Grand View Point Canyonlands

As the name implies, this is a hike with near endless views. Grand View Point is the southern-most spot on Canyonland’s high mesa, the Island in the Sky. Laid out below is a complex network of canyons carved by the converging Colorado and Green Rivers. This 2-mile round trip hike leaves from Grand View Overlook and travels down the mesa’s edge for as far as you can go without running out of real estate.

Panels at Grand View Overlook provide an illustration of the geological layers that make up Canyonlands National Park. The Colorado River is the powerful landscaper, carving a thousand-foot trench into the earth. The next layer is the White Rim. This striking ornamentation runs along the top of the canyons, taking its coloration from salt deposited in the soil. A thousand feet above the rim is the top of the mesa, where you can look out over it all.

Grand View Overlook Canyonlands
Looking down from Grand View Overlook toward Monument Basin

Leave the overlook and take the trail to the right along the edge of the bluff. Head southwest, following the contours of the mesa, and enjoy the inspiring views to the east across Monument Basin toward the La Sal Mountains. When the trail moves inland, let the cairns be your guide. The single-track crosses firm sandstone, losing just eighty feet of elevation as it progresses to the 6,000-foot point.

Grand View Overlook Canyonlands
The trail follows the edge of the mesa to Grand View Point

The trail cliffs-out to the right of a fifteen-foot tall boulder formation. For the grandest view of all, give them a climb and have a look around. Grand View Point offers tremendous views to the east, south, and west.

Junction Butte, located just to the south, somehow enhances the scale of the view. Beyond lie the two other explorable regions of Canyonlands National Park, the Needles and Maze districts. You could quite easily be inspired to visit these other areas of Canyonlands based on this sight alone. When you’ve had your fill, take the same trail back to return to the parking lot at Grand View Overlook.

Grand View Overlook Canyonlands
Junction Butte of the end of Grand View Point

To get to the trailhead: From the Island in the Sky Visitor Center, drive south for 12 miles to road’s end at Grand View Overlook.

Trailhead address: Grand View Point Road, Canyonlands National Park, Moab, UT 84532
Trailhead coordinates: 38.3108, -109.8566 (38° 18′ 38.9″N 109° 51′ 23.8″W)

Elevation Profile
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Trail Map

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Photos

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These photos were taken in June of 2010. Click to enlarge.
Nearby Trails
Murphy Point Canyonlands hike Murphy Point
This 3.6-mile hike visits a west-facing point on the Island in the Sky overlooking canyons carved by the Green River.
Canyonlands hike White Rim Overlook
This gradual 1.8-mile hike visits the end of a peninsula in the Island in the Sky with 300-degree views of the canyons below.
Canyonlands hike Mesa Arch
This 0.7-mile loop visits a picturesque arch spanning across the mesa's edge.
Canyonlands hikes More trails in Utah
Explore other hikes in Canyonlands National Park and elsewhere.
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Tagged with · Island in the Sky
Distance: 2 miles · Elevation change: 80 feet

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7 Comments on Grand View Point in Canyonlands National Park

  1. george bosser wrote:

    what road do i take to get there from Moab?

  2. […] Grand View Point, Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park […]

  3. […] hike (more like a walk, just 1 mile and flat) to Grand View Point was one of the most unique trails I’ve ever been on. Right by the parking area is a […]

  4. […] the Grand View Point was the better of the two.  A 1.8 mile hike out on Grand View Point Trail is worth every moment.  […]

  5. […] the name implies, Grand View Point is one of the spots with the most attractive views on Island in the Sky. The canyon view carved out […]

  6. […] Grand View Point Overlook […]