Sight · Canyonlands National Park
A low sandstone bridge in the middle of the White Rim backcountry.
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 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
Musselman Arch is a broad, nearly flat sandstone span over a deep cleft beside the White Rim Road in Canyonlands National Park’s Island in the Sky district. A primitive roadside pullout and short walk make the arch an easy stop once you’re on the route, but the backcountry drive is the real commitment. The surrounding red canyon walls are part of the payoff; the arch itself is a modest landmark.
The arch is about 2¼ miles along White Rim Road from the point where the Potash route meets it. For a day trip, the National Park Service suggests driving in from Shafer Trail or Potash and turning back instead of trying to complete the whole loop. I’d stop here as part of that drive rather than tackle the White Rim just for one arch; the scenery and the rough road are a big part of the experience.
The low profile can read more like a stone bridge than a high, soaring arch. A photo that includes the whole span, the cleft beneath it and the layered canyon walls beyond shows what makes it distinctive. Keep off the arch itself: the National Park Service prohibits climbing, scrambling, walking or standing on any park arch.
White Rim Road is a rough, remote route that requires a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle with low-range gearing, plus a day-use permit. There’s no potable water along the road, so bring what you’ll need for the outing. The full loop usually takes two to three days, and the park advises against attempting it in one day. Check current road conditions and permit availability before setting out.
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 · 1.3 mi awayA short walk to a tight bend in the Colorado River.
EasyShafer Canyon Overlook Trail0.3 mi · 30 min · 3 mi awayLook south for Shafer's switchbacks, then north for the La Sal peaks.
ModerateNeck Spring Trail5.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 3 mi awayA 5.6-mile loop past old ranching traces and a sandstone spring.
ModerateLathrop Trail to Canyon Rim5 mi · 2.5 hr · 3.1 mi awayFive miles across mesa grassland to a canyon rim view.
ChallengingLathrop Trail to White Rim Road11.8 mi · 6 hr · 3.1 mi awayOpen grassland gives way to slickrock and a steep canyon descent.Sight · 1.4 mi awayGooseneck OverlookA Colorado River bend at the end of a serious backcountry detour.Sight · 2.9 mi awayShafer Canyon OverlookWatch the road drop 1,400 feet into a canyon.
Sight · 2.9 mi awayShafer Trail ViewpointWatch the Shafer Trail drop through 1,500 feet of sandstone.
Visitor center · 3.2 mi awayIsland in the Sky Visitor CenterGet maps, permits and ranger advice before the mesa drive.
Campground · 3.3 mi awayAirport Camping AreaFour backcountry sites for a slow White Rim 4WD trip.
Entrance station · 3.4 mi awayIsland in the Sky Entrance StationPay for park entry before the Island in the Sky overlooks.Parkwolf’s Canyonlands ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
