Canyonlands National Park, Utah.  (October, 2022).

We met a lot of folks who were in Canyonlands National Park only because Arches National Park was closed.  That’s just criminal.  Canyonlands is without question one of my favorite national parks.  On second thought, let’s just rejoice at the relative few visitors Canyonlands receives and keep it that way.

Canyonlands is divided into three main districts: Island in the Sky; Needles; and, The Maze.  Island in the Sky has what you would expect from a national park: several overlooks; short hikes; long hikes; picnic areas; campgrounds; and, a nice visitor center.  It is also fairly close to Arches.

The Needles district is more remote, geared towards backcountry hiking and camping.  It has a small visitor center and a couple of overlooks which, quite frankly, are not much to see.  There are two short hiking trails.  This district is meant to be explored on longer hiking trails (generally 7 miles plus) and unmaintained dirt roads requiring a high clearance, four wheel drive vehicle.

The Maze is truly backcountry, with zero paved roads or facilities, just a few primitive unmaintained dirt roads and campgrounds.  We can’t even tell you how to get to The Maze.

We spent the better part of a full day in Island in the Sky, arriving about 10:30 AM and leaving near 6:30 PM.  Our first stop was at Grand View Point Overlook, which looks towards the canyons of the Colorado River.  This overlook is probably the most popular spot in the park.

For the best views, take the Grand View Point trail.  In total the trail is an easy 1.8 miles roundtrip.  You will lose most of the tourists after about a quarter of a mile.  Despite it being an easy trail, only a few go to the very end. 

The first part of the trail faces the Colorado River, similar to the overlook.  The payoff is at the end of the trail, where the canyons of the Green River come into view.  Those are spectacular.

After our hike we rested and had a picnic lunch before driving across the park to Upheaval Dome.  A short but steep 0.6 mile round trip trail goes to first dome overlook.  A unique geologic feature, the dome’s origin is uncertain. 

What is certain is that most people seem to be able to get cell phone reception at the overlook.  There were twice as many people on their phones as there were actually looking at the dome.  We stayed at the overlook for a good 10 minutes or so – phone free – not because there is that much to see, but to catch our breath before heading back down the trail.

Aztec Butte and Whale Rock trails are two other popular trails to get above the plateau, but we skipped them after venturing up to see Upheaval Dome.

Next up was Green River Overlook, which is the best view in the park.  Unfortunately, our stop at the overlook was mid-afternoon and we were looking into the sun.  Definitely a great place for sunset if your schedule allows it and the sky cooperates.

From there we were off to our second easy hike of the day, the White Rim trail.  This hike turned out to be our favorite in Canyonlands.  Another easy 1.8 miles roundtrip across the plateau to a canyon overlook.  This overlook is also of the Colorado River, but from a different vantage point compared to the Grand View Point Overlook.  And there is much less traffic on this trail compared to Grand View.

Before leaving Island in the Sky, we had to stop at Mesa Arch, one of the park’s signature places.  The trail is an easy 0.6 mile loop.  I have seen so many photographs of Mesa Arch that I thought I knew what to expect.  Wrong.  The arch is much, much smaller than I expected and so close you can walk right up to it.

Getting a decent photograph of Mesa Arch takes a little patience because everyone is trying to get a similar photograph from the same vantage point.  That and at 6:00 PM with the sun behind you it is near impossible to take a photograph without shadows intruding.

Day two in Canyonlands was spent in the Needles district.  Here you have no real choice but to hike.  The two overlooks are entirely uninteresting. 

Our first hike was Pothole Point trail, a 0.6 mile loop on a massive rock.  It has good views of the Needles and the distant horizons.  The hike is very easy, mostly flat, and without shade.

Just down the road is Slickrock trail, easily my second favorite hike in Canyonlands.  Slickrock is a loop, 2.4 miles, across the plateau with sweeping views in almost every direction.  The elevation change is negligible, but most of the trail is across uneven rocks.  Watch where you step.

Alas there is no shade on Slickrock trail.  Even though the temperature was only in the high 70s, that gets pretty hot after a couple of hours in the direct sun.

We even got lucky and saw a group of big horn sheep at one of the overlooks.

Canyonlands National Park, miles hiked:

Island in the Sky District: 4.8 miles (Grand View Point Trail, Upheaval Dome Trail, and White Rim Trail)

Needles District: 3.0 miles (Pothole Point Trail and Slickrock Trail)

When Stephanie returns to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, I’ll find a way to return to the Needles District for more hiking.  We did not even scratch the surface in Needles.

Garrett and Stephanie

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