Canyonlands offers a vastly different experience even though it is only across the valley from the more famous Arches National Park. Starting in Moab, we travel to the Island in the Sky District exploring along Grand View Point Road and Upheaval Dome Road.
Enthusiastic photographers should get up early if they want to capture Canyonlands’ most famous image – sunrise through Mesa Arch. If we start later in the day, arrange your time so you are still in the Park for a spectacular sunset.
Along the way we’ll examine perplexing elements at Upheaval Dome and how this has led to two different theories behind Utah’s “belly button”.
A view to the Merrimac and Monitor Buttes will have you imagining them as the American Civil War armor plated ships, or ironclads, that they resemble. Gaze down into the depths at Green River Outlook carved by the unrelenting Colorado and Green Rivers.
Those fit and properly prepared should hike the Aztec Butte Trail to view ancestral Puebloan structures called granaries.
For those with limited mobility Canyonlands offers many easily accessible scenic viewpoints, and each one adds to understanding how this is an island in the sky.
Start in Moab. If arriving directly from the north, turn from 191 onto 313 to join the commentary on the way to Canyonlands Park entrance.
Allow a minimum 1/2 day to a full day to enjoy the main sights along the drive and more time if you plan on hiking.
Approx 75 miles return
