Top Things to do in Canyonlands National Park
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10 Budget-friendly Things to do in Canyonlands National Park That You Shouldn't Miss
A great location with trails for mountain biking and sightseeing.
1. Island in the Sky
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 668 reviews
This area of Canyonlands has a few hiking trails and views of beautiful canyons.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Island in the Sky, also known as Between the Rivers, is the most visited and easily reached and perhaps the most scenic attraction in Canyonlands National Park. Located close to Moab, Utah and Arches National Park, it is the highest section of Canyonlands, with an average elevation of 6,100 feet, and the access road passes many spectacular and breath-taking viewpoints of the deep twisting canyon on either side. The road runs along a narrowing ravine or Seven-Mile Canyon, climbs the steep cliffs on the south side, then ascends more gently over uneven, partly wooded ground to the flat grasslands in the center of the plateau. The flat land at the top of the Island in the Sky mesa becomes narrower towards the south as the river confluence approaches. After the visitors center, the first viewpoint is Shafer Canyon to the east, then the mining settlement of Potash and a meadow known as Grays Pasture. At a fork in the road, follow the West road past the main campground and an overlook of the Green River at Willow Flat, then descend gradually to the end of the mesa at Upheaval Dome. Near the road junction are two short trails, one to Mesa Arch and one to the White Rim and the Green River. The remaining five miles of the main road cross a rather narrow plateau, past several overlooks, including Buck Canyon, Candlestick Tower, Murray Point, Gooseberry Canyon and the Orange Cliffs. The park road ends at Grand View Point, which offers magnificent vistas across the Colorado canyons and the spires of Monument Basin to the distant La Sal Mountains in the east and the Needles area to the south. A further one-mile, 20-minute walk southwards along the Grand View Trail leads to the very end point of the Island in the Sky plateau, where the cliffs drop away in all directions and the canyons of both rivers can be seen. There are places in Canyonlands where you are alone and can't hear a sound. It is an erie experience, one a native of Chicago isn't used to. At times, in certain spots, Island in the Sky feels that way.
2. Mesa Arch
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 731 reviews
Visit this mesa at sunrise for the best scencic views.
Reviewed By TravelingJohnB80 - Martinsburg, United States
Relatively easy hike to see one of the most iconic arches. One downside is with the ease of the hike it also brings crowds so you will have to wait your turn to get a picture.
3. White Rim Trail
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 133 reviews
A challenging mountain biking trail.
Reviewed By 1466martin - Park City, United States
The white Rim Trail is simply unbelievable. Most of the geologic features should not exist and should have fallen over long ago. Everywhere you go there is a 1,000 foot drop to the bottom below and views that are hard to comprehend. When you see some of the Islands in the Sky up close, you will understand why they are called Islands in the Sky. Now to the details about the drive. I believe you can drive from Canyonlands on the Shaffer Trail (the crazy switchbacks with 1,000 foot drops) out to the White Crack camp area in most vehicles. Now that will get you pretty close to the amazing overlook but the last 1.2 miles of road to the White Crack camp area are rugged and should not be attempted unless you have 4 wheel drive (not all wheel drive). So if you made it out here without a 4x4 at least plan to hike the last couple miles. The section from Canyonlands to White Crack is traveled some and we saw about 6-8 vehicles on a Saturday. It took about 5 hours to cover the 36 miles. We were not rushing, stopped often and enjoyed the views. expect to travel at about 7-10 MPH. Alright! You made it this far! All the way to White Crack, 36.8 miles of hard dirt road and spectacular views. If you’re not in a four wheel drive vehicle turn back now! Go back the way you came and be happy about what you saw and the pictures you have. If you continue, you will destroy your vehicle and have a very long walk back where you will probably die. I’m not joking. If you are in a 4 x 4, let’s go! The next 50 miles get rough. This is a marathon for 4 x 4’s not a sprint. There are steep climbs you will want low range to climb in. There are several sections with an 800 foot cliff on your side, hair pin turns and barely room for your wheels because it’s so narrow. This was not extreme or difficult 4 wheeling but you do need to pay attention and not get in a big hurry. On our second day doing the back 50 miles we did not see a sole. No one. No airplanes. No high flying jets. No help. No cell phone service. Nothing at all. It was beautiful. Silent. So plan ahead, go with a second vehicle like we did. You are alone in the back and no one is coming to help you. Be prepared. It took us about 7 hours to cover the 50 miles. Again, we were not rushing and stopped a lot to look at everything but the road is rough. We were in a lifted Jeep Rubicon and a Toyota 4Runner and had no issues with the climbs or ground clearance. Be sure to carry tools, water and extra gas. Be sure to stop at the “Black Crack”.
4. Horseshoe Canyon
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 59 reviews
One of four areas of Canyonlands National Parks - each named for its outstanding geological characteristic.
Reviewed By 451pn
Fun trip to this part of Canyonlands NP! The dirt road into horseshoe Canyon was no problem - no 4 WD or high clearance vehicle needed. The volunteer rangers did an outstanding job of explaining the different panels in the canyon. We camped out by the trailhead and there were plenty of camping sites available. It was a eight (8) mile round trip (out and back) and the hike out of the canyon wasn't that difficult. The trail is well marked.
5. Grand View Point Overlook
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 391 reviews
Reviewed By BruinDan - Fullerton, United States
The Grand View Point Overlook is a popular viewpoint at the edge of Island in the Sky mesa in Canyonlands National Park that offers wide and spectacular canyon panoramas. The trailhead is at the end of Grand View Road, the southernmost point along the Island in the Sky Scenic Drive. The trail to Grand View Point is 2.0 mi/3.2 km out and back. The trail is rated “easy” but novice hikers should NOTE that easy does not necessarily mean flat nor paved. There will be some mild ascents and descents (including stairs) as you walk on both sand and slickrock, so you should definitely wear hiking or sturdy walking shoes. The trail is also very exposed, so bringing water, a hat and sunscreen are strongly recommended. The trail itself runs close to the canyon rim, so you will get great views throughout. Once you reach the slickrock the trail sometimes becomes a little hard to follow, so look for the cairns (stacks of rocks) that will guide your way. When the trail ends you’ve arrived at the overlook. There are numerous spots at the overlook where you can sit down, sip some water, enjoy a snack and take in the magnificent view. We had several friendly chipmunks visit us while we sat there; not coincidentally, they suddenly appeared as soon as I opened the wrapper to a granola bar. If you have the time and are physically able, you should definitely take the hike to Grand View Point -- you will consider it one of the highlights of your visit to Canyonlands National Park.
6. Dead Horse Point State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 292 reviews
Accessible to vehicles, hikers, and the disabled, this spot offers a beautiful overlook of the Colorado River.
Reviewed By DJDinKC - Leawood, United States
I would recommend visiting Dead Horse State Park as a half day excursion during a visit to Moab. In my opinion, the views at Dead Horse Point are better than those at Grandview Point Overlook in the Island in the Sky region of the Canyonlands. You do have to pay $20 entry fee as the park pass for Arches National Park and Canyonlands does not cover Dead Horse State Park, but I believe the views are well worth this cost. The trails on the East and West Rim are flat and easy, with little to no incline or scrambling. I thought the views on the West Rim were better than the East Rim, but both are beautiful. As you can see from the many pictures posted by travelers, the most dramatic and beautiful view is from the Dead Horse Point, either at sunrise or sunset. The main reason I am posting this review was to warn others against a mistake we made which in hindsight should have been obvious. I think it is worth hiking the entire West and East Rim trails, which with outlooks can be 5 to 7 miles. You can start at the Visitor Center and do the entire loop. But, if you want to watch the sunset at Dead Horse Point, be sure to complete the hike at the Visitor’s Center and then get in your car and drive down to the Dead Horse Point to watch the sunset. The views of the horseshoe bend of the Colorado river are beautiful. The mistake we made was to park our car at the Visitor Center to begin our hike of the West Rim. We timed our arrival to the Dead Horse Point to watch the sunset. The problem is that once the sun went down we still had 2.5 miles to walk back to the Visitor Center on the East Rim. It got dark fast and we had a difficult time getting back to the Visitor Center in the dark. We almost had to abandon the trail and walk back on the main highway. Fortunately, just as we were about to do that we saw the Visitor Center’s inside light ahead of us which acted as a guide and we were able to make it back to our car, staying on the trail for the most part. We also did not have flashlights, and our cell phones were about out of charge. A comedy of errors. It would have been impossible to find the Visitor Center if we had tried to head back from Dead Horse Point taking the West Rim because that trail is not well marked. Even during the daylight, we temporarily lost the trail and had to backtrack a few times. So, I would recommend if you are going to hike the entire trail loop (East and West Rims) and want to see the sunset, start early enough to complete the 5 mile loop and finish at the Visitor Center. Then, you can drive down to the Dead Horse Point and park in the parking lot to enjoy the dramatic views of the sunset and simply drive back to your home base once it gets dark, like most of the other visitors were smart enough to figure out.
7. The Needles
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 316 reviews
This area of Canyonlands has a great variety of rock formations and allows camping.
Reviewed By michaeljones46 - Oklahoma City, United States
Visited the Needles District, enjoyed the beautiful drive up the canyon and Newspaper Rock on the way. At the Park, small visitor center has good restrooms, good gift shop and friendly rangers. Park is awesome. It was rainy when we were there so could not see the Needles very well, but of course rain is rare there. Awesome rock formations, took 100s of pics. Had it not been raining off and on, would have done some hikes as they look to be amazing. DO NOT MISS THIS!
8. Shafer Trail
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 218 reviews
Cattle trail which can be used by sport vehicles.
Reviewed By TeddySall
So much fun to drive! Did it in a rented Ford Taurus with 5.1" of ground clearance, so it is doable in a 2 wheel drive sedan if you have some testicular fortitude, are a good driver who knows where your tires are/understands how to approach rocks without bottoming out, and of course do not care about wear and tear on the vehicle. Did it going down the canyon along Potash Rd all the way to Moab (as we thought going up would be more difficult with tires spinning) and did not bottom out once. We were the only non SUV or truck we saw on the trail though so definitely not common. Definitely do not do without 4WD if it is wet/muddy though. The switchback portion is the easiest of the drive. Once you get down the switchbacks but are still in the park the road is ok with a few spots of rock that you need to navigate and pick lines but nothing too hard. When you get out of the park boundary the road becomes much more rough, with more rock faces and chunks to go over and made decisions about how to attack. There are a couple spots where you will be going uphill and need to have some momentum and quickly choose lines to make it up the loose rock. As the road approaches Potash it gets better but is still rough until you hit the pavement. Absolutely worth it though. View are spectacular all the way down and along the route, and it is a absolutely blast to overcome the challenge. So overall you can do it in a front wheel drive sedan if you are a confident and skilled driver. Obviously it is much easier in a higher clearance vehicle, but the challenge of doing it in a sedan probably made it even more fun for me!
9. Cave Spring
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 38 reviews
About a mile long this trail will lead you pass some petrogliffs.
Reviewed By Harrison-F-Carter - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Great for families - suitable for adults and kids - and is a circular trail that offers a few exciting experiences, like a cowboy camp, ladder climbs, a cave spring / overhang... really enjoyed it and glad we decided to do it as we weren't planning to.
