Sight · Canyonlands National Park
A Colorado River bend at the end of a serious backcountry detour.
Overview
Gooseneck Overlook is a natural viewpoint above a sweeping bend in the Colorado River, reached by a short walk from White Rim Road. The walk is 0.6 mile round trip, about 30 minutes, with 98 feet of elevation change. It makes sense as a stop if you are already on White Rim; this is not an overlook on the paved Island in the Sky drive.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe river bend is the payoffMap
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Canyonlands Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Canyonlands National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Canyonlands audio tourMore stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
The trail is rated easy, but the surface is uneven rock and the overlook is not wheelchair accessible. At the end, the river curves around a broad mesa. Take a moment to follow the bend with your eyes rather than treating it as a quick roadside pullout.
The canyon layers here are distorted by salt pushing up from below. It is a striking detail to compare with the wide curve of the river: the landscape has been shaped both by the river cutting through the canyon and by movement deep under the rock.
The trail starts on White Rim Road, a 100-mile backcountry route below Island in the Sky. Reaching it requires a permit and a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle with low range; day-use visitors need a day-use permit. Four-wheel-drive trips on White Rim usually take two to three days. Bring all the drinking water you need because there is no potable water on the road, and leave dogs behind; they are not allowed on the trail.
Keep the full curve in the frame, with the overlook rocks in front for scale. A tighter crop can lose the shape that makes this view worth the walk.
Wildlife
48 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
47 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
12 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
30 sightingsWestern RattlesnakeMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
18 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
18 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Canyonlands. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyGooseneck Overlook Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · 0.3 mi awayA short walk to a tight bend in the Colorado River.
EasyShafer Canyon Overlook Trail0.3 mi · 30 min · 2.7 mi awayLook south for Shafer's switchbacks, then north for the La Sal peaks.
ModerateNeck Spring Trail5.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA 5.6-mile loop past old ranching traces and a sandstone spring.
ModerateLathrop Trail to Canyon Rim5 mi · 2.5 hr · 3.5 mi awayFive miles across mesa grassland to a canyon rim view.
ChallengingLathrop Trail to White Rim Road11.8 mi · 6 hr · 3.5 mi awayOpen grassland gives way to slickrock and a steep canyon descent.
Sight · 1.4 mi awayMusselman ArchA low sandstone bridge in the middle of the White Rim backcountry.
Entrance station · 2.5 mi awayIsland in the Sky Entrance StationPay for park entry before the Island in the Sky overlooks.Sight · 2.6 mi awayShafer Canyon OverlookWatch the road drop 1,400 feet into a canyon.
Visitor center · 2.8 mi awayIsland in the Sky Visitor CenterGet maps, permits and ranger advice before the mesa drive.
Sight · 2.9 mi awayShafer Trail ViewpointWatch the Shafer Trail drop through 1,500 feet of sandstone.
Campground · 4.6 mi awayAirport Camping AreaFour backcountry sites for a slow White Rim 4WD trip.Parkwolf’s Canyonlands ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
