Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dreamscapes.ca/i/725964
CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK Highlights: Island in the Sky, Mesa Arch, The Needles As Utah's largest National Park and yet least- visited, Canyonlands is located a short distance from Arches National Park, south- west of Moab. The convoluted cliffs and carved canyons were created by the Green and Colorado rivers and their tributaries. The difference from Arches is that Canyonlands is vastly expansive, stretching across 1,373 square kilometres of primitive geological wilderness. And yet this alien-like terrain has four distinct landscapes (Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze and Horseshoe Canyon), each offering different experiences. Only Island in the Sky and The Needles can be reached by two-wheel drive vehicles. The rest consists primarily of unpaved roads and undeveloped trails, some of which are accessible to four-wheel drive vehicles. Be sure to plan ahead. The northernmost district and most easily accessible is Island in the Sky, a high mesa with phenomenal views and many stupen- dous roadside overlooks. Here is where the West's most photographed landform, Mesa Arch, frames the valley and Colorado River. Photographers flock to this arch to capture the magic of early-morning light. Go to The Needles to view the tall spires of Cedar Mesa Sandstone that overwhelm the area. Be sure to take a map as GPS is unreliable in the area. With only one paved road that leads in and out of this section, many areas are accessible only by foot trails and four-wheel-drive roads. CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK Highlights: 160-kilometre Waterpocket Fold, Petroglyphs More alien than earthly, the sweeping vistas and deep canyons of Capitol Reef offer a more solitary experience to the crowds that congregate at popular Zion and Bryce in the summer. This solitude is further exempli- DREAMSCAPES FALL 2016 38