Canyonlands National Park is proudly known as the island in the sky, and for deserving reasons. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about visiting Canyonlands National Park is probably hiking through its spectacular red rock landscape.
But there are several other things to do besides hiking around these beautiful landscapes. Here are seven fun things to do in Canyonlands National Park to guide you and make that your time is well spent.
Canyonlands is a beautiful park, but it’s also quite expansive. If you want to see its entirety without the hassle of hiking, you can take a tour. Many companies offer trips through the park that include stops at some of its most famous landmarks, like the Window and The Needles.
If you’re looking to visit the park from a different perspective, a guided tour also lets you see things from another’s perspective. So, if you’re visiting with a group of people who are in their twenties but are at least somewhat interested in the park’s geological history, a tour that visits with an expert can be a great way to experience the park from an entirely new perspective.
If you’re not visiting with someone who can accompany you on a hike, it can be intimidating to try to figure out what to do while you’re in the park. Luckily, hiking is a great option to fill the time while you’re there. You can do moderate hiking in the morning or an easy hike in the afternoon, or you can combine both.
You can even walk the rim of the Canyon and see some of the park’s iconic formations from the edge. You can find a hiking trail that fits your skill level and fitness level, and hikes of all lengths can be combined with a stop at a viewpoint for a quick break.
Stopping by the visitor center in Canyonlands National Park is worth the trip itself. The visitor center is located just outside of Boulder on the South Road route, and it’s open from 9 am to 5 pm throughout the year.
The visitor center is free to enter and displays a lot of information about the park, as well as maps of the park and information about its geology. Inside, you can find exhibits about the park’s natural and cultural history, as well as information about the park’s various features, like the spires and arches of the Island in the Sky District.
You can also find stores selling national park stickers, books, and coffee shops near Moab. So if you’re looking for a place to sit down and relax while in the park, the visitor center is a great option.
There are a lot of spectacular viewpoints in Canyonlands, and it’s easy to drive from one to another in a day. If you want to enjoy all viewpoints you can cover them in one day. However, there are a few places in the park that are easy to visit on your way from one viewpoint to another.
Some of the must-see viewpoints are:
- Green River Overlook - Grand Viewpoint - Shafer Canyon Overlook - Buck Canyon Viewpoint - Shafer Trail Viewpoint
You can also combine a short hike around the rim of the Canyon to visit the viewpoints for a quick break. The views from the viewpoints are so incredible that you don’t have to spend a lot of time at them. You can spend an hour at one or two and still be able to see the next viewpoint on your itinerary and the next section of the park.
If you visit Canyonlands during the summer, you’ll want to go camping. There are many campgrounds throughout the park, and they’re usually fairly inexpensive. You can camp anywhere in the park except on the rivers, so you don’t even need to camp in the same place if you’d like to see some of the park’s other areas.
You can camp in the same general area as the previous time you visited if you’d like to see some of the park’s other attractions while you’re there. Camping is a lot of fun in Canyonlands and it’s a great way to see the park without hiking. You don’t have to spend a lot of time at your campsite either, so you can also see some of the park’s other attractions while you’re there. You can also hike to your campsite if you have time to do so.
Canyonlands National Park is famous for its geological history, and many places in the park can help you learn more about it. The Canyonlands Center is located in Torrey, and you can visit it on a guided tour, or you can view its information on your own by driving to the visitor center in Boulder.
The Canyonlands Center is an excellent place to learn about the park’s geology, as it contains many displays about the area’s geological history. You can learn about ancient cultures and how canyons used to rule this land.
If you want to see something truly impressive, make sure to head to Mesa Arch at sunrise. There are a lot of things that you can see at sunrise in the park, such as the hoodoos and spires of the Needles District, but Mesa Arch is one of its most iconic features.
Sunrise is a great way to experience the Mesa Arch, as it combines the best of the park’s natural beauty. You can also visit at sunset while you’re there to experience both. You can also experience the spectacular views in Moab near the mesa arch.
Canyonlands National Park is a must-visit for anyone interested in geology, as it contains some of the most fascinating geological formations in the world. It is a hidden gem of Utah and we highly recommend you to visit during its peak tourist season, which is summer.
You’ll surely find plenty of things to do while you’re there, in fact, you may have a hard time squeezing in everything on your list in a single trip.
