Canyonlands

Canyonlands covers southeastern Utah, a high-desert plateau cut deep by the Colorado and Green Rivers and the canyons branching off them. Elevations sit between 3,500 and 7,000 feet, with sandstone exposed in dramatic layers — red, orange, and white bands stretching to the horizon. It’s the heart of Utah’s red-rock country. Grand, San Juan, Wayne, Garfield, and Emery counties make up the region, with Moab as the dominant gateway and smaller anchors at Monticello, Bluff, and Hanksville. The region holds Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, Capitol Reef, Dead Horse Point, Goblin Valley, and the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante monuments — among the densest concentrations of public-land scenery in the country. Trips here lean strenuous-outdoor: river running on the Colorado and Green, slot canyon hiking, mountain biking on the slickrock around Moab, and four-wheel-drive routes into more remote districts. Spring and fall are the most reliable seasons. Summer is hot and exposed; winter snow can close some higher routes.