Can you just drive through Canyonlands?

Driving Canyonlands National Park in One Day The Island in the Sky District offers the wonderful opportunities for sightseeing by car and is the most accessible. The 34-mile round-trip scenic drive features awe-inspiring overlooks, from a 1,000 feet above, of the valleys below and the other districts of the park.



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Island in the Sky is the most visited and accessible district, offering expansive views from many overlooks along the paved scenic drive. You can park and view a variety of scenic wonders from the vista points without hiking. The most popular site in the park is Mesa Arch.

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The Needles, though not as easy to access, also offers an incredible scenic drive that can be done in a day. Continuing 6.5 miles drive past the visitor center and ending at Big Spring Canyon Overlook, this stunning driver has several pullouts to short hiking trails, viewpoints and picnic areas.

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Reservations. Timed entry reservations are not required to enter the park. You can make reservations for day-use, overnight, and river permits and for group campsites at The Needles.

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Over 330,000 acres are filled with arches, buttes, mesas, canyons, hiking trails, dirt roads, campgrounds, and overlooks. It would take days, weeks even, to fully explore all that Canyonlands has to offer. However, if you only have one day in Canyonlands, you have just enough time to visit the highlights.

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Four-wheel-drive vehicles, motorbikes, and bicycles are allowed in The Maze. Your vehicle must have high-clearance, four-wheel drive (low range) in The Maze. ATVs, UTVs, and OHVs are prohibited. We do not recommend trailers due to the severity of the road and the likelihood of damage to trailers and park resources.

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If you only want to see a few highlights in each park, then yes, one day in Arches and Canyonlands is enough time. For a better experience, add one more day to your itinerary, so you can spend one full day in Arches and one full day in Canyonlands.

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Half a Day: In addition to enjoying the scenic drive, hikers can explore the Slickrock Trail or walk to the edge of Chesler Park for a closer look at The Needles. Visitors with four-wheel-drive vehicles might consider driving to the Colorado River Overlook. Spend some time at the visitor center learning about the area.

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This does not mean you should not visit Canyonlands, but you may want to spend more time in Arches than Canyonlands if you are short on time. We would also agree that Arches is a better visit, but if you want to explore the wilderness by 4×4, then Canyonlands is a better option.

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ISLAND IN THE SKY, CANYONLANDS: The Island in the Sky district is the most popular area of Canyonlands to visit.

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The only fully-paved road in Arches is Scenic Drive, a 25-mile, out-and-back road that passes the majority of the park's viewpoints and trailheads. If you're tight on time or don't enjoy hiking, you could drive the park—stopping 10 minutes at each viewpoint—in about three hours.

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Canyonlands in Moab, Utah, has some great views and some very pretty overlooks, but unless you are spending some time driving the off-road trails or camping on the White Rim Road, the typical person would probably spend half as much time in Canyonlands than in Arches.

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As Needles Highway is only 14 miles long, you can most certainly drive all of it in less than an hour. With that said, due to its one-way tunnels, tight turns, and slow driving sightseers it can be a bit slow going. To avoid max traffic congestion, drive Needles Highway in the Spring or Fall.

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The road lies within the 71,000 acre Custer State Park, just 30 miles south of Rapid City, and is an impressive 14 mile stretch that includes sharp turns, narrow tunnels, granite spires and world class views.

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The Needles district of Canyonlands National Park has about 10 miles of paved roads.

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The distance from Canyonlands to Arches is only 27 miles, around 30 minutes of a drive. That is why it is so easy to combine both national parks in one day.

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The best times to see most wildlife are early and late in the day, especially in the summer, when the midday sun drives all Canyonlands residents to search for shade.

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But if you're reading this and wondering “just where is Canyonlands National Park, anyway” know that that's a good thing. The fact that people don't know much about it keeps the crowds low. It's never as busy as its other Utah neighbors, and even plenty of national park fans couldn't point to it on a map.

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