Parking
Start at the end of Taylor Canyon Road on the White Rim. Driving the 4WD White Rim Road requires an NPS permit; walking in via Alcove Spring is listed at 11.2 miles round trip.
Overview
About Moses and Zeus Trail
Why go
- Close views of two prominent sandstone towers
- Views up and down Taylor Canyon
Heads up
- Loose rock, a hand-assisted step and a narrow hogback
- The short hike requires a permit and 4WD road access to reach its start
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Canyonlands map
Full mapElevation4,213–4,682 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 Moses and Zeus 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
- Whale Rock
- Upheaval Dome
- Alcove Spring and Moses and Zeus
- Wilhite Trailhead
- 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 Moses and Zeus Trail
What this hike isMoses and Zeus Trail is a 1.
Moses and Zeus Trail is a 1.3-mile out-and-back from the end of Taylor Canyon Road to the base of two prominent sandstone towers above Taylor Canyon. It is short in miles but steep and rocky underfoot. The National Park Service rates it moderate and lists about an hour; allow one to one and a half hours if you want time at the rocks. This is the short road-end route, retraced on the way back. Faint tracks can continue around the towers, adding rough walking and distance.
The approachThe path leaves the road end faintly, then climbs a butte on rough tread with placed steps.
The path leaves the road end faintly, then climbs a butte on rough tread with placed steps. The climb eases around a ridge point, with changing views of the towers and Taylor Canyon. Near the upper section, a short rock step may need your hands, followed by a narrow hogback. The NPS lists 717 feet of elevation change. Follow cairns through faint stretches and slow down where loose rock and steep slopes leave little room to recover. This trail is not wheelchair accessible.
At the towersThe route reaches the base of Moses and Zeus, two tall sandstone spires rising from a broken…
The route reaches the base of Moses and Zeus, two tall sandstone spires rising from a broken slope. These are also technical climbing objectives; this hike only approaches their base. The towers stand out best from below the butte, where you can see the pair against the canyon. Keep some of the rocky slope in your photo to give the spires scale.
Getting thereThe trailhead is at the end of Taylor Canyon Road on the White Rim.
The trailhead is at the end of Taylor Canyon Road on the White Rim. Driving the 4WD White Rim Road requires an NPS permit. If you walk in via Alcove Spring instead, the NPS lists that approach at 11.2 miles round trip; it is a much longer way to reach this hike. Dogs are not allowed.
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.
