Canyonlands National Park guide · 1 min read
Horseshoe Canyon and the Great Gallery
The Great Gallery is the most celebrated panel in Horseshoe Canyon, a very small section of Canyonlands National Park that lies north of The Maze district.
Its life-sized figures carry intricate designs, and the canyon holds rock art of major importance in North America. Some of this work is more than a thousand years old. Horseshoe Canyon was added to Canyonlands in 1971.
The panels here are pictographs, images painted onto the rock face. The figures in the Great Gallery are well preserved and stand life-sized on the rock.
The canyon is framed by sheer sandstone walls, and cottonwood trees in mature groves line the intermittent stream that runs across the canyon floor. Spring wildflowers add color to the landscape. From Moab, the drive runs about two and a half hours. Depending on the route, between 30 and 47 miles of it follows gravel.
Allow five hours or more for the seven-mile round trip to the Great Gallery. The trail first drops 780 feet, so the return is a steep climb at the end. Expect sand, rocky slopes and footing that is not level.
Pack all your drinking water, since the rim above offers none and water inside the canyon cannot be counted on. Plan on about one gallon per person. Pets are not allowed on the trail or below the rim.
