Theodore Roosevelt Presidential LibraryPublic Lands Directory

Alerts and conditions

Caution White Rim Road Impassable to Vehicles due to Rockfall

A rockfall East of the Murphy Hogback has temporarily closed a section of White Rim Road to 4-wheeled vehicles. Motorcycles, bicyclists, and hikers are able to complete the entire loop. However, vehicles should plan for out-and-back trips via Shafer Trail Road / Potash Road or Mineral Bottom Road.

Caution Mineral Bottom and White Rim Road are Not Recommended

The Mineral Bottom Road switchbacks and west side of the White Rim Road are slippery and muddy due to recent rains. Travel is not recommended until the roads dry out.

Read the full alert

Information Trip-planning tips for 2026

Planning to visit Canyonlands this year? To ensure the best experience, please anticipate potentially long wait times at the entrance station. If overlook or trailhead parking is full, plan to return a little later. Please avoid parking on vegetation and roadways to help preserve this beautiful place for everyone to enjoy.

Overview

Canyonlands is a wilderness of canyons, buttes, and spires carved by the Colorado River and Green River. The park is divided into four distinct districts; no roads join them together. The districts share similar desert ecosystems, but each one provides unique opportunities for adventure and discovery.

From the National Park Service

History

The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.

What to see and do

Activities

  • Astronomy
  • Stargazing
  • Biking
  • Boating
  • Camping
  • Backcountry Camping
  • Car or Front Country Camping
  • Group Camping
  • Climbing
  • Rock Climbing
  • Guided Tours
  • Boat Tour
  • Hiking
  • Horse Trekking
  • Horseback Riding
  • Paddling
  • Canoe or Kayak Camping
  • Whitewater Rafting
  • Junior Ranger Program
  • Park Film
  • Shopping
  • Bookstore and Park Store

Browse hiking, biking and paddling routes on AllTrails

Plan your visit

Hours

Open Year-round: Canyonlands National Park is generally open 24 hours a day, year-round.

Fees and passes

  • Entrance - Private Vehicle — $30.00
  • Entrance - Motorcycle — $25.00
  • Entrance - Per Person — $15.00
  • Annual Entrance - Park — $55.00

The America the Beautiful pass covers entrance fees at federal recreation lands across all four agencies.

Getting there

Canyonlands National Park is cut into three land districts by the Green and Colorado rivers. Island in the Sky, in the north of the park, is about 40 minutes from Moab, UT via UT 313. The Needles district is in the southeast corner of Canyonlands, about 90 minutes from Moab or an hour from Monticello, UT via UT 211. The Maze district, in the west of the park, is the most remote and challenging; its ranger station is down 46 miles of dirt road from UT 24. All roads in The Maze require high-clearance 4WD.

Visitor centers

Campgrounds

  • Island in the Sky (Willow Flat) Campground (12 sites)
  • The Needles Campground (26 sites) — reserve
  • The Needles District Group Campsites (3 sites) — reserve

Weather

Canyonlands is part of the Colorado Plateau, a "high desert" region that experiences wide temperature fluctuations, sometimes over 40 degrees in a single day. The temperate (and most popular) seasons are spring (April-May) and fall (mid-September-October), when daytime highs average 60 to 80 F and lows average 30 to 50 F. Summer temperatures often exceed 100 F, making strenuous exercise difficult. Winters are cold, with highs averaging 30 to 50 F, and lows averaging 0 to 20 F.

Phone: 435-719-2313

Whose lands these are

These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.

Photos

a broad stone arch with rock pinnacles in the distance
Mesa Arch · NPS/Neal Herbert
a rugged canyon
The Maze · NPS/Neal Herbert
A windy steep dirt road leads up the side of a sandstone cliff. River in background.
Hardscrabble Hill · NPS/Rhodes Smartt
Large reddish pictographs on a lighter red sandstone wall
Great Gallery · NPS/Neal Herbert
a long gravel road with cyclists on it
White Rim Road · NPS/Neal Herbert
pinnacles of horizontally striped sandstone
The Needles in Chesler Park · NPS/Neal Herbert

Pair it with