road to needles district

Breathtaking views - well worth the trip. Many photo opportunities along the way. The weather was perfect for visibility the day we were here!

The day was cold but sunny. The view and quietude was stunning. The spectacular quality of the geomorphology is indescribable!

Going from Moab to Needles is worth the effort just for the Needles hikes, but the trip is wonderful, too. There is a lot of great scenery, windy brook-side road and big rock formations. Needles Outpost is a plus when they're open and the Anticline and Needles are worth the extra hour of detour.

We stayed in Monticello, so this was nearby. Beautiful drive with somewhat varied terrain and many great stops along the way. We took it easy and were glad we set aside enough time to hike, explore and enjoy the scenery. Not as scenic as other areas of the park (which was beautiful), but better hiking trails available. No facilities aside from the visitor center, so be prepared. We were there in mid summer with brutal temperatures which limited our exploration; spring and fall would be better hiking seasons. Back country roads accessible only by 4 wheel drive available with permit, but we didn't have the time or equipment for this option. This is worth a half day of your trip.

What an amazing drive! Worth the time if you can spare it. Some nice landscapes and history lessons along the way.

While the drive from Moab to Needles may seem a bit long, it's totally worth it! We saw wild turkeys along the scenic road on the way in, LOTS of deer on the way out and amazing views the whole time!

all the way you drive there are rocks, like very large needles, we never saw such fantastick view. there are stops all the way, come with your camera, you will not be disappointed

This was an all day adventure for us but well worth the drive. As we rounded each corner, new and exciting views were every where. From the moment we saw newspaper rock until we climbed up and down lots of great trails, we had a fabulous day. I completely lost track of all of the amazing photos I captured on this special day. Well worth the time!

This road takes you down to the bottom of the canyon that you have looked over from the main Canyonlands car park and Dead Horse point. You get to drive between massive cliffs of iron impregnated sandstone cliffs and through cottonwood canyons. After the busier area this is a lovely quiet drive but with excellent vistas and beautiful scenery. There is a mushroom area where the rocks stand like mushrooms with large oval white tops with the sandstone supports worn thin. You can follow a relatively short trail over these rocks with short wooden ladders to help you on your way. Worth a stop.At the end of the road you can climb down to the bottom of the canyon (easy scramble) and see the cottonwoods growing in between the bare rocks.Depending on your next destination when you return go on the signed route to Monticello which takes you through the Dixie National Forest, rising to nearly 9000 feet with gorgeous yellow Aspen trees everywhere and mule deer alongside the route. The views are to die for!

The canyon drive getting to the Visitor Center there is tremendous. The canyon walls, OMG. STOP at the Newspaper Historic Site, there is a huge wall of Indian writing!

We should have just gone to the Needles overlook. we drove into the park and while it was beautiful, the drive back to the visitors center was quite a stretch.

If you don't have time for Needles, try to at least take the detour to the amazing Newspaper rock and look at the large wall of ancient (and some modern) petroglyphs.

The park has routed you away from the needles....Unable to view the needles without traveling miles on dirt roads....Stick with the Canyon district...

The road to Needles winds through colorful aspens along a clear stream with plenty of places to stop and admire the views. Marvelous red rock cliffs tower overhead as beautiful outcroppings atop mesas rise in the distance. Stop and see the Newspaper Rock petroglyphs along the way.

If you just open the map and look at it, it seems like a long way to go to get to the Needles Disrtrict of Canyonlands. It's my favorite part of Canyonlands; but apart from that, the road (211) to it is very, very scenic already. It makes for easy driivng, mostly straight and with little traffic. Don't miss Newspaper Rock fairly soon into the drive, aftertheroad starts running parallelto the river and dives down and to the right. Don't mistake the Needles Overlook (133) for the real thing.