Green River Overlook

Green River Overlook is a mesa-top viewpoint in Canyonlands’ Island in the Sky district. The Green River runs through the canyon about 1,300 feet below. Stop for a broad look into the river country and The Maze; the river is a thin, distant line from up here, so this is about seeing the whole landscape at once rather than getting close to the water.

The view faces southwest, making sunset a good time to linger if you have it. The path from the parking area is short and paved, so it is an easy stop between longer walks and overlooks.

Look down for the Green River’s channel and across the branching canyons. White Rim Road and parts of The Maze are visible in the wider view. For a photo, keep the river in the frame with the surrounding terraces; a tight crop of the rock alone hides how far below the river sits.

The Green and Colorado rivers divide Canyonlands into three districts. Island in the Sky sits between them, with the Needles east of the Colorado and The Maze west of the rivers. The park’s exposed layers are late Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rock, mostly sandstone. Erosion carved the present canyons and mesas over the last few million years, cutting those layers into the broad benches and deep channels you see below.