Canyonlands National Park – We're on National Parks Binge!
/This area is rich in natural wonders with several national parks and monuments established to protect them. Our circuitous route is taking us to visit as many of them as we can manage.
Canyonlands National Park was established by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Encompassing 337,598 acres, the park boasts innumerable canyons, buttes, mesas, and hoodoos carved by the Colorado River, its tributaries, and time.
This park is quite different from other parks in that it is separated into three distinct land districts by dint of the Green and Colorado Rivers. Island in the Sky, the most accessible area, is in the north of the park and the closest to Moab. The Needles district is in the southeast corner of the park and less convenient to access, and finally, the Maze district lies in the west and is the most remote requiring a 46-mile drive on a high-clearance 4WD road. We headed to Island in the Sky.
The entrance to Canyonlands National Park is only 30 miles from Moab, Utah, and Arches National Park. We’d never visited this park before and we were looking forward to it. We were pretty comfy in our $17/night room in Moab, so we opted to keep it and just drive to Canyonlands for the day which would at least give us a taste of what the park offered.
The route took us along scenic Utah-313. Sage, pinyon pine, yucca, juniper, and rabbitbrush dominated the high desert with random clumps of prickly pear accentuating the arid land. Towering over the desert at 600’ (185m), the Monitor and the Merrimac, named after the Civil War-era ironclad ships, were prominent buttes at one of the many viewpoints along the roadside.
The Merrimac and the Monitor, two prominent buttes on the route to Canyonlands NP
Once we reached the park entrance ($30 entrance fee/7 days or free with annual or senior pass), we were surprised by the long line at the entry gate, but it moved quickly enough and we were at the Island in the Sky Visitor Center within 15-20 minutes.
After securing brochures and a park newsletter, we headed south along the main park road to the Green River Overlook. The aptly named Island in the Sky section of the park is actually the top of a huge mesa that rises 1,000-2,000 ‘ (300-600m) over the desert floor. It seems you can see forever here. The endless views of deep canyons and ravines stretch far into the distance. We could see the path of the Green River wending its way through the land, continually shaping more formations as it flowed.
You can pick out the Green River wending its way through the rugged terrain below.
We noticed a whiptail lizard sunning itself on a clump of buckwheat oblivious to tourists and the views.
Mormon tea and four-wing saltbush were interspersed with other desert plants that thrive on so little rainfall.
We got a kick out of this camper’s display!
We drove to the end of the 25-mile long park road to Grand View Point Overlook and walked the 3.5-mile roundtrip trail that follows the mesa’s edge for spectacular panoramic views of the canyons below.
The trail is well marked with cairns and the trail surface varies between slickrock and pulverized, dusty red sandstone.
Once covered by a shallow, inland sea, the area is now a petrified sea bottom. The tall hoodoos below which stretched skywards reminded us of a cityscape.
We had a great view of Candlestick Tower, a 450-foot-tall (140 m) sandstone butte, from our vantage point at the end of the trail.
Candlestick Tower
A couple asked us to take their photo at this particularly photogenic spot which we did and then asked them to do the same for us. Beats selfies!
On the drive back north along the park road, we stopped at several overlooks that we’d missed on the way down. Shafer Canyon was particularly impressive, mostly because of the Shafer Trail Road which we could see from the overlook. This 17-mile unpaved road is recommended only for high clearance 4WD vehicles with a low-range gear (4LO). The steep, sharp switchbacks, many of which require at least 3-point turns, descend 1,500’ (457m) along massive sandstone cliffs. Blanche definitely was not up to the task, nor were we.
The steep, switchbacked descent of the Shafer Trail Road along the cliffsides of the canyon
David stands on the edge of the canyon rim, 1500’ above the valley floor.
Our last stop of the day was a 1.5-mile roundtrip easy walk to Mesa Arch. A pothole-type arch, Mesa Arch is ~27 feet (6m) long and not very high. It sits on the ledge of the canyon rim, providing a natural picture frame for views of the canyons and mesas beyond.
Mesa Arch provides a natural picture frame to view the canyonlands below
The day was coming to an end. We retraced our route back to Moab and decided on a cold, draft beer and dinner at the Moab Brewery. After a hot, sweaty day in the sun, it was just what the doctor ordered.
Next up? More national parks… Bears Ears National Monument and Natural Bridges National Monument. What’s the difference between a window, a bridge, and an arch? We’re about to find out.
Join us!