Desert View Overlook Trail

Desert View Overlook Trail is an easy out-and-back from the Visitor Center to the east rim. The park lists it as 0.5 mile each way, so plan on about 1 mile round trip and 30 to 45 minutes with a stop at the overlook. It’s a good pick when you want a real rim walk without giving half a day to the longer East or West Rim routes. You stay high on the mesa rather than hiking down into the canyon.

Start by the Visitor Center on its paved Nature Trail, then continue when that path turns to dirt. Follow the separate foot trail north past the parking area and along the rim to the overlook; turn around there and return the same way. Older park material calls the destination Colorado River Overlook. The hikers’ path runs beside Intrepid, the mixed-use bike route, but it’s a separate line, so don’t switch onto the bike trail.

The paved Nature Trail is a useful shorter option if you don’t want the dirt spur. It’s only about an eighth of a mile one way, with eight exhibits about desert plants and trees and a sign about the park’s salt and potash ponds. It also has views of the basin, La Sal Mountains and Chimney Rock, but it doesn’t take you to the Desert View overlook.

At the end, you can sit and look over the canyon bottom. The Colorado River and the pale potash ponds are glimpses in the distance, while the broad rock layers are the main show. Leave a strip of rim in a photo to give the canyon some scale; the ponds can help anchor the view when they’re visible. This is a short trail with one destination, not a route that keeps changing scenery on the way back.

The shallow dimples in the slickrock catch rain and become temporary pools. After wet weather they can hold fairy shrimp, whirligig beetles, toad tadpoles and other tiny desert life. They dry out between rains, so don’t expect to find water in them every time. Pause to look at the rock near the path; it’s easy to walk past the pools while watching the horizon.

Across this canyon country, the Colorado River has cut roughly 2,000 feet through rock layers that record about 300 million years. From this rim you see the exposed layers from above, not the river corridor itself. Juniper groves along the route may also turn up lizards, rabbits, mule deer or, occasionally, bighorn sheep; the park lists them as possibilities, not guaranteed sightings.

Use the Dead Horse Point Visitor Center lot; restrooms are there, and park admission is required. The paved approach gives way to dirt, and the route follows the canyon rim over uneven slickrock, so sturdy footwear helps. Dogs are allowed on park hiking trails when leashed. If you want a short walk with a specific payoff, this is a better fit than continuing along the paved Nature Trail alone.