We spent our first full day in Moab visiting Dead Horse Point State Park and Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park. Dead Horse Point State Park is located off of Utah 313 about a forty minute drive from Moab. It’s on the way to Canyonlands, so it is convenient to combine visits to both parks.

Visitors flock to Mesa Arch in Canyonlands for sunrise, however Dead Horse Point is a nice alternative with the beautiful canyon colors coming to life as the sun rises. With an early sunrise this time of year, we decided to forgo such an early start, but still enjoyed the gorgeous views of the canyons and the Colorado River in the early morning light. Dead Horse Point has some easy hiking trails around the rim and an additional trail for mountain biking. We visited the viewpoints by the visitor’s center and Dead Horse Point. The gooseneck of the Colorado River is particularly beautiful and we liked learning about the evaporation ponds we could see from the viewpoint near the visitor’s center. We also stopped at Dead Horse Point for sunset on our way back to Moab after a day in Canyonlands. Beautiful park!

Bonus: there is now a small coffee shop at the park if you need any last minute snacks or drinks (you won’t find any in Canyonlands!).

Fun fact: the final scene of Thelma and Louise was filmed at Dead Horse Point State Park.