Entrance station · Canyonlands National Park
Pay for park entry before the Island in the Sky overlooks.
Overview
Map
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 tourRecorded for this area
A Thin Coat on the Cliffs“The dark streaks on desert cliffs can be much younger than the sandstone underneath. Many are thin surface coatings loosely called desert varnish.”
Plays on the road 0.5 mi from Island in the Sky Entrance Station in the Parkwolf Canyonlands Tour Guide.
More 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
Island in the Sky Entrance Station is the fee and pass booth at the entrance to Canyonlands’ Island in the Sky district. It sits on the SR 313 approach and is a practical stop for paying the park entrance fee or buying a pass, rather than a sightseeing destination.
The Island in the Sky Visitor Center is a separate facility farther along the drive. It has exhibits, restrooms, water and ranger services; do not assume those are available at the entrance booth.
From Moab, follow Utah SR 313 southwest for about 25 miles to the station. Once you have handled the entrance fee or pass, continue into the district for the overlooks and trails. This is a useful arrival point, with no verified reason to treat it as a longer stop.
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
EasyShafer Canyon Overlook Trail0.3 mi · 30 min · 1.5 mi awayLook south for Shafer's switchbacks, then north for the La Sal peaks.
ModerateNeck Spring Trail5.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.6 mi awayA 5.6-mile loop past old ranching traces and a sandstone spring.
EasyGooseneck Overlook Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · 2.3 mi awayA short walk to a tight bend in the Colorado River.
ModerateLathrop Trail to Canyon Rim5 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.9 mi awayFive miles across mesa grassland to a canyon rim view.
ChallengingLathrop Trail to White Rim Road11.8 mi · 6 hr · 2.9 mi awayOpen grassland gives way to slickrock and a steep canyon descent.
Visitor center · 1.1 mi awayIsland in the Sky Visitor CenterGet maps, permits and ranger advice before the mesa drive.Sight · 1.5 mi awayShafer Canyon OverlookWatch the road drop 1,400 feet into a canyon.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayShafer Trail ViewpointWatch the Shafer Trail drop through 1,500 feet of sandstone.Sight · 2.5 mi awayGooseneck OverlookA Colorado River bend at the end of a serious backcountry detour.
Sight · 3.4 mi awayMusselman ArchA low sandstone bridge in the middle of the White Rim backcountry.Parkwolf’s Canyonlands ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
