Things to do nearCanyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park was established in 1964, largely through the advocacy of former National Park Service director Conrad Wirth and Utah conservationists who recognized the irreplaceable character of this eroded plateau country in southeastern Utah. The Colorado and Green Rivers have spent millions of years cutting through the Colorado Plateau, producing a landscape of towering mesas, isolated rock spires, and labyrinthine canyons that cover more than 337,000 acres.

The park is organized into three land districts separated by those rivers: Island in the Sky, a flat-topped mesa accessible by paved road with sweeping panoramic overlooks; the Needles, a colorful district of banded sandstone pinnacles and interconnected canyon trails popular with backpackers; and the Maze, a remote and disorienting canyon system that demands serious navigation skills and self-sufficiency. A fourth unit, Horseshoe Canyon, preserves some of the most significant ancient rock art in North America, including the Great Gallery, a panel of life-sized pictographs left by the Barrier Canyon culture thousands of years ago.

Wildlife in the park includes desert bighorn sheep, coyotes, and a wide variety of raptors. The nearest town, Moab, sits about 30 miles north of the Island in the Sky entrance and offers lodging, gear shops, and restaurants that serve as a practical base for multi-day exploration. Canyonlands rewards patience and preparation, offering a depth of wilderness experience that few places in the American Southwest can equal.