Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park, established in 1964, preserves 527 square miles of colorful landscape that has eroded into countless canyons, mesas, arches and buttes by the Colorado River and its tributaries. The Colorado and Green rivers divide the park into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the rivers themselves. While these areas share a primitive desert atmosphere, each retains its own character and offers different opportunities for exploration.

Known as a "high desert," with elevations ranging from 3,700 to 7,200 feet above sea level, Canyonlands experiences extremely hot summers, very cold winters and less than ten inches of rain each year. Temperatures may fluctuate as much as 50 degrees in a single day.