Canyonlands National Park Itinerary

If you’re reading this post, then there’s a good chance a visit to Canyonlands National Park is in your future. If that’s true, then I am SO excited for you! Canyonlands is an enormous national park with over 330,000 acres of arches, canyons, hiking trails, dirt roads, campgrounds, and overlooks. It would take days, perhaps even weeks, to explore all Canyonlands has to offer. But don’t worry if you’re short on time because I have compiled the perfect Canyonlands itinerary for one day in this beautiful park. One day in Canyonlands may not seem like much, but you’ll have no trouble seeing all the highlights.

Canyonlands National Park – Know Before You Go

It takes 45 minutes to drive here from Moab (33 miles).

There are no restaurants in the park. Pack a picnic lunch to eat while admiring an overlook or for some sustenance during a hike. Bring lots of water, even more so if you’re visiting during the summer.

You probably won’t have any cell service. You might get lucky and have a few bars, but don’t count on it.

Bring lots of water and sunscreen. If you’re visiting during the summer, it can get very hot in the park between the hours of 10am to 5 pm, so don’t over do it with the hiking, especially because some areas have little to no shade.

Entrance Fees: It costs $30 per vehicle to enter the park, and this is good for seven days. For $55 you can purchase a Southeast Utah parks pass, which also gets you into nearby Arches National Park. I recommend purchasing the America the Beautiful Pass for $80 because it grants you access to over 2,000 federal recreation sites for a whole year. It’s absolutely worth it if you plan to visit more of Utah’s Mighty 5, including Arches, Capitol Reef, Zion, Bryce Canyon, or any other US National Park within the year.

Best Time to Visit Canyonlands

The spring and fall months are the best times to visit. This is when you’ll get the nicest weather without the massive crowds that flood the park in the summertime. During the summer you can expect soaring temperatures, large crowds, and difficulty finding parking at many viewpoints. It is much less crowded during the winter, but temperatures can get below freezing and snow is likely. Snow can also close the roads and make hiking more difficult. Check the status of the roads on the official National Park Service website.

Did you Know? Canyonlands National Park is made of three different districts.

Island in the Sky is the district closest to Moab and the most visited part of the park. Here you’ll find scenic drives, overlooks, and short hiking trails. This Canyonlands itinerary focuses solely on visiting Island in the Sky.

The Needles district feautures unique sandstone rock formations and some very cool hikes. However, it’s about an hour and twenty minutes from Moab drive. You might consider adding on a visit to The Needles if you have an extra day in your schedule,.

The Maze is a remote area of Canyonlands that is only accessible by 4×4. Backcountry experience is necessary in order to visit this part.

Things to do in Canyonlands in One Day

The Grand Canyon’s little brother is undoubtedly stunning, so it’s no surprise that the overlooks and hiking trails start to get crowded in the middle of the day, and even more so on weekends. You can easily start at one end of the park and work your way around, but I designed this itinerary so you can visit the most popular places first in order to see the highlights without big crowds and parking troubles.

You’ll never be able to see anything crowd-free, but keep in mind that the park is the busiest from 10am to 4pm. Canyonlands National Park is normally open year-round, 24 hours a day.

Mesa Arch

Believe it or not, Arches National Park isn’t the only place to see amazing arches in Utah! I recommend starting here because Mesa Arch is one of the most popular places to visit in Canyonlands. The parking lot is pretty small, so go here first to ensure you find a spot. You will see the arch at the best time of day if you arrive at or just after sunrise.

At sunrise you can expect to share the view with many photographers who are trying to capture this iconic view of Canyonlands in the early morning light because as the sun rises, it illuminates the underside of the arch, creating a truly breathtaking scene.

Now I know that sunrise is a little too early for most people. Totally understandable! I didn’t get here right at sunrise, but was still able to see a similar effect, and you will too for about and hour past sunrise, maybe even a little more. Plus, the photographers have usually packed up and left after the sun comes up, so you might just be able to avoid the crowds after all.

Mesa Arch is a 10-minute drive from the Visitor Center. The visit only takes about 30 minutes, which includes the leisurely 0.5 mile round trip hike.

Grand View Point

When you’ve finished googling and ogling at Mesa Arch, continue to drive down Grand View Point road for about 15 minutes to another Canyonlands’ hotspot. Thankfully the parking lot here is larger than at Mesa Arch, but it still fills up quickly at peak time.

While you are here, you can simply enjoy the view or choose to hike the Grand View Point Hike. This hike is 2 miles round trip and can take up to 1.5 hours. If you only choose to visit the viewpoint, you probably won’t be here longer than 15 minutes.

Take a Hike

Having gone to Arches the day before, I was pretty tired when I visited Canyonlands, so I wasn’t up for much hiking. Canyonlands is great because you can see just about everything by driving up to the viewpoints, and you barely have to move a muscle, but there are also hikes available if you choose to fit that into your Canyonlands itinerary.

There are two trails to choose from just a bit past Grand View Point.

White Rim Overlook is an easy 1.8-mile round trip hike that takes about an hour. It’s completely flat and offers similar views as the hike from Grand View Point (so I don’t recommend doing both). You might want to choose this trail over Grand View Point because it doesn’t get as crowded.

The Gooseberry Trail is not as easy. It leaves from the same place but holds the title for being the steepest hiking trail in the Island in the Sky district. It’s 5.4 miles long, but there is a big descent down onto the rim and then a very steep hike back up to the parking lot, so this trail is very demanding of both your time and energy. Gooseberry Trail typically takes about 3 hours, but can take as many as 5. This will no doubt eat up a big chunk of your day, but is worth it for avid hikers.

Tip: The White Rim Overlook and the Gooseberry Trail share the same parking lot, and unfortunately parking is very limited. If you can’t find a spot here, there will be a right turn for a picnic area along Grand View Point Road. You can park at either a picnic area or at one of the parking spaces by the trailhead.

Buck Canyon Overlook

As you drive north on Grand View Point Road back towards the Visitor Center, you can make a quick stop at Buck Canyon Overlook.

From Grand View Point it is a 6-minute drive to get here, and it only take 4 minutes from the White Rim Overlook parking lot.

Green River Overlook

From Buck Canyon Overlook, drive north on Grand View Point Road.

Tip: Along the way, you will pass a very small turn-off labeled Candlestick Tower Overlook on Google Maps (there is no sign for this viewpoint from the road). It’s a nice view and worth a quick stop if the turn-off is empty.

Keep going north and turn left onto Upheaval Dome Road. Take the left turn to Green River Overlook. Find a spot to park and just take in the view, which is quite similar to Grand View Point except with the addition of a river.

Did you know? Two rivers carved the canyons that you see at Canyonlands National Park. Those two rivers are the Green River (the one you see here) and the mighty Colorado River, which also lended a hand in carving out the Grand Canyon.

Upheaval Dome

From the Green River Overlook, keep going on Upheaval Dome Road until you reach a dead-end parking lot. From here, you can hike to two viewpoints over Upheaval Dome. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the first viewpoint. The majority of this little hike is uphill, and it’s a little more challenging than the walk to Mesa Arch.

Upheaval Dome is a large crater that was most likely formed by a meteorite (although there are some other theories about its creation – what do you think?) This might have been my favorite spot in Canyonlands because of how different it looked compared to everything else in the park.

Aztec Butte or Whale Rock

As you start to head out of the park, there are two short hikes you can do along Upheaval Dome Road. Depending on time, you can choose to do one or the other, both, or forgo both of them entirely.

Whale Rock is a quick hike up a huge slab of slick rock for panoramic views of the park. It’s a mile round trip and takes 30 minutes to one hour. The parking lot is only about a half mile away from Upheaval Dome.

Aztec Butte is similar to Whale Rock because you hike up onto slick rock, but here you also get to see ancient granaries. It’s 2 miles round trip and takes just over an hour. The parking lot is located on Upheaval Dome Road near the turn-off for the Green River Overlook.

Shafer Canyon Viewpoint

Turn left onto Grand View Point Road and drive back towards the Visitor Center. There will be two overlooks just before the Visitor Center.

The first overlook is a tiny parking lot on the side of the road called the Shafer Trail Viewpoint. If this parking lot is full, then head to the turn-off for Shafer Canyon Viewpoint. It’s a much larger parking lot with a similar view of Shafer Canyon Road.

Visitor Center Viewpoint

Before you leave Canyonlands for the day, park at the Visitor center and cross the street. Then, walk out to one last viewpoint. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did!

Look out at that majestic horizon one last time. Nice way to end today’s Canyonlands itinerary – don’t you think?

From here, it is a 45-minute drive to get back to Moab or you can continue seeing Utah’s Mighty 5 and head towards Capitol Reef.

If you have more time

If you have some extra time, consider adding Dead Horse Point State Park to your Canyonlands itinerary. Unfortunately, Dead Horse Point State Park is often overlooked by many people when they visit Moab. It’s a state park so it doesn’t get the same recognition as the Mighty 5 national parks, but this little state park is an amazing hidden gem!

I came here first thing in the morning because it was on the way to Canyonlands and I wasn’t returning to Moab, but if I could do it again I would head to the Mesa Arch for sunrise and come back here for sunset. So if you have some extra time at the end of the day, don’t miss Dead Horse Point State Park!

It will cost $20 per vehicle to enter because state parks are not included in the America the Beautiful Pass. You can pop in quickly to see the main viewpoint, Dead Horse Point Overlook, or you can do a little hiking if you have an hour or two to spare in your Canyonlands itinerary.

I hope you like my Canyonlands National Park itinerary! Have you ever been to Canyonlands, or have I inspired you to start planning a trip out west? Let me know in the comments!