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Canyonlands National Park > The Needles > Chesler Park
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There are no roads into the heart of the Needles formation of Canyonlands National Park, but the area can be reached by a few miles hiking, along one of several trails. The usual destination for an all or half-day hike is Chesler Park, a large circular meadow enclosed by some of the tallest rocks in the Needles, displaying the characteristic red and white colors of the Cedar Mesa sandstone that covers this whole area. The shortest path begins at the end of a gravel road leading from the Squaw Flat campground, at the same place where the Elephant Hill Jeep Trail starts. The most famous part of this trail is the first section up Elephant Hill itself, and for those not driving it is well worth walking a short distance up the hill to see the kind of obstacles that can be overcome by 4WD vehicles.
Chesler Park Trail: The 3 mile foot trail starts with a steep section but is then mostly flat for a mile as it approaches a series of large rocks. There is a junction with a longer path from the campground and then a little further the trail leads through a deep cave-like cleft between two rocks for about 100 meters, a passage that provides welcome relief from the heat in summer. This is about half way; the path continues across a seasonal stream (Elephant Canyon) near to several primitive campsites, up a steep rocky incline, across another flatter section and finally up a slope to the top of the ring of rocks surrounding Chesler Park.
Other Trails: Another trail circles the edge of the meadow, close to the formations, and four separate routes lead off in different directions - east to upper Elephant Canyon & Druid Arch, south (the Joint Trail) to Chesler Canyon, west to Devils Lane & the Grabens, and north to Devils Pocket and back to the Elephant Hill Jeep Trail. All paths are well-used, signposted at junctions, marked by piles of stones at intervals and pass over slickrock where possible to avoid disturbing the cryptobiotic crust and so to prevent soil erosion. The northwest side of the Chesler Park meadow is bordered by the largest single collection of pinnacles in the needles, the group which can be seen most clearly from the park road, and while there are no trails here, the rocks can be explored easily enough. For people on multi-day hikes, the NPS allows camping in several sites on the meadow, along the eastern edge.
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