A caper through CanyonLands National Park

Utah is home to five of the 63 U.S. national parks, according to the National Park Service. The state also has eight designations as national monuments, recreation areas, historical parks, and historic trails. These areas present magnificent rock formations, alluring landscapes, and breathtaking views. 

We visited Zion National Park a number of years ago while staying in St. George, and we toured Arches National Park in Moab in 2023 as full-time RVers. This year, while boondocking in the eastern part of the state, we decided to explore CanyonLands National Park and had no idea what we were in for.

3 parks in 1

Canyonlands is the largest national park in Utah, but it seems to be much less popular than Arches, Bryce, and Zion, perhaps because it’s not as easily accessible. A 20-plus-mile drive from U.S. Route 191 took us to the Island in the Sky Visitor Center one afternoon in September, with only one vehicle in front of us at the entrance station. 

Wanting to get a stamp in our National Park Passport Book, we dipped into the visitor center. It paled in offerings compared to the visitor center we had investigated at Yellowstone National Park. 

Despite that, we watched a documentary there and learned that Canyonlands National Park is divided into three main sections, or districts: Island in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze. Park officials consider the Colorado and Green rivers, which formed the park, another district, but visitors can get glimpses of them from various vantage points in the other sections.

To get to The Needles, so named for its spire rocks, and The Maze, the most remote portion, requires entering from completely different locations. The entrance to The Needles is one hour away from the highway turnoff we took, and getting to The Maze is a five-hour drive in the other direction.

Canyon sighting

After leaving the Island of the Sky Visitor Center, we crossed the street to get a better view of the incredible Shafer Canyon Overlook. A canyon stretched out in front of us, seemingly all the way to the La Sal Mountains on the horizon. 

We carefully watched our steps as we took in the panoramic vistas, not wanting to slip over the edge into the gorge. Seeing a winding dirt road deep in the ravine gave us a healthy respect for the distance between our stance and the bottom.

Although Canyonlands doesn’t reach the abysmal depths of the Grand Canyon, it’s at least twice as expansive. In fact, Canyonlands National Park spans nearly 340,000 acres, offering varied scenes of red rocks, deep canyons, and weaving rivers. 

Awesome overlooks

From Shafer Canyon Overlook, we journeyed on, stopping at Buck Canyon Overlook, which left us even more in awe, as it spread as far as we could see into the distance. Light sandstone dotted with short green plants gave way to red rocks and brown chasms set against a bright blue sky with puffy white clouds hanging in midair, giving us great appreciation for God’s amazing artistry.

After taking in the view for a bit, we hopped back into Gulliver and moved on to Orange Cliffs Overlook, the farthest we could go before we had to turn around. Although the scenery there wasn’t quite as far-reaching, it gave us a glimpse of the Green River, but just barely.

We headed back the way we came, this time going the other direction when we hit the fork in the road. This gave us an opportunity to explore Green River Overlook, where a couple was getting married against a gorgeous backdrop. We caught sight of the river, but the sun was starting to set, making visibility less than optimum.

On our circuitous way back to the park entrance, we passed a gigantic rock that looked like a whale and visited a small campground, spotting stunning rock structures and sheer cliffs along the way. 

Unlike Arches National Park, where most of the scenery is visible from the road, Canyonlands — at least the part we saw — offers mystery and intrigue, with most of the sights hidden below the surface.

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