Neck Spring

Neck Spring starts at the Island in the Sky visitor center area and immediately drops you off the mesa rim into a different world — one where juniper and pinyon give way to cottonwoods and hanging gardens fed by seeping desert springs. The loop takes you past Cabin Spring and Neck Spring, both historic water sources where early ranchers built troughs and corrals to keep cattle alive in this unforgiving landscape. You'll find remnants of that era scattered along the trail — old pipes, stone walls, rusting metal — giving the hike an archaeological feel that most Canyonlands trails lack. The elevation change is gentle, more of a steady descent and climb back out than any real grunt work. The varied vegetation zones are the real draw: you pass through desert scrub, lush spring-fed alcoves, and open slickrock in a single loop. This one's perfect for hikers who want Canyonlands history and botany instead of the usual red-rock-and-void experience.