost Canyon and Peekaboo.
The saddle is the hard partThe canyon narrows, then the route climbs ledges to slickrock benches and a high saddle between…
The canyon narrows, then the route climbs ledges to slickrock benches and a high saddle between the canyons. Cairns mark turns around a crack and through shallow side canyons. The last ascent and the descent chute are steep, with some exposure; wet or icy rock makes them hazardous. At the saddle, look across the Needles toward the La Sal Mountains and the fins and spires rising above both canyon rims. For a photo, keep one of the close sandstone fins in the frame against the distant range.
Down Big Spring CanyonA cairned route drops from the saddle over slickrock and a short chute to sandy, brush-covered…
A cairned route drops from the saddle over slickrock and a short chute to sandy, brush-covered benches. It then follows the wash and its east-side benches through Big Spring Canyon. The grade eases as the canyon opens, and freestanding mushroom-shaped towers stand along the way. Seasonal water may appear in the wash, but it is unreliable and should not be counted on.
Make the return to Loop AAt the junction around 6.
At the junction around 6.6 miles, continue straight toward Squaw Flat; the left branch heads to Chesler Park and Druid Arch. At the next junction, around 6.9 miles, take the Campground Loop A branch rather than Loop B. The final stretch crosses a low sandstone ridge and returns over slickrock benches and scrub flats. There is no dependable water on the route, dogs are prohibited on park hiking trails, and an overnight backcountry trip requires a permit.
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.
