Cave of 200 Hands

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 13.4 - 17.2 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 4988 - 5558 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 10 hrs. 45 mins.
Trailhead: Elephant Hill
Fee: $30/vehicle
Attractions: scenic views, pictographs

The Cave of 200 Hands is located in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, in a branch of Chesler Canyon, about 1 mile from the lower end of the Joint Trail. Besides the large number of painted hands that wallpaper the small, sheltered overhang there are a number of other images that include a long line of little men carrying backpacks. Further up the same side canyon another 500 feet or so is another nice panel of pictographs, while just above the main stream bed, just outside of the mouth of the canyon, are 3 or 4 panels of faded pictographs.

Devil's Lane

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 10.4 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 5029 - 5305 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 8 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: Elephant Hill
Fee: $30/vehicle
Attractions: pictographs, scenic route

Devil's Lane is in the Grabens area of the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park northwest of Monticello, Utah. Located within the very scenic canyon is a Barrier Canyon Style panel of pictographs with some strange larger than life images that peer out over the narrow valley from a cliff that is probably at least 100 feet above the canyon floor. Also to be found in the same area are a handful of other panels of rock art, some of which, might be in the Fremont style.

White Bird Shelter

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 1.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 4765 - 4802 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 1 hr. 45 mins.
Trailhead: Colorado River Overlook Rd.
Fee: $30/vehicle
Attractions: pictographs

The White Bird Shelter is one mile north of the Visitor Center in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park near Monticello, Utah. The site includes numerous Barrier Canyon Style (BCS) anthropomorphic images, painted hands and the eponymous image of a 'White Bird'.

Upper Salt Creek

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 18.7 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 5720 - 7063 feet
Cellphone: 3 bars
Time: 10 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: Upper Salt Creek
Fee: none
Attractions: Arches, ruins, rock art

Upper Salt Creek is located in the primitive backcountry wilderness of the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park between Moab and Monticello, Utah. The entire Salt Creek trail stretches for 25 miles between the upper and lower trailheads. Along the way it passes over a dozen natural arches and bridges as well as numerous ruins and rock art sites. The area is most often visited by backpackers who can easily stretch the total distance out to 30 miles or more by exploring the different sites along the way. This post is for a day hike that begins at the upper trailhead and turns around about 8 miles later at the All American Man pictograph. Several more miles are hiked while exploring different ruins and rock art sites along the way.

Flying Carpet Panel

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 8.4 - 9.2 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 4913 - 5057 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 6 hrs.
Trailhead: Salt Creek 4wd Road
Fee: $30/vehicle
Attractions: Pictographs, granary

The Flying Carpet Panel is located less than 5 miles up Salt Creek in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park between Moab and Monticello, Utah. The panel gets its name from a rectangular shaped Barrier Canyon Style pictograph image that has a patterned body with fringes along its lower edge. Other, equally fine, images of the same BCS type accompany the panels namesake on the same cliff face.