Parking
No Cyclone-specific parking area is marked. The mapped south end is a backcountry junction on Red Lake Canyon Trail, not a verified roadside trailhead; confirm a legal approach and return route with the park before setting out.
Overview
About Cyclone Canyon Trail
Why go
- A sandy canyon-bottom route beneath tall sandstone walls.
Heads up
- No verified roadside trailhead or parking for the mapped segment.
- Loose sand and little shade can slow the walk.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Canyonlands map
Full mapElevation4,808–4,888 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 Cyclone Canyon 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 tourMore stories near here in the app
- Elephant Hill and Druid Arch
- The Moth That Packs the Pollen
- The Needles Campground
- Big Spring Canyon and Slickrock
- 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 Cyclone Canyon Trail
The routeCyclone Canyon Trail is a 2.41-mile one-way connector along a sandy canyon floor.
Cyclone Canyon Trail is a 2.41-mile one-way connector along a sandy canyon floor. The mapped segment starts at its junction with Red Lake Canyon Trail and runs north through Cyclone Canyon; allow about 1.5 hours for this segment alone. It is not a loop, and a longer approach or return to a car adds mileage.
Canyon floorThe route follows the bottom of a fault-bounded graben between layered sandstone walls.
The route follows the bottom of a fault-bounded graben between layered sandstone walls. The tread is sandy and relatively level, but loose sand can slow the walk. There is little shade, and no dependable water is identified in the surrounding Needles backcountry.
Access and rulesNo Cyclone-specific parking area or signed roadside trailhead is confirmed.
No Cyclone-specific parking area or signed roadside trailhead is confirmed. The mapped south end joins Red Lake Canyon Trail; at the north end, the mapped route stops near the Confluence Overlook trail, but the exact connection is not established here. Confirm a complete approach and return plan with the park before setting out. Needles backcountry roads require high clearance and low-range four-wheel drive, and pets are prohibited on hiking trails. A longer 3.8-mile point-to-point listing uses different endpoints; this entry covers only the 2.41-mile named corridor.
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.
