Confluence Trail

To catch a glimpse of the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, you'll have to work for it!

Trail description

From the trailhead sign, the trail drops down a series of sandstone ledges to the bottom of Big Spring Canyon. There it goes left to cross the creek bed and then climbs up a short tributary on the far side of the canyon. Near the top of the tributary, you reach a ledge where you’ll see a “keyhole” between two sandstone knobs — photo opp! From here, the trail goes left towards the upper end of a small drainage where you reach a ladder that the park service has provided to help you get up the final ledge. A short climb takes you to a saddle with a balanced mushroom rock on the right. From here, you can look back and see your parked car, as well as views of the Abajo Mountains to the southeast.

Elephant Canyon

Leaving Big Spring Canyon behind, the trail levels out and wanders across a wide sandy basin. The trail then climbs onto a sandstone ridge, hooks left around a large rock, and drops off the ridge into the upper end of an flat-bottomed amphitheater. Bearing left, the trail crosses the bottom of a broad, shallow canyon, which is the lower end of Elephant Canyon originating at Druid Arch.

After crossing the creek bed, the trail leaves Elephant Canyon. You proceed to climb up a series of sandstone ledges at the head of a shallow tributary. At the top, the trail hooks right along a slickrock ledge with sweeping views of rounded sandstone humps cut by hundreds of small canyons, the Abajo Mountains to the southeast, and the Needles to the south. After following the ledge for a bit, the trail goes toward a prominent red butte and drops into a sandy basin. It then crosses more slickrock humps and hollows and drops into the bottom of a deep fissure; the views disappear and the landscape becomes quite intimate. Soon after, the trail reaches the first four-wheel-drive road and crosses a flat bench to a low sandstone ledge that defines the edge of the Twin Valleys drainage. The drainage is choked with Russian thistle, a legacy of the intensive livestock grazing that happened before Canyonlands National Park was established. Cheatgrass, another invasive plant spread by cattle grazing, is also prevalent.

Grabens

Next, the trail drops into Cyclone Canyon. Both Cyclone Canyon and Twin Valleys are examples of grabens created when faulted layers of rock slowly slid down the more deeply buried Paradox salt formation that is tipped towards the Colorado River. Cracks appear as the rocks slide, ultimately widening and creating the series of canyons, or grabens, that parallel the river. As you continue, you reach a sign in the middle of Cyclone Canyon where the trail goes right along an abandoned road that soon reaches a well-used road. The trail continues left along this road up a shallow drainage bordered by slickrock until it reaches a side canyon where it veers sharply left, going to a backcountry campground. 

Continue past the picnic table and the sign that marks one-half mile to the Confluence Overlook. After you leave the campground, you climb up a steep hill and go through a saddle where the far walls of the Colorado River gorge become visible. The trail descends some slickrock ledges and follows a low ridge to a pile of rocks perched on the edge of the thousand-foot-deep canyon. The rock pile is on top of a flat layer of rock that provides a great spot to view the confluence. Above the confluence, the rivers were originally known as the Green and the Grand (think Grand Mesa and Grand Junction), with the Colorado River beginning below the confluence. However, the Grand River’s name was changed to the Colorado River in 1921 at the request of Colorado Representative Edward Taylor, over the objections of the states of Wyoming and Utah, and the U.S. Geological Survey.

From this vantage, enjoy the staggering views, savor the silence, and if you’re lucky, wave to river runners below who frequently float the Green and the Colorado to this point. They usually stop at the confluence because the wild water of Cataract Canyon begins immediately below it. Return the way you came.

Directions

Take Highway 191 south out of Moab, at about 40 miles turn west (right) onto UT 211, go another 34 miles to the Canyonlands visitor center. Stay on the main road until it ends at about 6.5 miles. The trailhead is behind the large red and white signs at the end of the road. Backcountry camping requires a permit. Find out how to navigate the permit system ›