An afternoon in Canyonlands and Dead Horse
Ready for an unforgettable road trip? Two of the most iconic stops in Utah is Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse State Park. In just one afternoon, you'll be able to explore the spectacular landscapes, ancient ruins, and awe-inspiring views these two parks have to offer. Pets welcome!
Welcome to the Babymoon series! This group of blog posts chronicles a road trip that my then-partner (now husband) and I took in September of 2021. We left from our home in Philadelphia with our Great Dane, Lars, and pop-up camper in tow. I was seven months pregnant with our first son, Arlo. From Philly, we drove straight to Utah to see as many national and state parks as possible in two weeks. Halfway through, we decided to go even further to Joshua Tree to visit friends. After hitting a few destinations on the way back, including one of my favorites of the trip, White Sands, we landed back in Philly. Although my pregnant belly was somehow twice the size as when we left and I was exhausted, the places we saw were stunning and memorable. I’m exited to share each destination with you as I go through the trip's timeline. If you’d like to see an overview just click on the “babymoon” tag in red at the bottom of each post. The trip starts here with Canyonlands and Dead Horse!
Kevin and I found out we were going to be first-time parents back in April. Huge news! We were so excited and thought it’d be a special opportunity to soak up some pregnancy memories and disconnect a bit. We had been looking into buying a pop-up camper for weekend trips anyway so figured why not drive the thing cross country with our huge dog and live in it for a couple of weeks while we visited National Parks! I know… we might be crazy.
Because we had our dog, Lars, with us we spent most days on this trip driving to lookout points and sightseeing. I was, of course, happier to do a less rigorous trip being 6 months pregnant. We only walked a handful of trails during these weeks and when we did, we made sure it wouldn’t be too hot and the 3 of us had plenty of water. Lars was excited to be a bit of a free boy on occasion but was always happy to get back to the air-conditioned car.
First stop was Moab, Utah!
We got in pretty late and were a little disappointed to be missing everything from the Rockies to Arches. Kevin hadn’t seen either before and I so wanted him to experience the shock of seeing these giants for the first time as we entered Utah. It was too dark to even make out a silhouette but waking up surrounded by the red desert mountains made up for it.
We decided to skip Arches this trip and head straight in the direction of Canyonlands. We knew we would be walking to see most of the Arches and the park doesn’t allow dogs on trails.
Dead Horse Point State Park
Fee
Dead Horse is located on the upper right corner of Canyonlands and because of this I assumed it’d be part of Canyonlands National Park. Well, it’s actually a state park so the National Parks pass isn’t accepted. However, it’s an easy $10 entry fee per vehicle.
Dogs
Dead Horse is very dog-friendly! We were able to walk him right out to the lookout with us. They must be kept on a leash and remember to feel the ground and pavement with the back of your hand. I did this frequently throughout our trip to make sure it wasn’t too hot for him to walk on.
What to do
It’s pretty easy to navigate. Just follow the road to the parking lot and you’ll see everyone walking to the lookout point. There’s a wooden platform to give you the best view of the horseshoe-shaped canyon but I found that exploring the different rock formations against the landscape was way cooler.
Canyonlands National Park
Fee
Here’s where we bought our National Parks Pass (America the Beautiful annual pass). It was $80 which I assumed we would be paying for individually but it actually allows you and everyone in your vehicle entry to all National Parks for a year. You’ll just have to flash a photo I.D along with it at the other parks.
If you didn’t want to splurge for the full pass it’s just $30 and that allows you entry to Canyonlands for 7 days.
More info can be found here…
Where to go
Canyonlands is broken up into 3 sections - The Maze, The Needles and Island in the Sky. Island in the Sky is the northernmost section so it was easy for us to continue there after leaving Dead Horse.
If we had more time we would’ve spent a day or 2 exploring all of Canyonlands. There’s so much to see and each sight is so different from the last. Unfortunately, we had a campsite booked for that night in Kanab which is about a 5-hour drive south.
The photos below were taken during our drive through Island in the Sky.
Dogs
This park isn’t as dog-friendly as some of the others in the area. You’ll see signs indicating that dogs must be kept on the pavement so we weren’t able to take Lars to each of the lookout points, however, they’re only a few seconds walk so he was happier watching us with his head out the window while we left the ac on for him. We took some quick photos and got right back to him and, in some cases, we traded off while the other stayed with him at the car.
Grand View Point Overlook is the southern-most driveable point in Island in the Sky. Don’t skip it if you can! The view seems to go on forever and the giant canyons weirdly remind me of dinosaur footprints.
Canyonlands and Dead Horse were so stunning and honestly, pretty easy to do in an afternoon. The map they provide for you at the gate makes it easy to navigate and figure out exactly which views are top of your list.
Our next stop was Kanab, Utah and I can’t wait to share it with you in the next post in my Babymoon series!
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