Utah - Canyonlands Attractions

To the west of Arches National Park is the Dead Horse State Park, with magnificent views of the northern part of the Canyonlands National Park and the junction of the Colorado River and Green River. From there it is worth taking a short trip into the Island in the Sky area of the park.
The name of the park comes from wild horses that were captured by cowboys and left to die.

Just under 100mi/160km southeast of Canyonlands National Park is the Natural Bridges National Monument.
There are three natural bridges, the Kachina, the Owachomo, and the Sipapu. They are accessible by short hikes from the trailhead parking lots. The Horsecollar Ruins feature the remains of ancient Native American buildings.

80mi/130km northeast of Canyonlands National Park is a popular rafting area in the Westwater Canyon on the Colorado River.

Near Moab is Castle Valley, with picturesque castle-like rock formations.

The Dewey Bridge was built in 1916 and is the longest suspension bridge in Utah. It spans the Colorado River on Highway 128, northeast of Moab.

Eastland is a small agricultural community in San Juan County, located 11mi/18km east of Monticello and 15mi/24km west of the Colorado border. The town sits at an elevation of 7,050ft/2,150m.

Four Corners Monument is a concrete slab marking the spot where Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado meet. It was established in 1868 and is the only place in the United States where four states intersect at the same point.

Accommodation and facilities for visitors to Monument Valley are available in the small town of Goulding.

The Gouldings Trading Post was established in 1923. It now functions as a lodge, museum and visitor information center. It is located in southern Utah just north of the Arizona border. Film memorabilia and a recreation of the original trading post are featured.

Grand County is located in east central Utah and the Canyonland travel region. It is named for the Grande River, now called the Colorado River. The county is the ninth-largest in area of the 29 counties in the state. Over 90% of Grand County is public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

The exhibits at the Hovenweep Ranger Station include a video about the ruins. Rangers are available for guided tours. Two hiking trails begin at the ranger station.

The Hovenweep National Monument features six groups of ancestral Pueblo ruins on 785 acres of land. The ruins date back more than 700 years. The largest of the ruins is Square Tower, with a loop trail for hiking and a visitor center.

The small town of La Sal (pop. 340) is located in northern San Juan County next to the La Sal Mountains at 7,000ft/2,133m.

The Manti - La Sal National Forest covers 1,238,419 acres in southeastern Utah. The La Sal Division includes the ranger districts of Moab and Monticello.

The Moab Ranger District is located in the La Sal division of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. It includes the La Sal mountains east of Moab, with peaks as high as 12,000ft/3,660m.

Newspaper Rock is a rock wall with petroglyphs and pictographs left by ancient Native American cultures over a period of 1000 years. It is located 26mi/42km northwest of Monticello on Route 211 on the road into Canyonlands National Park.

San Juan County is located in the far southeastern corner of Utah. It is the largest in area of the 29 counties in the state. It is part of the Canyonland travel region and named for the river which flows through it.

The village of White Mesa (pop. 280) is located on the White Mesa Indian Reservation at an elevation of 6,200ft/1,890m.

The White Mesa Ute Indian Reservation is part of the larger Ute Mountain Tribe. The headquarters for the tribe are in Towaoc, Colorado. Most of the residents live in the community of White Mesa which is located 12mi/19km south of Blanding.