Sure, Zion is amazing, Arches will wow you, and Moab will give you enough UTV’s for a lifetime. But, if you are weary of navigating the tourists in the Narrows and your self-driving tour for Arches, you may be looking for another place to go and look at the amazing landscape that is the American West. May I suggest, next time you are looking at the other parks, instead, look to Canyonlands…no one else is, and that is a good thing.
Canyonlands? That place you drive into?
Canyonlands National Park, established on September 12, 1964, by President Lyndon B. Johnson, is a vast 337,598-acre wilderness in southeastern Utah, known for its dramatic desert landscape carved by the Colorado and Green rivers. Located near Moab, it encompasses four distinct districts—Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze, and the rivers themselves—each offering unique geological formations, canyons, mesas, and buttes. The park preserves an intricate network of canyons, arches, and spires formed over millions of years, along with cultural resources like ancient Native American rock art and archaeological sites. Its remote and rugged terrain, designated as a national park to protect its natural and cultural heritage, makes it a haven for adventurers and geologists alike.
The park’s popularity stems from its breathtaking vistas, diverse recreational opportunities, and sense of untouched wilderness. Island in the Sky, with its accessible overlooks like Mesa Arch and Grand View Point, draws visitors for its panoramic views of sprawling canyons. The Needles district attracts hikers and backpackers with its colorful sandstone spires and extensive trail systems, while The Maze offers a remote, challenging experience for seasoned explorers. Popular activities include hiking, four-wheel driving, river rafting, and stargazing under some of the darkest skies in the U.S., earning it International Dark Sky Park status.
But, the truth is – most people drive in, go to the Grand View Point and Mesa Arch…and then head to the other parks. How do I know this? Because the statistics show…not many people go to Canyonland.
Statistics on Visitor
First, let’s start with how many visitors came to the ‘Mighty 5’:
- Zion National Park: 4.94 million recreation visits. Zion was the second most-visited national park in the U.S., just behind Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
- Bryce Canyon National Park: Approximately 2.4 million recreation visits, continuing its growth trend from 2023.
- Capitol Reef National Park: 1.4 million recreation visits, setting a new individual park record in 2024.
- Arches National Park: Specific 2024 figures are not detailed in the provided data, but it was part of the combined 10.6 million visits to the Mighty 5 in 2023, with no indication of significant decline. Visitation was likely comparable to or slightly higher than the 1.5–2 million range typical for Arches in recent years.
- Canyonlands National Park: Also part of the 2023 combined 10.6 million Mighty 5 visits, with no specific 2024 figure provided. Its visitation is typically lower than Zion and Bryce, likely in the range of 0.8–1 million visits.
If you’re like me, the thought of being in a place with 10.6 million visitors – it’s stomach turning. While the Narrows are amazing, I’d rather walk to the rim and search for ancient ruins than fight my way through children scared of the water. I had been warned by friends, and we went during Covid, when you didn’t need a permit for Angels Landing, and still, it was packed to the gills with people completely unqualified to be hiking to that amazing view. It reminded me of Huchu’y Picchu – too many people wearing white New Balance in a crowded, steep space.
When we set off in our van to go visit Zion, Arches, and Canyonlands in one week, we figured we would spend the majority of our time in Zion and Arches. Boy, we were wrong. A friend tipped me to go to Canyonlands and stay for a couple of days. We did and we soon found that Canyonlands was the hidden gem of the Mighty 5…with very few people in it once you put in an ounce of effort.
Getting to Canyonlands National Park
The park has four distinct districts accessed from different entrances:
- Island in the Sky (most popular): 32 miles southwest of Moab via UT-313
- The Needles: 75 miles southwest of Moab via UT-211
- The Maze: Remote, requires 4WD and careful planning
- Horseshoe Canyon: Separate unit northwest of the main park
We chose Island in the Sky because we had stayed overnight through Harvest Hosts and wanted to get an early start in to the park. The ride in was easy, traffic was light coming in, and we got through quickly. I can not recommend, and will always in every post recommend, a National Park Pass. If you are going to go to National Parks, you’d be crazy not to invest the ______.
Once we got to the Visitors Center, we looked around, bought some stickers, grabbed a map and began trying to figure out our route. There was a crowd, but it wasn’t crazy, and year previous when I was at El Morro National Monument in New Mexico – chat up the NPS rangers. I chose a female, my wife chose a guy, and we went to work social engineering and decided to report back in 15 minutes at the van. We came back with the download.
First off, hit the tourist spots quickly. Next, go off the beaten path – park on the side of the road in a safe spot and walk into the bush…keep walking…and you will end up at the rim. There is a trail network you can utilize to get partially there, bring water, but be prepared you will have to bushwhack. Then, since we were in the van, we could fully participate in the Dark Skies program and camp in the park on the rim. More on that in a moment.
The Tourist Traps
Most tourists will hit a few key areas and then book it to the next park. They don’t live here, they come, get the photos, and have to go. We fortunate, this is in our backyard, so we can take our time. But, we wanted to hit the tourist traps and say we did it. So…
Island in the Sky offers spectacular overlooks like Mesa Arch (a famous sunrise spot), Grand View Point, and Upheaval Dome. Popular hikes include the easy Mesa Arch Trail and moderate Grand View Point, and Overlook Trail. We tried a few of these, but we were itching to get to the Ranger’s recommendations.
Mesa Arch: At Mesa Arch, I was reminded of this amazing photo I took in Maccu Picchu. I think it sums up Mesa Arch. It’s a lot of people trying to get the perfect photo, self-sticks, tripods, all for the perfect shot – forgetting to actually look at how beautiful what they are looking at is.
Upheaval Dome is a quick 1 mile hike. We knocked it out quickly and were impressed by the views from the top but, honestly, it’s just, as my wife put it, ‘oh look, another view.’ It’s a different kind of rock than the rest of the sandstone in the Canyonlands, which is cool if you are a geologist. But, for us, it was in, photo, out, on to the next.
With the tourist traps taken care of, it was time to go to the ranger’s recommendations.
Off The Beaten Path
We parked and simply do what we do at home – we looked around at the map for a trail and then took off. As cars passed us by on their way to the tourist spots, we were on the search for our own spot. The trail was well mapped.
Until we ended up at some amazing rock formations we needed to climb through and over.
Over the rock formations and into the brush, to the rim we were going, being careful to watch where we stepped and ensuring we were careful with everything around us. After spending so much time in the Bisti Badlands, I’m super-aware of where I step. Soon, the rim was in view.
Perfection. We had our own place to simply just exist.
We spent hours out there, just enjoying our time on the rim – not a person in sight, just us, sitting, talking.
Ancient Ruins
Canyonlands preserves hundreds of Ancestral Puebloan sites dating back over 1,000 years. While, the most accessible is the Great Gallery in Horseshoe Canyon, featuring some of North America’s most significant rock art panels with life-sized pictographs, we didn’t make it there. We made our way out to an area marked for ruins – a long hike, but worth it. Coming from New Mexico, we are used to these amazing structures and the ancient people they are associated with. Yes, you can go right up to them. But, remember – regardless of how the great the photo could be, always view ruins from designated areas only – they’re fragile and protected.
Dark Sky Program
‘Canyonlands is an International Dark Sky Park, meaning it has exceptional night sky quality with minimal light pollution. The park offers astronomy programs during certain times of year, and the remote location provides incredible stargazing opportunities. Mesa Arch area and Grand View Point are popular spots for night photography and star viewing. The Milky Way is typically visible from spring through fall.’ That’s from the website…now, let me give you the real skinny.
If you are self-contained (meaning you have a bathroom), and can fit into a parking space, you can sleep overnight in the park. According to the girl ranger, this meant – you can wake up on the rim.
If you are not self-contained, you can drive through the park, but you can not sleep in the park. This meant, according to the guy ranger, at a certain point the rangers will come by and, if you have no permit, they will tell you to move along. No waking up on the rim.
Well, we had the van, with our bedroom, and bathroom, and we drove to the back of the park, picked a parking space, ate dinner, and decide to do night photography.
Morning comes.
We made our breakfast before light in the van, fired up the coffee, and headed to the rim.
There isn’t much more to say. If you can’t get a van, we did see a guy with a Subaru who had a portable camp toilet. He fared alright. But, us, we recognized that for views and accessibility, Canyonlands is the hidden gem of Utah and the Mighty 5. Going off trail in the other parks can be hit or miss…but Canyonlands, I can’t wait to go back and explore more.