Canyonlands National Park is a wilderness of countless canyons and fantastically formed buttes carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries. Rivers divide the park into four districts: Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze, and the rivers themselves. The park preserves the natural beauty and human history throughout its four districts. While they share a primitive desert atmosphere, each offers different opportunities for wildness and solitude. Though they appear close on a map, there are no roads that directly link the districts. Traveling between them requires two to eight hours by car as there are no locations in the park to cross the river without a boat. Island in the Sky The Island in the Sky mesa rests on sheer sandstone cliffs over 1,000 feet (304 m) above the surrounding terrain. The area offers famous four-wheel drive and mountain biking on the White Rim Road and challenging backpacking below the mesa top in a mixture of talus slopes and vast basins without any reliable water sources. Needles The Needles offers more of a backcountry experience, requiring technical four-wheel driving and backpacking skills. Inexperienced drivers should not attempt the backcountry roads in Needles. There are over 60 miles of interconnecting hiking trails with varying levels of backpacking opportunities. Maze The Maze is the least accessible district. Due to its remoteness and the difficulty of roads and trails, visitors must be prepared for self-sufficiency and the proper equipment or gear for self-rescue. The four-wheel-drive roads in the Maze are extremely remote, very difficult, present considerable risk of vehicle damage, and should not be attempted by inexperienced drivers. Backpacking routes are very primitive and lead into canyons that look alike and are difficult to identify without a topographic map and excellent navigation skills.