Trona Pinnacles

Trona Pinnacles

0.5 miles loop, 80 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy
Access: Rough gravel road to trailhead, no entrance fee

The otherworldly tufa towers of the Trona Pinnacles rise out of the Searles Dry Lake in the middle of California's Mojave Desert and have stood in for extraterrestrial landscapes in many Hollywood movies, including Planet of the Apes and Star Trek. Quite far from any of California's major metropolitan areas, the pinnacles are closest to the mining town of Trona, from which the pinnacles take their name, and the town of Ridgecrest outside the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Center. While the pinnacles can be seen from a driving tour, this short ramble through the heart of the pinnacles will allow visitors to see these odd geological formations close up and escape the hordes of campervans and tents that dot the outskirts of the formation. 

I visited the Trona Pinnacles at sunrise during a November trip to Death Valley National Park. From the center of Ridgecrest, I took California Highway 178 east for 17 miles through the Mojave Desert and turned right onto the Pinnacles Road; a BLM sign for Trona Pinnacles National Natural Landmark marked the turnoff. I turned onto this gravel road and then bore right at the first junction; I followed the Pinnacles Road for the next six miles, crossing the Trona Railway and then descending down a steep, bumpy slope at the very end to reach the Trona Pinnacles. The road was in bad shape with potholes and deep tracks left by cars that plowed through when the road was wet, especially in the early part of the drive; later on, the road became quite rocky. I handled the road fine in a 2WD sedan but I could see this road requiring higher clearance if it deteriorates further. A dirt road encircled the Pinnacles and was enjoyable to drive; to reach the trailhead, I turned right upon reaching the loop and then pulled out into a large dirt parking area on the inner side of the loop.

Trona Pinnacles from the approach road

There was not really much of a formal trail through these 50-to-100-foot tall pinnacles, just a network of social paths. Leaving the parking area, I followed these social paths through the pinnacles, approaching some of them close up and getting a better overview of the area as I climbed up to the bases of these tufa towers. This spot in the Mojave Desert was ringed by mountains: Telescope Peak, a soaring summit in the Panamint Range, rose to the north, while the Argus and Slate Ranges bound the nearby basin. While there were numerous tents pitched on the land surrounding the pinnacles and plenty of cars and campervans parked on the outskirts of the pinnacles, the area at the heart of the formation was thankfully not overrun.

Telescope Peak rises above the Trona Pinnacles

How did these remarkable rock pinnacles end up in the middle of the Mojave Desert? The answer lies to the north where one can spot the coal-fired power plant and mining operations associated with the town of Trona. The borax operations of Trona mine the mineral-rich evaporite basin of the Searles Dry Lake. In previous ice ages, the desert basins of the endorheic Great Basin were once filled with lakes; the Trona Pinnacles were once at the bottom of ancient Searles Lake. These pinnacles are tufa towers, forming in a similar manner to the better known tufa formations at Mono Lake. Mineral-rich springs bubbling into Searles Lake resulted in chemical reactions that deposited these calcium carbonate towers above the springs. As the waters of Searles Lake receded, the Trona Pinnacles were exposed to the desert.

Trona Pinnacles

Tufa towers

I enjoyed a half-hour of wandering through this remarkable landscape and drove the loop around the outskirts of the pinnacles before continuing on my way to Death Valley National Park. The Trona Pinnacles are a bizarre and beautiful sight and while it might not be worth driving out here for the pinnacles alone, they make for a nice stop for visitors going to Ridgecrest or who are on their way to Death Valley.

Hagen Canyon

Red rock walls of Hagen Canyon

1.2 miles loop, 100 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy
Access: Paved road to trailhead, no entrance fee required

The Hagen Canyon Nature Trail visits some of the most colorful and bizarre rock formations in California's Red Rock Canyon State Park. Located in the El Paso Mountains at the junction of the Sierra Nevada and the Mojave Desert, Red Rock Canyon State Park is home to colorful cliffs and badlands in a desert landscape dotted with Joshua trees. Its quintessentially western landscapes were used as backdrops in a number of Hollywood westerns, including Stagecoach and The Big Country. Although it lacks the drama of the red rock landscapes of the Colorado Plateau, it is still a beautiful and worthwhile stop for travelers on their way up to Owens Valley and the Eastern Sierra. The trail through Hagen Canyon is short but is packed with scenery and has plenty of options for additional exploring. Colors in the canyon may be a bit washed out in midday lighting; morning probably provides the best lighting as most of the canyon's formations are in shadow during the late afternoon.

I hiked Hagen Canyon during a November trip to Death Valley and the Eastern Sierra. The nearest major town to Red Rock Canyon State Park is Mojave, just over 20 miles to the south. Whether arriving from Mojave, Lancaster, or Los Angeles, hikers coming from the south should take California Highway 14 north for 21 miles past the junction with CA Highway 58 to the left turn for the Red Rock Canyon Visitor Center and Ricardo Campground. After making the left turn on Abbott Drive, make the turnoff to the left into the parking area for the Hagen Canyon Nature Trail immediately. Red Rock Canyon State Park does charge an entrance fee, but day use and camping fees are only charged at the Ricardo Campground and the parking area for Hagen Canyon is outside the fee zone.

A nice signboard at the trailhead gives an idea of what you can see along the hike in Hagen Canyon, highlighting three particular features: the Window, Camel Rock, and Turk's Turban. The best view of Turk's Turban, a massive leaning tower of red rock, is from the trailhead, as this formation lies just north of the actual trail.

Turk's Turban, visible near the trailhead

A massive wall of hoodoos dominated the view to the west of the trail as I started the hike, with many layers of harder redrock separating collections of more eroded rock pillars that had varied white, yellow, and red shades. The trail followed the foot of this wall with plenty of nice views; at a fifth of a mile into the hike, the trail came to the unmarked junction where the return leg of the loop rejoined the main trail. At this junction, the more obvious path was to head right and do the loop counterclockwise, so I did that. Shortly after passing the junction, a spur trail broke off to the right of the trail, leading up a collection of hoodoos at the base of the colorful wall. I took this short detour and headed uphill along the path, which brought me to The Window, one of the many unique rock forms along this trail. This slightly elevated vantage point also provided great views of the hall of hoodoos to both sides; the nearly vertical hoodoo-composed cliffs to the north were particularly impressive.

The Window

Red rock hoodoo wall

Returning to the main trail, I continued onwards, heading west along the foot of the hoodoo wall until the trail crossed a wash and then turned to the south. Here, the trail made a close approach to a few hoodoos capped with red sandstone, before the trail continued south to reach a second wash. While the main trail started to turn left here and head back east along the second wash, be on the lookout for a uniquely shaped yellow rock formation on the right side of the trail. Here, I spotted Camel Rock, one of Hagen Canyon's best known eroded features. I left the trail here and briefly headed up the wash to see this peculiar rock that indeed had the shape of a camel's head. It's possible to wander off-trail further up the wash to see more hoodoos if you desire. 

Camel Rock

I returned to the main trail, which began curving back to the east and heading back towards the trailhead at this point. There were still a few more geological wonders left: the south side of the canyon featured another wall of red rock hoodoos. A little further on, an intensely eroded hillside off to the right of the trail held a number of unusual rock formations, including an unnamed mushroom rock where a block of red sandstone was still balanced on an eroding base. While there were no formal trails leading over to these formations, there were extensive networks of social paths in the canyon that allow visitors to explore these rocks close up.

Red rock hoodoo walls

Mushroom rock

After passing this last set of badlands, the trail departed from the wash, breaking off to the left and crossing a low hill before joining up with the trail that I had followed on the way in. In this final segment of the loop, there were a number of yuccas and Joshua trees that dotted the desert landscape, a reminder that we were in the Mojave Desert. From here, I could also see across Highway 14 to the Red Cliffs, which were eroded from a particularly intensely colored band of rocks.

Joshua Tree in the Mojave Desert of Red Rock Canyon State Park

Although this was a short hike, it was quite a bit of fun and I spent nearly two hours exploring this unusual landscape. I saw a handful of other visitors during my time in the canyon: although the canyon is fairly far from the Los Angeles metro area and other major cities, its location right next to a major highway does make it fairly popular. While I wouldn't push you to make a trip out to this corner of the Mojave Desert just for Hagen Canyon, I do think it's a worthwhile addition to any trip to the Mojave or the Eastern Sierra.

Owl Canyon

Colorful Owl Canyon

4.5 miles round trip, 700 feet elevation gain

Difficulty: Moderate, rock scrambling necessary in the upper canyon

Access: Decent gravel road to trailhead, no fee required

Owl Canyon is a narrow slot canyon displaying vivid colors and interesting rock forms in the middle of California's Mojave Desert. Protected in the Rainbow Basin Natural Area, the canyon makes for a fun and scenic half day of exploring. Casual hikers will be travel up the first mile of the canyon, while visitors are up to do some rock scrambling over a few dry falls can explore the most colorful heart of this canyon. Owl Canyon is best combined with a driving tour through Rainbow Basin and, unlike most other natural features in the Mojave Desert, it is usually accessible by 2WD vehicles without high clearance.

As this hike follows the bottom of a narrow canyon, it is extremely dangerous when there is a threat of precipitation. Additionally, recent precipitation can make the roads in the Rainbow Basin area impassable. 

I hiked Owl Canyon during a November road trip through the Mojave Desert and the Eastern Sierra. Owl Canyon is about a two hour drive from Los Angeles and is an even shorter drive when coming from the Inland Empire or suburbs like Victorville. The closest town, Barstow, is right off I-15, partway between LA and Las Vegas, and is a 20-minute drive away from Owl Canyon and the Rainbow Basin Natural Area. To reach Owl Canyon, I left I-15 at exit 183 for Barstow Rd (Highway 247). I followed Barstow Rd north into town, turning left onto East Main St. at the T-intersection at the end of Barstow Rd. I followed East Main St. to the west for 3 blocks and then turned right onto 1st Ave, which I followed north over the bridge over the railroad depot. Shortly after crossing the bridge, I turned left onto Irwin Road and took it north for 6 miles; I then took the turnoff to the left for Fossil Bed Road. Fossil Bed Road was a good gravel road that I followed west for 3 miles to the turnoff for Rainbow Basin Natural Area. I made the right turn here and followed the road towards Rainbow Basin for 500 meters and then turned right again onto Owl Canyon Road, which I followed to its end at a small parking area just beyond Owl Canyon Campground.

From the trailhead, an obvious trail led up the canyon, first descending slightly and then entering the wash. Here, the canyon was fairly wide but already colorful. While the wash itself was bounded by steep, eroded cliffs a few meters high, the walls of the canyon itself were set apart here but had been eroded to expose underlying rock with a grayish-green tint.

The entrance of Owl Canyon

The trail proceeded up the wash. For the most part, there was no constructed trail through Owl Canyon: hikers just follow the dry streambed. However, at times, there were use paths that stuck to the alluvium above the streambed or that navigated around obstacles in the wash itself. The canyon narrowed as I hiked up it; the set apart walls dotted with Joshua Trees at the start soon began to converge and soon I was bound in by colorful, highly eroded walls.

Colors in Lower Owl Canyon

The lower part of the canyon was enjoyable but not particularly spectacular until I came to a cave carved into the side of the canyon at about three-quarters of a mile from the trailhead. The cave lay on the right side of the wash and was very obvious, as the entrance was tall enough to easily walk into. The cave- really a tunnel- was just deep enough to require a flashlight, which I used to navigate through its short passageways to emerge into another slot canyon on the other end. This side slot canyon was fairly short and did not take long to explore; afterwards, I made my way back through the cave and rejoined the main trunk of Owl Canyon.

Cave in the canyon wall

Past the cave, the canyon became increasingly dramatic. Soon, nearly vertical walls rose above a narrow passageway, forming a slot canyon.

Slot canyon

At one mile from the trailhead, I arrived at a dry fall. Here, a rocky barrier seemed to obstruct further travel up the canyon; indeed, this is where many visitors turn back. I scrambled up the rocks to the right of the dry fall to gain the top of the rocky ledge. After passing the initial dry fall, I took just a dozen steps before being confronted with another major dry fall. Using my hands and feet, I pulled myself up this second dryfall and unlocked access to the mysterious and beautiful upper canyon.

Dry fall

Above the second dry fall, the canyon remained narrow and slot-like. The colorful walls rose vertically above and centuries of erosion had carved out a small rock window in the canyon walls directly above the second dry fall.

Window in the wall of Owl Canyon

A short distance above the second dry fall, the canyon widened up into a particularly colorful landscape. Ahead, odd rock formations of varying colors rose above the desert wash. Over the next quarter mile, the trail passed through successive layers of red, orange, and teal colored rock, each of which displayed unique rock textures and shapes.

Entering the colorful upper canyon

Red walls of the canyon

Teal and red rock Owl Canyon

At just under a mile and a half from the trailhead, I entered an area of remarkably colored badlands. For me, this area was the absolute highlight of Owl Canyon: collections of teal, pink, and gray hoodoos rising around the wash. Both the forms and colors of the rocks here impressed and I lingered here for a while to appreciate this fantastic landscape.

Owl Canyon

Colors in Owl Canyon

Owl Canyon

Leaving the colorful badlands, I traveled further up the canyon, which continued to be spectacular. As I hiked under red rock cliffs and spires here, the wash started becoming quite rough again, with boulders strewn in the heart of the wash a number of dry falls to scramble around. While the terrain here was a bit difficult, anyone who can handle the earlier dry falls at the one mile mark can handle the terrain deeper in the canyon as well.

Approaching the upper end of the canyon

Rocky upper canyon

Towards the end of the canyon, a magnificent mountain of color rose to the left of the wash. Vivid bands of pink, teal, and burnt red rock cut across the exposed face of this hill. As I navigated around the base of this hill, I could see ahead that I was approaching the end of the main trunk of Owl Canyon.

Multicolored rocks in the upper canyon

At just under 2 miles from the trailhead, I reached a lone Joshua Tree that marked a major split in the wash. Here, the steep canyon walls faded away to the gentler slopes of the Mud Hills, which were less colorful but were adorned with characteristic Mojave Desert vegetation. Hikers only wishing to experience the canyon itself can turn back at the tree, but I chose to continue onward a bit, hiking up into the higher reaches of the Mud Hills to see some Joshua Trees and catch views of the surrounding desert. I took the right fork at the first Joshua Tree in the wash and followed it just slightly to a second fork. Here, a well-trodden path cut from the canyon up onto a ridge of the Mud Hills, leading towards the crest of the hills. I hopped on that path and began following it steeply uphill along the ridgeline. For hikers who choose to go this far, this is the only stretch of sustained elevation gain on this hike.

As I hiked up the ridge, the views of the surrounding desert and mountains progressively improved. I soon had views back down Owl Canyon and over the surrounding badlands of the Mud Hills. Joshua Tree- a yucca endemic to the Mojave Desert- grew on the slopes around the ridge and made the ascent more enjoyable.

Badlands and Joshua Trees above Owl Canyon

A sustained and very steep uphill eventually brought me sweeping views over colorful Owl Canyon and views that stretched out to the other mountains of the Mojave Desert near Barstow. In the distance, I could see across the entirety of the flat western Mojave Desert to the high ranges of the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains near Los Angeles.

Looking back down into Owl Canyon

After soaking in the views, I returned the way I came, enjoying my second pass through the vivid colors of Owl Canyon. Before heading back to Barstow, I ended my afternoon with a sunset tour on the Rainbow Basin Scenic Drive, the dirt road that visits the heart of this colorful desert landscape. The drive was a one-way dirt road that I was able to handle in a two-wheel drive standard clearance vehicle; the best viewpoint along the road was at a clearly marked pulloff and provided a stunning look at the multihued badlands carved out of the rock of the Mud Hills. Be sure to add this half-hour drive onto any visit to Owl Canyon.

Rainbow Basin

Owl Canyon and the associated Rainbow Basin Natural Area is a lovely spot to explore California's Mojave Desert. Unlike most other desert canyons in the Mojave Desert, Owl Canyon is actually accessible without a 4WD vehicle. While not exactly overlooked, the area is still a bit off the standard tourist track. The canyon's beautiful and colorful forms and the fun scrambling necessary to navigate this canyon both contribute to making this an excellent hike. 

Fossil Falls

The massive potholes of Fossil Falls

0.6 miles round trip, 50 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy
Access: Decent gravel road to trailhead, no fee required

Fossil Falls is an oft-overlooked geological oddity in California's Owens Valley, a landscape of a water-scoured basalt slot canyon where the Sierra Nevada meets the Mojave Desert. The name may initially seem a bit misleading, as there are neither fossils nor a waterfall here. Instead, Fossil Falls is a canyon created by an ancient waterfall on the Owens River during previous Ice Ages. The hike to reach the rim of Fossil Falls is very short, but Fossil Falls itself provides a plethora of options for exploration and rock scrambling. Visitors who feel comfortable with rock scrambling can descend into the canyon of Fossil Falls for an intimate look at the potholes and petroglyphs that mark the columnar basalt walls of this ancient waterfall.

I visited Fossil Falls during a November road trip to Death Valley and the Eastern Sierra. The site is far from major metropolitan areas, the closest being Los Angeles, 3 hours to the south. If you're not local, it doesn't make too much sense to travel all this way just for Fossil Falls, but if you're passing by US 395 to points north in the Eastern Sierra or if you're in Ridgecrest, Fossil Falls makes a nice short detour. I reached Fossil Falls from Ridgecrest, following CA Highway 178 west and then US 395 north from town. I took US 395 north for 25 miles and then turned right onto Cinder Road shortly after passing Little Lake. I followed Cinder Road- a rocky gravel road- a mile east and then turned right at a junction for the Fossil Falls BLM site; I then followed this gravel road for a mile past the Fossil Falls campground to a small parking area for the Fossil Falls site. There was a pit toilet and enough room for about 15 cars.

From the southeast corner of the parking lot, a quarter mile trail led across a rocky and flat desert landscape to reach Fossil Falls. The Mojave Desert was quite open here, which meant that I had great views of the surrounding mountains around Owens Valley: the Sierra Nevada rose to the west, the colorful cinder cone Red Hill was just north, and the Coso Range lay to the east. Arriving at Fossil Falls, two paths branched out to visit the rim along either side of the canyon; it's worth checking out both sides.

The head of the canyon looks like a collection of basalt hoodoos from the top. The basalt that forms the canyon and that lies under the surface of the valley here is a result of eruptions from the Coso Volcanic Field, of which both Red Hill and the Coso Range are a part. This is a very geologically active spot: volcanic eruptions built the Coso Range and remnant geothermal energy still feed numerous hot springs in the area. Unfortunately, most of these geothermal features and most of the Coso Range itself are within the boundaries of the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Center, meaning that they're off-limits to the public. However, the geothermal energy here does power a series of geothermal power plants on the military property that together constitute the third largest geothermal energy project in California after projects at the Geysers near Santa Rosa and at the Salton Sea.

At Fossil Falls, cooling lava flows hardened and shrank into basalt, forming vertical columns with geometrical shapes. This basalt covered the floor of Owens Valley here. In previous Ice Ages, the Basin and Range and the Mojave Desert were able to support large lakes due to the increased snowfall in the region. Both Owens Lake and China Lake were true lakes at that time; Owens Lake eventually expanded to the point that it overspilled its current endorheic basin, sending an ancient Owens River flowing south through the gap between the Sierra Nevada and the Cosos. At the current site of Fossil Falls, the ancient Owens River plunged over a basalt ledge on its path to China Lake. The river gradually eroded out a narrow slot canyon into the basalt: the top of Fossil Falls is the point where the river plunged down into its canyon. As the climate warmed around 10,000 years ago, the lakes dried up and the Owens River stopped flowing; today, we're left with the scars that the river left on this landscape.

One of the most interesting features left by the flowing water are the deep, round potholes scoured out by the Owens River. Formed when rushing water agitated small rocks stuck in imperfections in the rock, some of the potholes were spherical holes in the rock just a foot or two wide while others were cylindrical, over 5 feet wide, and cut over 20 feet into the basalt. 

Fossil Falls and the Sierra Nevada

Red Hill and the eroded basalt of Fossil Falls

The canyon itself was very narrow with steep walls due to the columnar nature of the basalt: basalt is very hard and resistant to erosion but rushing water was able to remove entire columns to leave vertical walls. Visitors from the Pacific Northwest may see echoes of the Grand Coulee's Dry Falls here, as both were formed by similar processes; Dry Falls, however, was a far larger waterfall in its heyday.

Fossil Falls

Many visitors will find it sufficient to see Fossil Falls from above, which makes for a short and easy hike. However, those who wish to do so can descend into the canyon for some additional exploration. Entering the canyon requires rock scrambling and makes this hike substantially more difficult; understand during your descent that you'll have to ascend anything you drop down and also that the smooth basalt surfaces are quite slippery. I chose to enter the upper portion of the canyon but turned around at a major dry fall. Use your judgement to avoid putting yourself in a dangerous situation.

The exquisitely eroded walls of Fossil Falls

Being inside the canyon gave me a greater appreciation of the canyon's sculpted walls. Fossil Falls felt like an odd cross between the slot canyons of Utah and the coulees of Washington State's Columbia Plateau. Here were dark, gleaming basalt walls that reminded me of the coulees; but here were also beautifully sculpted curves in the rock that wouldn't have been out of place at Antelope Canyon.

Descending into the canyon

Inside the slot canyon at Fossil Falls

I spotted one petroglyph on the eastern walls of the canyon: the rock carving had the form of an antelope or perhaps a bighorn sheep. The Coso People lived in the area around Fossil Falls and the Coso Range for perhaps around 10,000 years; the Northern Paiute who lived in Owens Valley when European Americans began settling the area in the late 19th century may have been related to the Coso People. While much is unknown about the Cosos, they left an indelible mark on this landscape in the form of hundreds of thousands of petroglyphs. The densest collection of Coso petroglyphs are in the Coso Range itself at Little Petroglyph Canyon, where the basalt walls of canyon are decorated with countless figures of humans and sheep. Little Petroglyph Canyon is one of the most archaeologically significant sites in the United States and is one of the largest known collections of petroglyphs in the country. However, access is limited because it lies on the China Lake naval base; visitors who wish to see it can sign up for guided weekend tours from Ridgecrest's Maturango Museum after passing a background check. 

Petroglpyh on the walls of Fossil Falls

While it's easy to blow by Fossil Falls on your way up or down US-395, this is a worthy stop where the Sierra Nevada meets the Mojave if you have a half hour or hour to spare.

Mobius Arch

Lone Pine Peak and Mount Whitney through Mobius Arch

0.7 miles loop, 100 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy
Access: Good gravel road to trailhead, no fee required

Hidden in the heart of the rocky Alabama Hills of California's Owens Valley, Mobius Arch is a small, sinewy rock arch that perfectly frames the highest peak in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney. This short hike visits Mobius Arch and many of the other interesting rock formations of the Alabama Hills and delivers stunning views of the Sierra Nevada's mighty eastern front. You'll actually get three arches for the price of one hike, although neither Lathe Arch nor Heart Arch are anywhere as impressive as Mobius Arch. Sunrises are particularly beautiful here: the day's first sunlight falls on the high peaks of the Sierra, bathing the white granite of Lone Pine Peak, Mount Whitney, and Mount Williamson in an unearthly pink alpenglow. This hike provides the most bang for your buck in the Alabama Hills and is a good option for all visitors traveling through this corner of the Eastern Sierra.

Mobius Arch is another of the many places that have blown up on social media and become tourist magnets. I first visited Mobius Arch in 2007 during a family trip to the Eastern Sierra with my parents. I hiked out to the arch twice during that trip- once on a nice summer afternoon and again for sunrise the next morning- and I did not see any other hikers here either time. During my most recent visit, on a cold November morning, there were two other hikers vying for space to photograph the sunrise here and there were more groups of hikers hitting the trail by the time I returned to the trailhead. 

I hiked Mobius Arch during a November trip to Death Valley and the Eastern Sierra. The Alabama Hills are a long way from any large city- Vegas and LA are both 4 hours away- but they're right outside the town of Lone Pine, which has most basic services and is the third largest town in the region after Bishop and Mammoth Lakes. From Lone Pine, I was able to reach the Mobius Arch trailhead in less than 10 minutes: I took the Whitney Portal Road uphill from town for 3 miles and then turned right onto Movie Road. Movie Road led into the Alabama Hills; initially paved, it transitioned to a good gravel road. After following Movie Road for 1.5 miles, the road made a sharp turn to the right; I pulled into the gravel parking area on the left immediately after the turn, which was the trailhead for the Mobius Arch Loop. If you're looking for a place to camp near Lone Pine, the Alabama Hills are a popular spot for dispersed camping: this is Bureau of Land Management land, so you can camp more or less anywhere in the hills. 

The Mobius Arch Trail is a short loop; from the parking lot, both ends of the loop require descending down the bordering wash and then climbing up the other side. Hiking the loop clockwise puts you at the arch faster, but the arch itself is easier to spot when heading counterclockwise. I'll described my clockwise hike to see sunrise at this arch.

I took the trail leaving to the left side of the trailhead parking area. The trail dropped briefly, quickly reaching the bottom of a wash. Crossing the wash, I found two trails heading north: the trail on the left was the Alabama Hills Trail, while the right fork was the Arch Loop Trail. I took the right fork, which headed across open sagebrush flats for about 250 meters. Dawn lighting faintly illuminated the pale granite of the Sierra Nevada to the west: here rose the highest peaks of the range, including the very highest point in the contiguous United States. The Inyo Mountains rose to east, with the brightness emerging behind the range promising the warmth and light of the coming day. The jumbled boulders and low, rocky peaks of the Alabama Hills stretched out in all directions around the trail.

Sunrise over the Alabama Hills

At just under a quarter of a mile, the trail turned to the right and began to descend as it entered a collection of the eroded boulders of the Alabama Hills. Here, in quick succession, the trail came to Lathe Arch and then Mobius Arch. Lathe Arch can be quite hard to spot: it is only just over a foot tall and is well below the level of the trail; look for a narrow slot in the rock to the right of the trail where you can descend and get a better view of the arch.

Lathe Arch

Immediately beyond Lathe Arch, I came to Mobius Arch on the right side of the trail. The arch may not be obvious if you're hiking the trail clockwise; be sure to look to the right behind your shoulder to see if you spot the arch. A short scramble up a rock gave me an excellent view through this sizeable arch to Lone Pine Peak and Mount Whitney, which were being illuminated by the day's first rays. Space here can be quite limited if there are many visitors; there's really just a single point from which to capture the iconic shot of the arch framing the high peaks of the Sierras. The arch is so named for its resemblance to the twisting, one-sided Mobius Loop.

Sunrise on Lone Pine Peak and Whitney through Mobius Arch

From Mobius Arch, there were also great views along the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada. Mount Whitney and Lone Pine Peak were of course the dominant peaks of the view, rising sharply to the east. Mount Whitney is the tallest point in the contiguous United States, although it just barely edges out the high peaks of the Colorado Rockies and Washington State's Mount Rainier. Lone Pine Peak was a great pyramidal peak to the south of Mount Whitney; even though it may look as tall from this angle, it is actually over 1500 feet lower, seeming particularly high mainly just because of its proximity to the Alabama Hills. Mount Langley was a high peak to the left of Lone Pine Peak; it is the southernmost peak over 14000 feet in both the Sierra Nevada and in the entire United States. One of the highest peaks to the north was Mount Williamson, the second highest point in the Sierra Nevada and California and an especially prominent peak as it rises directly from Owens Valley rather than being set back like Whitney and Langley.

Alpenglow on Mount Whitney

Views to the north extended into the heart of the Alabama Hills. The Alabama Hills were named by Confederate sympathizers living in Owens Valley during the Civil War, who named the valley after the battleship CSS Alabama. Pro-Unionists in Owens Valley responded by naming a mine and a pass to the north after the USS Kearsarge, which sank the Alabama in battle off the coast of France. The Alabama Hills- this set of low but rocky peaks in the middle of Owens Valley- are a quintessential Western landscape, perhaps because the area was used for filming many Hollywood Westerns. Besides playing a starring role in many John Wayne films, the Alabama Hills has also provided backdrops for Gunga Din, Ironman, The Lone Ranger, and Django Unchained.

Alabama Hills

Leaving Mobius Arch, I continued clockwise around the loop. The trail passed through another wash and then climbed onto another flat sagebrush plain with good views of the rock piles and spires of the Alabama Hills to the north. At just over two-fifths of a mile, I came to a trail junction: here, the Arch Loop Trail split off to the right while the Alabama Hills Trail continued ahead. I took the right fork to stay on the Arch Loop Trail. From the junction, there was a nice view of Heart Arch nearby; this arch was small and high up on one of the rock pillars above the trail. I followed the Arch Loop Trail downhill through a cluster of rocks with many eroded holes and crossed a wash to return to the parking area.

Heart Arch

This is a short but enjoyable hike visiting a small but very photogenic arch. The views of the the Sierra Nevada and the weird rocks of the Alabama Hills are both excellent. I do recommend this hike, especially in the excellent lighting of early morning, but you'll want to come sooner rather than later as this hike becomes increasingly popular.

Chesler Park

The Needles from the pass above Chesler Park

6 miles round trip, 1100 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate
Access: Gravel road to trailhead, Canyonlands National Park entrance fee required

The hike to Chesler Park visits the heart of the Needles District in Utah's Canyonlands National Park, a maze of red rock spires and sinewy canyons. This is an excellent hike with great views that grants access into the depths of this red rock wonderland; besides the hike to Horseshoe Canyon, this is perhaps the best day hike in Canyonlands National Park. The hike passes many sandstone spires and leads to Chesler Park, a wide and scenic grassland encircled by the Needles. The Needles District of Canyonlands is accessible by a paved but long drive from Moab and sees far fewer visitors than Island in the Sky or Arches, though many of the visitors who make it out here will choose to hike to Chesler Park. While I'm just describing a round trip hike to Chesler Park in this post, many hikers continue onward to make a loop near the grassland by hiking through the narrow canyon known as the Joint.

I hiked to Chesler Park with my mom during a November road trip through the Utah canyonlands. We stayed in Monticello the night before and reached the trailhead from there, although it is far more likely that you'll be visiting from Moab. From Moab, take US 191 south for 40 miles to the turnoff for Route 211 to the Needles District. Here, turn right and follow Route 211 for 37 miles, passing the incredibly preserved petroglyphs at the excellent Newspaper Rock State Historical Monument on the way into Canyonlands National Park's Needles District. After passing the visitor center and then the Wooden Shoe Overlook, we turned left onto the Elephant Hill Road, turning right at the next two junctions after that to get onto the gravel road that led us to the Elephant Hill Trailhead at the bottom of a canyon. The Elephant Hill Road is open to passenger cars up to the trailhead but is for 4WD vehicles by permit only beyond that point.

The parking area was nearly full during our visit on a November weekend, as this is perhaps the most popular hike in the Needles District. From the trailhead, the trail immediately began a steep ascent up dirt and slickrock as it ascended out of a canyon and onto a shelf above. Once the trail reached the top of the shelf, we found great views of the surrounding Canyonlands country. The La Sal Mountains rose to the west- one of the tallest mountain ranges within the Colorado Plateau. The Abajo Mountains lay to the south, a lower range near Monticello. The many of the layers of the Colorado Plateau formed the dramatic canyons around us: in the needles, lighter layers of caprock topped columns and canyon walls of red sandstone. In the distance rose the mighty canyon walls of the Wingate Formation, which forms the high mesas of Island in the Sky and Junction Butte. One of the more notable eroded remnants of the Wingate cliffs was Six Shooter Peak, one of two buttes near the Needles District just outside the park in Bears Ears National Monument, which have been mistakenly identified as the Bears Ears Buttes themselves by multiple publications. 

La Sal Mountains and the Canyonlands

Junction Butte and Island in the Sky

Six Shooter Peak

Abajo Mountains

Two-thirds of a mile of hiking brought us through a narrow gap in the sandstone on Elephant Hill. Emerging on the other side, we had better views of Elephant Hill, a cluster of spires of Cedar Mesa Sandstone near the trail. The trail stayed fairly flat as it continued traversing the bench, with occasional sections that required scrambling up or down rock steps or angled slickrock. As we hiked through this section, my mom pointed out that a few of the rounded, stout outcrops of Cedar Mesa Sandstone looked like hamburgers, which I was couldn't unsee after she pointed it out.

Elephant Hill

Hamburger rocks

At just over a mile into the hike, we crossed a pass through Elephant Hill and came to a stunning view of the Needles spread out ahead of us. From this viewpoint, a city skyline of sandstone rose before us, the spires sporting the bands of red and white rock that is the signature of the Needles. Hikers looking for a short hike might turn back here but the best still lay ahead.

The Needles

Leaving the pass, the trail descended just slightly and then crossed through a grassy plain dotted with junipers. At the end of the plain, the Elephant Hill trail intersected with a trail coming from the Squaw Flat Campground, 1.4 miles from the trailhead; here, we took the right fork to continue onward towards Chesler Park. After passing the junction, the trail immediately passed through a narrow cut in a sandstone fin and entered a valley sandwiched between ridges of Needles. The trail descended just slightly as it circled around the next set of rock spires.

The Needles

Rounding a corner, the trail suddenly dropped into a narrow and very straight joint of fractured Cedar Mesa sandstone. This joint- like the better known stretch known as the Joint beyond Chesler Park- is formed by the very same fracturing that resulted into the individual spires of sandstone in the Needles. As in nearby Arches National Park, the sandstone layers here are underlaid by the Paradox Formation, a body of salt lying beneath the many sedimentary layers that form the Canyonlands. Deformation of this salt layer contributes to fracturing of the surface sandstone layers above, which have cracked into a grid-like layout that erodes into the pinnacle shapes and rock joints that we see today.

Trail passing through narrow rock joint

Continuing down the rock joint, it opened up into a small canyon with trees. Here, the trail began to descend more as it hugged the sides of the canyon. Soon, the small side canyon opened up into the larger Elephant Canyon and the trail descended steeply down to the wash at the bottom of Elephant Canyon. At the bottom of the wash, I came to a trail junction at 2 miles from the trailhead: the trail heading to the left up the wash led towards Druid Arch, so I crossed the wash and continued following the trail ahead towards Chesler Park.

Descending into a wash

The stretch of trail climbing out of Elephant Canyon was one of the most difficult of the hike, packing in over 200 feet of elevation gain after 2 miles of generally level hiking. The slickrock terrain here made the elevation gain much harder. As I climbed out of the canyon, I enjoyed the views of a colorful ridge of the Needles on the other side of Elephant Canyon.

The Needles

After the trail climbed out of Elephant Canyon and back onto a grassy plain on the shelf layer, I found views of some of the most impressive spires of the Canyonlands. Massive rock pinnacles rose ahead of me, marking the eastern wall of the ring of pointed rocks bordering Chesler Park.

Approaching the Chesler Park pass

As I continued the gentle uphill along the trail, great views opened to the northwest of the dense field of rock spires known as the Devil's Kitchen. This was one of my favorite parts of the hike; many of the Needles soared over 400 feet tall, making this scene truly seem like a city of stone.

The Needles

At 2.7 miles, the Chesler Park Trail split from the Devils Kitchen Trail. Here, I took the left fork, following the Chesler Park Trail as it began a short ascent, climbing a hundred feet up to a pass in a wall of the Needles. Crossing the pass, I found a wide grassland laid out before me, bound on all sides by red and white sandstone spires. I had arrived in Chesler Park.

Chesler Park

Descending slightly from the pass, I arrived at a junction at 2.9 miles: here, the trail split apart for the Chesler Park Loop. I took the left fork and wandered a bit farther down the trail to a nice high point with views across the grassland itself as well as back towards the pass that marked the entrance into Chesler Park. While many hikers chose to complete the loop- which adds about another 5 miles of hiking- I ended my hike here, soaking in the views of red rock spires all around me.

Chesler Park

Chesler Park