Canyonlands National Park is the second easily accessible national park from Moab, UT. The first is Arches National Park and it’s the park more people seem to be familiar with. After all, Arches National Park has all of the famous rock formations, including Delicate Arch. Meanwhile Canyonlands has some vastly different, but still incredibly scenery within its boundaries. In fact there’s so much beauty that you’d need days to take everything in. But, like so many other travelers, I only had one day at Canyonlands National Park.
About Canyonlands National Park
Both Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park can be reached easily from Moab, UT. Because of this, it’s easy to think that these two parks would have similar visitation numbers. That’s not the case. In 2021, Arches National Park saw approximately 1.8 million visitors, while Canyonlands National Park saw half that, with only 900,000 visitors.
Those numbers are shocking enough, but Canyonlands National Park is much bigger than Arches National Park. There’s the Island in the Sky area, which is the most accessible from Moab and therefore the most popular. But for people with more time, you can also check out The Needles, The Maze, and Horseshoe Canyon. So far I’ve only visited the Island in the Sky, but Canyonlands is high on my list of national parks to return to and I can’t wait to explore the other areas.
Regardless of which area you visit, I recommend visiting Arches National Park first (if you’re visiting both parks on the same visit). By doing this, you’ll really get to experience the feeling of emptiness at Canyonlands. If you visit Canyonlands before Arches, be prepared to get even more frustrated with crowds. Regardless of when you visit, you’ll find yourself wondering why more people don’t make it out here.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that because of their close proximity, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks would have similar scenery. In fact, as you drive to the Island in the Sky entrance, you pass the entrance to Arches National Park! Now, I am also guilty of thinking the parks would be similar. But I was wrong. Despite their closeness, these two parks feel a world away from each other.
Things to Do at Canyonlands National Park
If you only have one day at Canyonlands National Park, I recommend focusing on the Island in the Sky area. While it’s true that this is the only area of the park I visited (so far!), it’s also the closest to Moab and it offers some incredible scenery.
It will take about 40 minutes to get from Moab to the Island in the Sky Entrance, so make sure to plan ahead.
Mesa Arch
Like with most visits to national parks, it pays to get up early. Make your one day at Canyonlands National Park memorable by getting there in time to visit Mesa Arch at sunrise.
From the parking lot, it’s a 0.5 mile round trip hike to Mesa Arch. The sun illuminates the underside of the arch, making it glow in a warm orange color. If you’re here at sunrise, you’ll find lots of photographers trying to capture this view. Don’t let that deter you–it’s still completely worth the visit.
I did not make right at sunrise, but we still were able to experience the glowing, orange arch. And don’t just focus on the arch. Look beyond to the valley below. Take in your first glimpse of some of the spectacular scenery of Canyonlands National Park
Grand View Point Overlook
Once you get your fill at Mesa Arch, get on the scenic drive and go all the way to the very end to hike to the Grand View Point Overlook. This hike is one mile each way, so two miles total, with only 160 feet of elevation gain. In order to get some of the best views, you need to be willing to climb up the rocks at the end of the hike. Like with most climbs like this, I climbed up and took photos while my mom stayed below. Even without climbing the rocks at the very end, you’ll still get some nice views. If you do climb on the rocks, please be careful.
Now don’t get me wrong, the views were nice, but I think Grand View Point is a bit misleading. I personally think there are better views at Canyonlands. Still, I don’t regret doing this hike. At two miles, it was our longest hike of our day at Canyonlands National Park.
White Rim Overlook
From Grand View Point Overlook, you can head to the White Rim Overlook to hike that trail. On my visit, I completely missed the turn off and by the time we realized, we were nearly at our next stop. Oops. Pay attention if you plan to stop here.
The White Rim Overlook Trail is 1.8 miles with 160 feet of elevation gain, making it a very similar trail to the Grand View Point Trail. We never turned around to do the White Rim Overlook Trail, but we instead stopped at Buck’s Canyon Overlook for some photos. I’ve read good things about this trail so it’s on my list for my next visit to Canyonlands National Park.
Upheaval Dome
The next area I want to mention is Upheaval Dome. While this was the next hike on our to do list, we had to skip it and return. The parking lot was completely full and we had to skip it initially. If this happens to you, don’t get discouraged. There are loads of other overlooks and trails that you can do instead. Do one of those and then try again for a parking spot.
There are two overlooks you can hike out to. We walked out to the first overlook which was very nice. As we stood there and took in the view, we debated if we actually wanted to hike to the second viewpoint. It’s not a long hike, but my mom and I decided to skip it. We were getting tired after a few days of hiking and long drives. Plus, we were nearly completely out of water and I just don’t like taking those risks.
If you have more energy and are more prepared, hike out to the second view point. Several hikers that we passed on the trail told us that the second view point was even better than the first.
The Upheaval Dome Trail is a 0.7 mile round trip, with 108 feet of elevation gain to get to the first viewpoint of Upheaval Dome. To do both view points, you’ll walk 1.3 miles round trip with 226 feet of elevation.
Whale Rock
There’s one more hike I’m going to recommend. This is the hike we did when we couldn’t find parking at Upheaval Dome. We backtracked through the park, intending to do the White Rim Overlook, but pulled into the (nearly empty!) parking lot for Whale Rock. This is not a hike we planned on doing, but we were here, there was parking and it wasn’t that long of a hike. The trail is 0.8 miles as an out and back and has 131 feet of elevation gain.
I am so glad we did this hike. Compared to the other trails we hiked at Canyonlands National Park, it was very empty. Plus, the views were fantastic and climbing up Whale Rock was just a lot of fun. Even my mom joined me on the climb to the very top. It’s safe to say that I enjoyed this hike more than the hike to Grand View Point Overlook. Don’t overlook this hike.
One Day at Canyonlands National Park
Our entire day at Canyonlands National Park was about seven and a half hours. Below, I have a rough itinerary for how your day would look, if you followed what we did. This does not include the White Rim Trail, and also puts Whale Rock before Upheaval Dome (although these are close to each other so depending on parking, they could be swapped without too much disruption).
7:30 – Leave Moab
8:15 – Arrive at Mesa Arch**
9:00 – Arrive at Grand View Point Overlook
11:30 – Arrive at Whale Rock Trailhead
12:15 – Arrive at Upheaval Dome
1:00 – Start working our way out of the park, stopping at Green River Overlook and Share Canyon Overlook
2:15 – Leave Canyonlands National Park
3:00 – Return to Moab
** Try to time your visit so you can get to Mesa Arch shortly after sunrise. Depending on what time of year you visit, this may change the timing of your itinerary. We were here in early October, when sunrise was at 7:15 and we arrived at about 8:15. I’d recommend trying to get here a little bit earlier (within a half hour of sunrise would be better).
Where to Stay
The closest town is Moab, UT, where you’ll find numerous hotels and restaurants. From Moab, it’s about 40 minutes of driving until you reach the Island in the Sky entrance.
Nearby Canyonlands National Park
Moab is a hub for a lot of outdoor activities. Visit the Island in the Sky area of Canyonlands National Park, but explore more of the area. You could explore more of Canyonlands at The Needles or The Maze sections. Arches National Park is also nearby, as is Dead Horse Point State Park.
Continue Your Adventure
Utah: One of the highlights of Utah is visiting its national parks. Along with Canyonlands, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, and Zion National Parks make up Utah’s “Mighty Five”.
Itinerary: For an epic road trip around Utah’s national parks, including the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley, check out this 10 day itinerary.