Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands is a national park in southeastern Utah where the Colorado River and the Green River meet, cutting deep canyons, flat-topped plateaus, and complex rock formations across a wide area. The terrain spreads into four sections: Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze, and the Rivers, each with its own landscapes and access roads.

The area became a national park in 1964 to protect its rock formations and archaeological sites. Before that, ranchers and miners used the land occasionally, while native people had lived in the canyons for thousands of years.

Ancestral Puebloan people left red-painted pictographs and carved petroglyphs on the canyon walls, showing figures, animals, and geometric patterns in rock shelters and alcoves. These images remain visible today near some of the trails, giving a quiet sense of people who lived here long before the land became a park.

The four sections of the park have separate entrances, and there are no through roads between them, so plan your route in advance. Hiking trails range from short overlook walks to long canyon hikes, and many cross open ground without shade.

The park holds certification as an International Dark Sky Park, and on clear nights thousands of stars and the Milky Way are visible to the naked eye. The remoteness and low air pollution create one of the darkest night skies in the United States.

Location: Utah

Inception: September 12, 1964

Operator: National Park Service

Part of: Mighty Five

Website: https://nps.gov/cany

GPS coordinates: 38.16690,-109.76000

Latest update: December 4, 2025 23:02