SA Report: Out of Moab - Day 2

Trip Date: 6/4/2013

Location: Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky District)

Permit/Pass: Individuals (motorcycles, bicycles and walk-ins): $5. Vehicles: $10. Local Passport (entrance to Arches, Canyonlands, Hovenweep and Natural Bridges): $25.

Trails: NPS Park Map, Island in the Sky District Map

Directions: From Interstate 70 in Utah, just east of Green River, drive south on Hwy. 191 20 miles to Hwy. 313. Turn right, west, on 313 and drive 21.4 miles to the Canyonlands NP Visitor Center. From here, continue on Grand View Point Rd. 12.2 miles to its end and the parking lot for the Grand View Overlook.

Trail sequence: Grandview Rim trail

Type: Out and back

Distance: 1.8 miles

Elevation: Min. - 6148', Max. - 6266'

Rating: Easy (factors: heat, route-finding)

Synopsis: A fun, fairly level trail along the mesa rim. It's a walk full of eye candy; from the expansive canyon vistas to the amazing and colorful geology at your feet. 

Grand View Rim Trail - Canyonlands NP

Turn by Turn:

  -- From the parking lot, head down the sidewalk toward the rim, where you'll find some interpretive sign-boards. From here walk west to some stone steps that take you down to the rim trail. Follow the trail as it hugs the mesa rim, keeping an eye out for the cairns that lead you along. 

  -- You'll know you've come to the end when another step would take you over about a thousand foot drop. After marveling at the view of Junction Butte and the distant canyons, head back the way you came, again being careful to stick with the cairns.

Photo gallery: Flickr