Canyonlands National Park

Getting there

If you’re flying to Canyonlands, there are a few airport options:

  1. Canyonlands Field Airport (CNY) is 30 minutes away – Skywest and United airlines offer flights
  2. Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) is just under 2 hours away – Allegiant, American, and United airlines offer flights
  3. Salt Lake City (SLC) is 4 hours away – all major airlines offer flights

Spending a morning at Canyonlands

On this visit to Utah, my husband, two friends, and I flew from TPA to SLC in late August. We rented a car and made the 4-hour drive to Moab. This week-long itinerary included The Mighty 5 National Parks (Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion), Dead Horse Point State Park, kayaking, horseback riding, and canyoneering. You can find the full details here.

The day after our flight was our first day of exploring. We woke up early and left the Airbnb at 5:15 AM to catch the sunrise in Canyonlands National Park. We chose a very short and easy trail (less than a mile) to do in the dark. Although we were early, we were not the first ones to arrive at Mesa Arch! If you want a front-row spot to set up a camera and tripod, get moving earlier than 5:15! I was able to weasel my way through the crowd and prop my GoPro up for a timelapse video. Then I walked around in other, less crowded areas. If you visit at the end of August like we did, the sun should be peaking through right around 7:00 AM.

Alltrails stats for Mesa Arch: Length – 0.7 mi; Elevation Gain – 88 ft; Route Type – Loop; Difficulty – Easy

After sunrise, we stayed in the park for a slightly longer hike around the Grand View Point – just under 2 miles out & back. We had the trail to ourselves and the views were beautiful! We all agreed that we would do this hike again. 

Alltrails stats for Grand View Point: Length – 1.8 mi; Elevation Gain – 164 ft; Route Type – Out & back; Difficulty – Easy

Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Grand View Point trail
Grand View Point trail
Grand View Point trail
Grand View Point trail
Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Mesa Arch
Mesa Arch
Mesa Arch trail
Mesa Arch trail

Afternoon in Moab

When we were done with the Grand View Point trail, we left Canyonlands and went to visit Dead Horse Point State Park. Although the views were pretty from the lookout point, the trails were unimpressive and I wish I had picked another trail in Canyonlands. Plus, my America the Beautiful Pass didn’t cover the entry fee so I paid $20 for a very quick trip. BUT I have seen pictures of this spot at sunset and it looks incredible. If you’re able, save this spot for later in the day.

We left Dead Horse Point State Park and made our way back to Moab for lunch at Quesadilla Mobilla. Highly recommend! After our delicious lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon kayaking with Mild to Wild Rafting. 

Additional trails

There are 216 trails at Canyonlands rated 4.5 stars and above on Alltrails:

  • 61 with a difficulty rating of Hard
  • 114 with a difficulty rating of Moderate
  • 41 with a difficulty rating of Easy

With our packed itinerary, we only spent a morning at Canyonlands but you could easily spend a few days!