Moses and Zeus Towers

Moses and Zeus are a pair of roughly 500-foot sandstone towers above Taylor Canyon in Canyonlands’ Island in the Sky district. They make a striking backcountry destination, but this is no quick pullout between the district’s roadside overlooks. You need a permit for the high-clearance 4WD White Rim Road or a long hike via Alcove Spring.

The NPS lists a 1.3-mile round-trip trail to the towers’ base, with 717 feet of elevation change and a moderate rating. It also lists the Alcove Spring approach as an 11.2-mile round-trip hike. The footing is rough, uneven rock, and the trail is not wheelchair accessible. Dogs are not allowed; service animals are. NPS lists only a trailhead amenity, so bring your own food and water.

The main pair rise from a rocky ridge among other spires above Taylor Canyon. From the west, the skyline includes Aphrodite, Zeus, The Ark, Moses, and Thracian Mare. For a photo, include some of those neighboring formations to show the towers in context; leave sky above their tips if a moonrise lines up.

The towers are remnants of Wingate Sandstone, formed from wind-blown dunes roughly 200 million years ago in the Late Triassic. The vertical walls make that old desert setting feel close at hand: you are looking at ancient dune deposits lifted into a dramatic ridge.

The names draw on Zeus of Greek mythology and Moses, a prophet in multiple religious traditions. The trail also serves as the approach to technical climbing routes. Zeus’s first recorded ascent was in 1970, by Fred Beckey and Eric Bjornstad; Moses was first climbed in 1972 by Bjornstad, Beckey, Jim Galvin, Tom Nephew, and Gregory Markov.