AARP’s Guide to Utah’s Canyonlands National Park

As a high-desert region of the Colorado Plateau, CNP experiences extreme climate and weather fluctuations. It’s not uncommon for days to top 100 degrees in summer, with nighttime temperatures dropping into the 40s and 50s. Spring (April and May) and fall (September and October) are temperate and pleasant, with daytime temperatures ranging from 60 to 80 and nights dipping from the 50s down to the 30s. In the winter, daytime temperatures average 30 to 50 degrees, while temperatures at night average 20 to zero. The region also experiences a monsoon in late summer and early fall with sudden heavy rains and possible flash floods. 

Winter is an overlooked opportunity to visit CNP, and not just because you’ll share the landscape with fewer people. “Take that beautiful red rock and the gorgeous blue sky, put a dusting of powder white snow on it, and you’ll see it’s even more stunning,” says Karen Garthwait, CNP’s interpretation specialist. The park is an all-season hiking destination since snow accumulation rarely exceeds more than a few inches deep, but Garthwait recommends winter hikers use traction devices on their shoes since trails can be slippery.

There is some cellphone coverage along the Island in the Sky scenic drive, depending on carrier, but cell service is limited to nonexistent in the canyons and on remote trails. There is little to no service in the Needles, and almost none in The Maze, except at the ranger station. Wi-Fi is available at the Island in the Sky Visitor Center.

Hiking trails wind among the rock towers in the Needles district of the park.

HagePhoto / Aurora Photos / Getty Images

Things to do

Take a driving tour: You’ll find the park’s top views strung along Island in the Sky scenic drive, which makes a Y shape, with access to  Whale Rock. Because the shapes and perspectives shift so much as you move around the mesa, you won’t want to skip any of the main overlooks which include Green River, Buck Canyon and Grand View Point.

Go hiking: Hundreds of miles of trails varying in length and difficulty thread through CNP’s diverse terrain. The most-visited are in Island in the Sky, including the Mesa Arch Trail, a 0.6-mile  easy hike round trip leading to the park’s iconic photo op, as the cliff-side arch frames the canyon below. Another hike in this section is the moderately challenging, 1.4-mile Aztec Butte Trail, which traverses a flat and sandy wash before ascending around 200 feet to reach an Ancestral Puebloan archaeological site . At Grand View Point, the southernmost end and turnaround point of the Island in the Sky scenic drive, the level and comfortable 1.8-mile Grand View Trail winds along the mesa rim between expanses of slickrock and stands of gnarled and stunted piñon. Thanks to the elevation, this is one of the best views in the park. 

In The Needles district, trails spiderweb among the spindly rock towers and gnarled outcrops. “When you’re in The Needles, you’re actually down in the canyon, walking among all these otherworldly landforms and sculptural formations instead of looking down on them from the mesa,” Garthwait says. “[This also means] many of the trails are easier because there’s less elevation change since you don’t have to hike down into the canyon and back up.” Her top pick for a shorter hike: the Cave Spring Trail, a 0.6-mile round trip past  a natural underground spring with prehistoric rock markings and the remnants of a historic cowboy camp. Other favorites include the Chesler Park Trail, a 5.4-mile loop through knobby sherbet-colored hoodoos, and the 8.6-mile Lost Canyon Trail, which loops among eerily twisted formations.

Watch sunset or sunrise: The park’s two popular spots for sunrise and sunset viewing are Grand View Point Overlook and White Rim Overlook, the last two stops on the Island in the Sky scenic drive. The Grand View Point Overlook has great views just steps from its parking lot, but it’s an easy 1.8-mile hike to White Rim’s overlook, where fewer people interrupt the peace of the dusk. 

Visitors can stargaze all night inside the park.

Brad McGinley Photography / Getty Images

Go stargazing: Designated an International Dark Sky Park from DarkSky International, formerly the International Dark-Sky Association, in 2015, CNP goes a level beyond with a Gold-Tier designation, reserved for the parks with the darkest skies. The park stays open all night so stargazers can see the spectacle, with stargazing programs scheduled during summer. Some are listed in the park calendar, but it’s best to check at the Island in the Sky Visitor Center for updated activities. 

Garthwait encourages visitors to take a DIY approach to stargazing. “Every night that isn’t a cloudy night there is a dark-sky show in the park, whether there is a ranger there or not,” she says. “[On a moonless night] all you have to do is pull off the road, turn your back to the direction of Moab, where there’s a little glow, and you’ll see stars and constellations you’ve never seen before.” 

Go cycling: An ever-expanding network of mountain-bike trails has turned the area into a bucket-list destination for riders. “You’re surrounded by [trails] here everywhere you look, and there is so much to do at every skill level,” says Brandon Lake, CMO of Moab Adventure Center and Western River Expeditions, outfitters that lead biking and other tours in and around CNP. One of Lake’s favorite rides is the Dead Horse Point Singletrack Loop trail, which starts in Dead Horse Point State Park north of CNP and continues into the park, winding over terraced buttes that afford dramatic views of the valley spreading below. Experienced mountain bikers come to the park specifically to ride all or part of Island in the Sky’s White Rim Road, which drops into the canyon and traces a 100-mile loop along the  mesa, its ragged red cliffs towering above.  

Go river rafting: Some visitors choose to see CNP and its iconic Cataract Canyon on rafting trips. “Accessing Canyonlands by river is a way to get down in the heart of the canyon and see some things in the park that you wouldn’t see otherwise,” Lake says. Wildlife sightings are common, with bighorn sheep frequenting the slopes above the river and bald eagles soaring overhead. Western River Expeditions offers two- and four-day trips to the canyon, both traversing the stretch of the Colorado River from Moab. Shorter rafting experiences that explore stretches of the Colorado River outside the park are available from Moab Adventure Center and other Moab-based outfitters, such as Mild to Wild Rafting and Adrift Adventures.

Lake suggests that older adults and those who prefer tamer rafting inquire about J-Rig trips. “These J-Rigs are really big rafts with a lot of different seating flexibility, and people can sit 20 feet back in the raft if they want a quieter experience,” he says.