Overlooking Canyonlands

March 19, 2021

You’d think it would be difficult to overlook something as vast and sprawling as Canyonlands National Park, but we managed it. It was the perfect day for it - sunny, warm, light winds - positively balmy conditions for this early in the year here. The best day we’re going to get for a higher elevation ride.

Two, rides, actually.

Grand View Point

We began with a ride out to Grand View Point, a 25 mile out and back along Grand View Point Road starting at the Island in the Sky Visitor Center, about a 30 mile drive from Moab. There are only a few paved roads into Canyonlands, and this one at the northern end of the park is probably the most heavily visited because it’s the most accessible and offers such spectacular scenery right along the road. Even so, and even though it’s a beautiful weekend day during prime season, the traffic was reasonably light.

The cycling experience here is quite different from our ride to the Needles Overlook, which also gives a rim-side view down into Canyonlands. As quiet as it is it has none of the remote, isolated feeling of the Needles Overlook Road. On the plus side though, the road surface is much better - almost glassy by comparison - and even better, you enjoy spectacular views down into the canyon all along the road rather than just at the endpoint.

Leaving the visitors center, we almost immediately come to a vista point pullout. I stopped of course since it was the first one, but after that showed more discretion. There are so many fine viewpoints that it would be a very slow ride if you stopped at each one.

The view southeast to the La Sal range from the Schaefer Point viewpoint.

The view to the north, from just the opposite side of the road. This part of the road is known as the Neck, because it traverses a slender remnant of high ground that drops off steeply on both sides.

Slowly climbing along Grand View Point Road. The ride is a slow roller, gradually trending upward to its end 12 miles past the visitors center.

Upheaval Dome. There’s a short paved spur out this direction with more undoubtedly awe-inspiring views, but we take a pass. Our agenda for the day is quite full enough as it is.

The view north toward Green River from the Orange Cliffs Overlook.

The view from Grand View Point: looking west across the Green River canyon to the Henry Mountains. Just beyond them lies Capitol Reef National Park.

Another view toward the Henry Mountains.

The view southeast across the Colorado River to the La Sal Range. The plateau marked by the ragged whitish line sits on the White Rim Sandstone formation, and is about 1,300’ below our elevation at the view point.

There’s nothing else to do from Grand view Point but either pull a Thelma and Louise stunt (but that was at Dead Horse Point, not here), or just bike back. 12 miles later and we’re walking our bikes down a short path off the road to an attractive spot for lunch sitting on the slickrock, when an agent from the visitors center hustles out to chastise us for taking our bikes into a (undesignated) no-biking area - even pushing them along a walking path for fifty yards is forbidden. Very weird, but it’s their park (oh, wait - it’s ours); so we wheel them back up and lay them on the ground on the shoulder of the road and walk back down to enjoy our lunch.

Our backdrop for lunch. The Colorado River is down in there somewhere, goosenecking it its way through the canyon.

At the visitors center. Yes, this seems to cover all the bases. Seems a bit anal though.

Dead Horse Point

So that was our first ride. Our second one is another 25 mile out and back to the other famous viewpoint in these parts, Dead Horse Point. You’ll recognize this spot if you took Geology 101, or if you saw Thelma and Louise. It must be one of the most famous viewpoints in the southwest. We’ve been there before, but being this close we can’t pass up the chance to see it again - it’s only 4.5 miles away, after all.

It’s a two segment ride - we follow Grand View Road for six miles back toward town until we reach the turn off to Dead Horse Point, and then follow that road to its dizzying end point. Except that it’s not 25 miles - it’s 30. In a mapping error, I’ve drawn us a route that includes a three mile ‘short cut’ across a rutted sandy Jeep trail that lops off the point of the triangle. Not our kind of ride and certainly no time saver, so we stick with the pavement and lengthen the ride. Had we known this in advance we might not have done quite this ride - 55 is getting a bit long for us - but it worked out well. It’s a fast ride, and we make great time. Paradoxically the wind seems to be our friend in both directions, pushing us up the climbs and blowing innocently into our faces on the descents.

And the views once we get there are as you’d expect - drop dead gorgeous.

Southeast on Dead Horse Point Road. Those La Sals! Somehow they seem to make it into every other frame lately.

Video sound track: Just the Two of Us, by Grover Washington, Jr.

The famous gooseneck bend on the Colorado from Dead Horse Point.

The view north. Somewhere out that way is the Island in the Sky visitor center.

The view south. Our ride out Potash Road a few days ago ended just around that bend in the river. With different bikes we could have continued on past pavement’s end and entered Canyonlands from that direction.

The settling ponds for the potash plant, and those La Sals again. The potash plant is the subject of the outtake video below, shot in error when Rachael accidentally left the camera running while we were stopped for the view.

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Ride stats today: 55 miles, 2,700’; for the tour: 3,574 miles, 153,200’; for the year: 54 riding days, 2,299 miles, 96,200’, and 3 flat tires

Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 3,574 miles (5,752 km)

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Andrea BrownI notice only one other person in that video wearing a mask besides Rachael (when a guy walks close by her). Good job, Utah.
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3 years ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithScott, your photography gets more and more amazing. Your combination of skill and an artist's eye make seeing your daily journal entries so entertaining - thank you for sharing your vision with us.
It makes me wish I were more committed to achieving good photos than just saying "Kerry, slow down a little so I can take a picture."
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jeanna & Kerry SmithThanks so much! That’s really kind to say, but nearly all the credit has to go to Mother Nature, with an assist from my Panasonic ZS-60. Hard to go wrong with a decent idiot-proof camera in the middle of the most spectacular part of the country. We’ll see what you think when we bike through the northeast this summer.
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3 years ago