Canyonlands National Park

This park is located near the town of Moab, and sees a lot of visitors because of this proximity and is also nearby to two other striking and well-known parks, Arches National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. Similar to Arches, I thought the wintertime was the best time to visit. Not only because of my love for snow and ice, but the summer in the desert can be blazing hot. And filled with the typical summer vacation crowds. The snow and ice against the orange desert rock added the extra juxtaposition that makes a picture so unique.

This place is just like it sounds. Expansive canyons, everywhere. The interesting part is that the canyons everyone thinks of as this park, is actually only one district of the park. The most accessible district, Island in the Sky, is by far the most visited and is filled with expansive views over incredible canyonlands. Then you have the Needles District, which is one of the strangest landscapes I’ve visited yet, filled with massive stone structures that look like mushrooms. Elephant Canyon is located here, and aptly named. The Maze District has almost no road accessibility, so to visit this area you really need to spend some time backpacking in. Lastly, you have the “Fourth District”, which is essentially the land around the Colorado and Green rivers.