Grand View Point ~ Canyonlands National Park

The Island In The Sky is the central district in Canyonlands National Park, so the views are superb anywhere along the rim of this high mesa. The scenic overlooks along the east side of this mesa are easy to access by car and the parking is adequate, although there may be some waiting involved during the busy summer season. There are several official viewpoints along the western side of the Island In The Sky that overlook the Maze District, but most of these can only be accessed by hiking or biking. Touring as many of the Island In The Sky scenic overlooks as possible is what most people do and it does take a full day to experience them all. Because Grand View Point is the most famous, the majority of visitors look upon this high perch as being the grand finale of the tour, so they save this one for last. There sure is a lot of selfie picture taking going on at Grand View Point and rightly so, because this towering cliff top perch offers one of the most picturesque views to be found anywhere on earth! 

Most days of the year in Canyonlands are sunny with cobalt blue skies, which are perfect conditions for doing a tour along with some landscape photography. The haze that occurs during the summer wildfire season can obscure the views, but the smoke does create an interesting effect of making the high mesas look like they are rising through the mist. Rainy overcast days do not happen too often in this part of the high desert, but when they do, this is no reason to put off the trip. Some of the most intriguing views imaginable can actually be experienced in this National Park when the skies are gray with light drizzling rain.   

As can be seen in the photos, the views from Grand View Point certainly are ominously captivating during inclement weather! Gray skies and drizzling rain give the deep canyons a dark intimidating look, which actually resembles an artist's rendition of a prehistoric dinosaur land. The view of the canyons way down below certainly is intriguing at Grand View Point, especially when storms are rolling through. For this reason, a little bit of foul weather is really something to look forward to when touring the Island In The Sky!