Upper Dark Horse Overlook

Upper Dark Horse Overlook is a signed viewpoint at the far-east rim of Dead Horse Point State Park, reached on the Upper Dark Horse doubletrack. The last section is about 0.5 miles from Miner’s Point and drops roughly 100 feet one way to a southwest-facing view over layered canyon country. It’s a good add-on if you’re already out on the mixed-use network; that half-mile is only the last piece of the approach.

From Miner’s Point, the main route follows the Big Chief loop to the Upper Dark Horse track. About 0.2 miles down that track, Cable Line branches left; Upper Dark Horse keeps right and downhill to the signed viewpoint. The final stretch is described as smooth, but the far-east network is remote, has scattered obstacles, and requires basic route-finding. Use the maps at junctions and don’t rely on phone service. The main mixed-use trailhead is one mile south of the Entrance Station. A secondary trailhead and parking area sit by the north side of Visitor Center parking; mountain bikers should use it only when the main lot is full. A small restroom is back at the mountain-bike parking area, not out at the overlook. Dogs must stay leashed on the biking trails, and riders dismount at park-road crossings.

The view opens southwest across layered red and brown canyon country. For a stronger photo, keep a low strip of pale slickrock and one juniper in the foreground; that gives the broad view a sense of depth and scale. There are no named landmarks confirmed in this view, so the open canyon bands are the subject.

The nearby Cable Line branch leads toward an intact early-1950s oil-worker site. Crews used an equipment cable to move supplies between the canyon bottom and their river operation about 2,000 feet below while a pipeline was being built. That history belongs to the separate Cable Line route, not this viewpoint; leave old cable, bolts, and wood where they are.