Druid Arch and Elephant Canyon

From the Elephant Hill trailhead a number of out-and-back day hikes or partial loops are possible, and I doubt you can go wrong choosing any of them - they all seem to be extremely scenic, well-marked, and not too crowded, no doubt as a consequence of being significantly further from Moab than either Arches or the Island in the Sky trailheads. When my brother and I visited Canyonlands we opted for the hike to Druid Arch. The first couple of miles of trail are mostly across slickrock, with wide views across to the rest of the Needles and mountains beyond, before the route reaches Elephant canyon which you follow the rest of the way to the arch. Immediately following a particularly narrow and convoluted section of the canyon, the trail scrambles up a rocky chute to reach a rocky bench overlooking both Elephant canyon and Druid Arch. In midday light the arch itself - although impressive - is not a very good photographic subject, but there are great views of the almost surreal canyon from where you came. Adding in the drive from Moab, this makes a great moderate day hike.

Confluence Overlook trail

Trailhead: Big Spring Canyon Trailhead, at the end of the paved road in the Needles. The mostly flat hike to the confluence overlook is 10.4 miles roundtrip.

The confluence of the Green River and the Colorado, deep within spectacular canyons, lies in the heart of the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park. It's possible, but difficult, to reach the water's edge, but an easy day hike leads five or six miles to a stunning overlook of the confluence. John Wesley Powell is said to have seen this view on his voyage down the Green and Colorado rivers in 1869. The trail starts from the Big Spring Canyon trailhead, drops into and climbs out of the namesake canyon, and then traverses several miles of desert and slickrock. There are good views across to the red rock formations of the Needles district. The final stretch of trail follows a 4WD road into Cyclone canyon to a small picnic area, from where a brief climb brings you to the overlook. The overlook is not a good spot to start a descent down to the rivers, but you can traverse a ways along the rim of the canyon.

I've done this hike twice - once in the Fall and once memorably in the midst of an early Spring snowstorm, and on neither occasion met more than a handful of other hikers along the trail. Canyonlands is exceptionally beautiful when it snows, though you need to exercise care when hiking since the trails - in places marked only by cairns - rapidly become harder to follow after only a couple of inches of snow.

Mesa Arch

Trailhead: Mesa Arch trailhead, along the main road in the Island in the Sky region of Canyonlands. If driving to the trailhead in time for sunrise, watch out for deer on the road.

Mesa arch sits on a cliff edge framing the view south across a vast expanse of Canyonlands National Park. It's a moderately sized grey arch that in the full light of day is utterly undistinguished - barely worth the short walk of a few hundred yards from the parking area. At sunrise, though, light reflected off the red rock paints the underside a brilliant orange color, creating one of the classic images of the American Southwest. I don't know who captured this spectacle first, but posters and postcards of this scene are now everywhere! Although this photo is as cliched as they come, it's still a beautiful sight to see in person, and the view in the pre-dawn light from the arch of the canyons leading down to the Colorado river is spectacular in its own right. When I went to take this photo in late summer (which is probably not the best time of year as far as the angle of the rising sun goes) I fully expected to find a crowd at the arch, so I was pleasantly surprised to share the sunrise with only one other photographer.

Dead Horse Point State Park

Directions: The dead end road to the Point departs from Highway 313 a few miles before reaching the entrance to the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands.

Dead Horse Point State Park occupies a neck of land - in places only tens of yards wide - overlooking a spectacular bend of the Colorado River. There's no real hiking in this small park (though you can walk around the point instead of driving if you wish) but that shouldn't deter you from visiting - it's probably the single most spectacular view of Utah's canyonlands to be found anywhere. This is a great spot to photograph either sunrise or sunset.

Practicalities

Both the Needles and the Island in the Sky regions of Canyonlands are easily visited from the town of Moab. Moab provides plenty of places where you can sleep, eat, get your mountain bike fixed before a trip, or get your broken bones fixed afterwards (check out my colleague

I've been to Canyonlands in all four seasons. In summer, of course, it's hot, and I ended up photographing at sunrise and sunset and retreating to my motel room for the rest of the day. Spring and Fall are pleasant times for hiking, and it's generally not too cold (at least at low elevation) even in winter, though as illustrated in the photos above it does snow...

References:
Utah's Favorite Hiking Trails by David Dey is a reliable guide book
Official NPS website for Canyonlands National Park