Traveling and exploring with a good friend
I think this trip solidified Isaac and me as lifelong friends. Our included an early start (at dawn), then a 5 hour drive from Parowan, Utah to the San Rafael Swell. Once we arrived, we spent the rest of the day exploring “The Swell” as I detailed in this . We ended our day in Green River (Utah) at some motel that offered a decent discount through Kayak.com.
Canyonlands National Park – “our way”
Impromptu and unplanned. That is how Isaac and I explore places. We travel with a good idea of where we”re going (in this case Canyonlands) and then plan the journey once we’re there!
On our second morning, we left Green River after a massive breakfast. Isaac is about 3% body fat but can pack in the calories! I chose a more moderate fare.
After about an hours drive, we arrived at the Island in the Sky visitor center. Island in the Sky is one of three major and separate regions that comprise Canyonlands National Park. We chose Island in the Sky as it was closest to Green River on our way south.
Island in the Sky is a MASSIVE region with numerous GREAT hikes. Once we realized this (of course we had done zero advance planning), we knew that The Needles region was not going to happen (at least on this trip!) We also decided to pass on Dead Horse Point State Park and Moab. Hmmm… another trip sometime (soon) perhaps??
Island in the Sky Visitors Center
The visitor center is the first thing you encounter once you enter the Canyonlands National Park Island in the Sky region. It is there that we acquired the map which I’m now using to recall where we went. I have photos and videos to share in this post. A year later, when we speak, we both look back upon these days and this trip in general as something pretty special.
Upheaval Dome, Murphy Point Trail, Mesa Arch and Grand View Point Overlook
These are the major sites to visit while exploring the Island in the Sky region of Canyonlands National Park. We spent our time exploring the overlooks and doing some extended hiking. Know that this is a very dry region with low humidity. Temperatures can soar, especially between May and September. We visited in April so extreme heat was not an issue. Water is essential at any time – even in the absence of extreme heat as you’re in the high desert and there’s very little moisture in the atmosphere.
A new way to save on RV Camping…
Recently, I discovered RV Overnights – a host-site camping program where you stay for little or nothing as you traverse our amazing nation. I just joined and for about fifty bucks a year, it’s a great deal.
Grand View Point Overlook
The Grand View Point Overlook is located at the southern end of the Island in the Sky Scenic Drive. From here you can see amazing views looking southwest towards the Maze. There is a 1 mile in and out trail that starts off easy and then gets quite technical with extreme cliff dropoffs. Upon our visit, it was moderately crowded and parking was packed. While at the southern end, we also visited the Orange Cliffs Overlook. I remember thinking this would be a great early morning (just after sunrise) visit.
Murphy Point Trail
A relatively flat trail, approx. 3.5 miles round trip. The trail ends with panoramic views of Candlestick Tower, the Green River, and the White Rim Road. You’ll see Canyonlands as it appeared during its ranching days, prior to becoming a National Park.
Mesa Arch
As you head north from Grand View Point, the road splits. Just to the northeast of that split is a short but spectacular hike to Mesa Arch. It’s kinda funny that Arches NP is in this same region, so I wasn’t expecting an arch, especially one as spectacular as Mesa Arch in Canyonlands. Aaah, the power of NOT planning!
Isaac especially enjoyed this hike. We took lots of photos and Isaac was a bit more daring on where he ventured to get “the perfect photo.”
Upheaval Dome
A mile wide crater of mysterious origins. Perhaps caused by a meteorite or simply a salt dome. Either way, it is a spectacular location and well worth the visit. As with everything else in Canyonlands, it is a unique feature and inspiring to just be there.
RV Camping in the Canyonlands Region
One of my preferred search tools for locating RV campgrounds and learning about them is RV Life’s (free) database. Here are two search results I just gathered: Canyonlands camping areas and Moab RV Camping. The Moab search returned far more results that include both private and public land RV camping.
Allstays is an even more comprehensive tool for finding campsites. In the map below, you can see numerous types of campgrounds. Each is searchable. You can click on the icon for each campground to get much more information. Typically, max camper length is provided, season for camping, cost of camping, and phone number for the office or nearest ranger station. Allstays is NOT free, but I find it invaluable! You can learn more about it and sign up for it HERE.
Lastly, as I noted above, RV Overnights likely has some campsites in the region – search them HERE.
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