Canyonlands National Park
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
[This post is part of the Utah Ultimate National Parkness series - see the main post for additional background.]
Why did we love Canyonlands? Because it was enormous and has these seriously carved vistas that rival the Grand Canyon. It’s also mysterious in its own way because so much of it is still completely wild and very difficult to access, with only one of the three districts having multiple paved roads. The views are simply breathtaking.
The best way to start your visit is to drive all the way to the end of the main road in the Island in the Sky district to Grand Point Overlook. Then you can hike the 2 mile trail along one edge of the “island” (which is really a large plateau that has been carved on one side by the Green River and on the other by the Colorado) to a point. I’m not sure the photos do it justice, but here you go:
I guess you could say that enjoying Canyonlands is really all about the overlooks - any hikes down into the base of the canyons is really tough (remember - you have to get back UP!) and from the bottom, it’s really just dry planes of dirt and rock. I think the perspective from on high is better.
Another favorite was the Shafer Canyon Overlook - not just because of the views but also because there is this crazy dirt road that goes down the side of the canyon, in some places just about one car width, and you can watch cars and ATVs attempting the descent (not going to lie - a couple of times, I was thinking - will they be able to pass each other? Will someone go plunging down the side?!?!?).
We also went to The Needles district, which is the other accessible district, with the visitor center about 75 miles from Moab. Despite being in the same national park, the rock formations were quite different and very interesting. The “needles” are colorful Cedar Mesa Sandstone spires that you can see off in the distance in some of the photos below. One of the other frequent formations in the area are called “mushrooms” - I’m sure I don’t have to tell you which ones.
I loved the info from both of the last two photos - First, “you’ve come to the end of the road.” It was a thrill. We were like early explorers, heading into the wilderness….well, at least in our minds. 😎
Then, the second one: when we were hiking, I was wondering why it was so hot - we started early on purpose to get through most of the hike before the real heat of the day. Well, it turns out that hiking on bare rock that absorbs heat from the sun means you are literally hiking on an oven, slowly heating up. We brought lots of water and had to take a break at one point under one of the few trees.
One of my favorite views is actually into Canyonlands from nearby Dead Horse Point State Park. I won’t share the legend of how the park got its name, because it’s awful, but you can read about it here if you must. Regardless, the views were a-mazing.
Here are some more random photos from our Canyonlands adventures:
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