Things to do & places to visit in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, United States

A great location with trails for mountain biking and sightseeing.

Canyonlands National Park national park in Utah, United States. Timezone: America/Denver, current date and time: Sunday, May 05, 2024, 12:29.

Top things to do (12)

Top places to visit (30 attractions) view more »

5.0 Mesa Arch (760 reviews)
- A photographer's dream
Geologic Formations

Visit this mesa at sunrise for the best scencic views. See more..
5.0 Island in the Sky (684 reviews)
- Fantastic Canyonlands experience
National Parks • Geologic Formations

This area of Canyonlands has a few hiking trails and views of beautiful canyons. See more..
5.0 Grand View Point Overlook (415 reviews)
- Beautiful
Lookouts

Can’t go wrong with any of the lookout points in Utah... Just amazing everywhere you look! I’d highly recommend hiking as many trails as you can and the. Stopping at the viewpoints.! We went here after rappelling in the middle. Awesome See more..
5.0 White Rim Trail (133 reviews)
- Wonderful experience
Hiking Trails

A challenging mountain biking trail. See more..
5.0 Horseshoe Canyon (59 reviews)
- Checking out the Panels in Horseshoe Canyon
Canyons

One of four areas of Canyonlands National Parks - each named for its outstanding geological characteristic. See more..
5.0 White Rim Road (44 reviews)
- White rim canyon road trip
Biking Trails • Hiking Trails • Scenic Drives

100-mile Road Which Most Visitors Bike Or Drive By Four-wheel Vehicles. See more..
5.0 Confluence Overlook Trail (15 reviews)
- Beautiful
Hiking Trails

Popular, scenic hiking trail. See more..
5.0 Great Gallery (14 reviews)
- The Great Gallery
Geologic Formations

A major landmark in Bryce, a vast panel of rock said to date back 2,000 years. See more..
5.0 Murphy Point Trail (12 reviews)
- Easy trail with big rewards
Hiking Trails

You can spend a couple of hours on this trail. It is a fairly easy walk -- mostly flat and well marked. This up-and-back trail leads to a wonderful observation point where you can admire the stunning scenery and take your selfies with a spectacular backdrop. Hints: There is very little shade on this trail. On a hot day, you will need lots of water, sunscreen and a hat. See more..
5.0 Monument Basin (11 reviews)
- The Amazing Monument Basin
Historic Walking Areas

A scenic area along the bike route. See more..
5.0 White Crack (8 reviews)
- If you want total isolation this is the place to find it
Geologic Formations

The view from atop this massive chunk of rock is impressive. See more..
5.0 Cataract Canyon (7 reviews)
- Best rafting trip!
Bodies of Water • Canyons

An 18-mile stretch of the Colorado River near Moab, whose huge rapids draw people during the spring run-off. See more..
5.0 Lathrop Canyon (4 reviews)
- Our Favorite Hike at Canyonlands
Canyons

Cut by the Colorado River, this canyon has beautiful sunset views. See more..
4.5 The Needles (322 reviews)
- My favorite part of Canyonlands!
Canyons • Geologic Formations

This area of Canyonlands has a great variety of rock formations and allows camping. See more..
4.5 Dead Horse Point State Park (301 reviews)
- Dead Horse Point is Special !!
Sunday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM State Parks

Accessible to vehicles, hikers, and the disabled, this spot offers a beautiful overlook of the Colorado River. See more..
4.5 Shafer Trail (237 reviews)
- Amazing Views
Spent 1-2 hours Hiking Trails

Cattle trail which can be used by sport vehicles. See more..
4.5 Green River Overlook (171 reviews)
- Amazing Overlook
Lookouts

This is amongst our favorite viewpoints in Canyonlands. The overlook is a very short walk from the parking lot along a paved path and leads to a beautiful view of a canyon carved by the river. This overlook is a must see. See more..
4.5 Shafer Canyon Overlook (81 reviews)
- The Shafer Canyon Overlook is a neat view!!
Canyons

We drove the Shafer Trail, the second day we stopped by Shafer Canyon Overlook to see it from above. It looked very great!! See more..
4.5 Aztec Butte Trail (43 reviews)
- Excellent, challenging and underrated
Hiking Trails

This was an excellent hike that ended up better than I expected. I would definitely recommend this hike if you are looking for a trail that can easily be done in a few hours, is easy to get to, yet provides a challenge with awesome panoramic views. We did the trail in the late morning and it was not crowded at all. The first half of the trail is mostly flat and straight forward. You'll come to a fork; make sure you follow the sign left to check out the granary before looping back to that point to go the other way to Aztec Butte. The climb up Aztec Butte is where the challenge begins. The distance is relatively short, but the incline and required scrambling is what makes it difficult but fun. Others that left the average/poor reviews were because they weren't prepared or bit off more than they could chew. Kids can probably handle it, if they are mature and well-supervised. All in all this trail is worth it, especially if you're short on time and want a challenge without the crowds. See more..
4.5 Elephant Hill (40 reviews)
- Great Hike From Elephant Hill Parking Lot to Chesler Part Viewpoint
Geologic Formations

We had half a day so we decided to hike from the Elephant Hill Parking area to the Chesler Park Viewpoint. By miles it was only about 6 miles round trip but what we experienced had a great variety of surfaces we had to traverse. It starts at the parking lot at what seems like a ridiculous climb up following no discernible trail and only Cairns. Then it levels out onto a very gentile hike for about 2 miles with fantastic vistas where you meet another trail originating from the Squaw campground. You then travel through one of the narrowest trails between rock structures I've ever been on, which opens into a beautiful canyon. But the big surprise is you have to descend that canyon and then climb up it again, only to discover you have to climb up another 400 feet with only Cairns to follow. But when you arrive at the viewpoint, the view of Chesler Park is magnificent. It's a very good half day hike, but you'll feel it in your knees days later. See more..
4.5 Cave Spring (39 reviews)
- So much variety in a short hike
Hiking Trails

About a mile long this trail will lead you pass some petrogliffs. See more..
4.5 The Maze (15 reviews)
- Remote Beauty
Geologic Formations

This area of Canyonlands is the wildest and least visited. See more..
4.5 Syncline Loop (12 reviews)
- Fun, challenging hike!!
Hiking Trails

We decided to spend one day in Canyonlands National Park after spending 4 days in Arches. For this day, we chose to hike the Syncline Loop. Online reviews had made me nervous about hiking this trail, so we got up early and went to the visitor center to ask some questions. The ranger said that this hike was a fun one and didn't make it seem as scary as online reviews had, so we decided to give it a shot. I am so glad we did! This was a VERY fun hike! We decided to hike it clockwise, which meant we did a nice, steep downhill section followed by hiking in the river bed and then up some boulders and back canyons. It was so beautiful and quiet! We saw a total of 6 people while we were hiking, so the serenity of nature was a good change from some of the crowded hikes in Arches. We had no trouble finding our way until we reached the river bed. From here, we followed food prints and spread out cairns. As long as you keep your eyes peeled for where the trail goes next, you should be fine. The hike was in total 8.3 miles and we were out in under 4 hours. On the uphill section there are some tight places with some good height, but nothing too crazy. I consider myself decently scared of heights and I was able to do this hike easily and would do it again. We would definitely recommend this to others! See more..
4.5 Mineral Bottom (11 reviews)
- West Entrance to the White Rim Road
Bodies of Water

Area on the Green River popular for kaying and canoeing. See more..
4.0 Upheaval Dome (189 reviews)
- Wednesday, February 1st midday hike.
Geologic Formations

My wife and I visited around 11:30am. There were only a couple cars in the lot. There is a restroom. We were only going to do the Upheaval dome first overlook hike. We did hike with traction devices, and we use trekking poles. The trail was dry, muddy, snowy, and icy. We got to the first overlook and then thought about hiking to the 2nd overlook. We got so far as to look down an area with steps, but the steps looked very steep, and were solidly ice covered. Even with traction devices we decided to pull the plug on this one. Otherwise the hike was fun. We only saw a couple other people. I would like to visit both overlooks with dry trails. See more..
4.0 Island In The Sky Visitor Center (133 reviews)
- Island in the Sky Visitor Center
Visitor Centers

All the information needed for a trip in the area can be found here. See more..
4.0 Whale Rock (62 reviews)
- Must do - not as hard as it looks
Points of Interest & Landmarks • Lookouts • Hiking Trails

This was an awesome surprise on our trip to CNP. We were able to do it with a 7, 5, 4 year old (going carefully and safely). Little hard to keep on trail (not clearly marked in the bottom, so follow other people up). Great 360 views at the top, lots of fun, definitely a memorable experience. See more..
4.0 Green River (21 reviews)
- A great adventure Rafting on the Green River
Bodies of Water

Scenic river for paddling through Canyonlands National Park. See more..
4.0 Big Spring Canyon Overlook (17 reviews)
- For the Drive - I Expected a Better Payoff
Lookouts

For the commitment that you have to make to drive to Big Spring Canyon Overlook, I was really expecting a better payoff at the end. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful drive on Highway 211 & then onto the federal road that eventually leads to the visitors center & the overlook, but I was hoping for a better view of the Needles District. Maybe I should have chosen to turn off Highway 191 for the Needles Overlook, but I thought that the Big Spring Canyon Overlook would do the trick, especially since it seemed to be the bigger of the 2 overlooks & since it included the Needles District visitors center. BTW, the visitors center has limited hours - so we discovered - 8am-4pm - so it was closed by the time we got there at 4:15pm. We've traveled so much around the southwest, that I've come to expect decent payoffs at the end of hikes or drives, and I was just disappointed by this one. I can't compare it to the Needles Overlook - maybe we'll try that drive the next time we're in Moab. But if you're considering making the drive (3 hour round trip from Moab), or trying out another hiking trail, I'd recommend going for the hiking trail. Maybe I'm spoiled, but I didn't think the overlook was worth the time commitment in the car. And the only shots of the Needles came from a few roadside pullouts with the super zoom lens on my camera. See more..
4.0 Neck Spring (14 reviews)
- Great trail, but with some difficult stretches
Hiking Trails

This trail is close to the entrance of the Canyonlands NP Island in the Sky area. It is a loop which for me is always a plus, and category moderate, which is kind of an average of the very easy and the quite difficult stretches it consists of. At all times, it is easy to follow, being well defined and marked by cairns. Going it clockwise, it starts with an easy descent into the canyon, and then follows its course to a small spring. We saw some deer there, and lots of chipmunks. The trail then slowly ascends, which is still only moderately exhausting, even at 93 F. However, after about 6 km, the trail leads up to the rim via the slickrock, and partially is really difficult to negotiate. For older persons, it may be a problem to have hiked more than half of the way and then being faced with a part of the trail which they are not able to get through. If you are fit and not afraid of some scramling over rocks, this is a really excellent trail. See more..