Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park preserves a wilderness of rock at the heart of the Colorado Plateau. Water and gravity have been the prime architects of this land, cutting flat layers of sedimentary rock into hundreds of canyons, mesas, arches, and spires.  At center stage are two canyons carved by the Green and Colorado rivers. Surrounding the rivers are vast and very different regions: Island in the Sky (north); the Maze (west); and the Needles (east). The areas share a common primitive spirit and the Wild West atmosphere, each offering its own rewards.  To a large degree, Canyonlands remains untrammeled today. Its roads are mostly unpaved, its trails primitive and its rivers free flowing. This made it difficult to really explore all the park had to offer in a short span of time.  Canyonlands would be better explored through a back packing trip in a four wheel drive vehicle. Canyonlands IS wild America.