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General Information
Camping & lodging
There is no lodging in Canyonlands National Park. Established
campgrounds exist in both the Needles and Island in the Sky districts.
Fees and available services vary: please see district descriptions
for more details.
Dead Horse Point State Park, which has a 21 site campground, is
located on Utah 313 approximately 35 miles from Moab, near the
Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands. Drinking water, flush
toilets, picnic tables and grills are provided. Reservations may
be made 3-120 days in advance by calling the Utah State Parks
reservation office at(800)322-3770.
Private campgrounds are located in nearby towns and just outside
the park near the Needles District. For information on private
campgrounds and other lodging options, call the travel council
phone numbers listed below.
Camping is allowed in many Bureau of Land Management (BLM) areas
outside the park. Some restrictions apply. Contact the nearest
BLM office for more information.
Restaurants & other services
There are no restaurants or services within Canyonlands National
Park. These may be found in nearby towns. You can use the Utah
Parks Adventure Guide to find Lodging or other services within
the area. You can also Contact the Grand County Travel Council,
PO Box 550, Moab, Utah 84532, (800)635-6622, or the San Juan County
Travel Council, PO Box 490, Monticello, Utah 84535, (800)574-4386
for further information.
Public transportation
There is no public transportation to or within Canyonlands National
Park. Private shuttle services operate out of nearby communities
and may be contacted through area travel councils. A list of commercial
tour operators is available from the park's information office.
Please note that hitchhiking is not allowed in national parks.
Commercial airline and bus service is available to the Canyonlands
area from Salt Lake City and Grand Junction, Colorado. Contact
travel agencies or area travel councils for more information.
Reservations
Canyonlands National Park accepts reservations for overnight backpacking
trips ($10), four-wheel-drive back country campsites ($25), group
campsites in the Needles and Arches NP ($10), river trips ($10
& $25) and day use into Salt Creek/Horse and Lavender canyons
($5). Fax or write: National Park Service Reservations 2282 S.
West Resource Blvd. Moab, UT 84532-8000 (435)259-4285 Reservations
are not accepted for sites at the established campgrounds at Willow
Flat at the Island and Squaw Flat in the Needles.
Kennels
Activities with pets are severely limited in Canyonlands. Pets
are not allowed on any trails and may not accompany groups traveling
back country roads in four-wheel-drive vehicles. Pets are permitted
at destinations along paved and two-wheel-drive gravel roads,
including the campgrounds, but must be leashed at all times when
outside a vehicle. A list of area kennels is available from the
park information office or from area travel councils.
Don't be surprised to learn
• Pets are not allowed in the back country, even in a vehicle.
This includes all hiking trails! See above for information on
area kennels.
• ATV's are not allowed in Canyonlands. All motorbikes must be
street legal.
• Mountain bikes are not allowed on hiking trails or off designated
roads.
Desert Etiquette
This desert has been described as rugged, inhospitable and unforgiving.
The extremes of temperature and topography that defied exploration
for years continue to surprise and inspire visitors today.
Despite its apparent toughness, this landscape of sculpted rock
is easily harmed by human visitors. Recent increases in park visitation
have damaged natural resources and made solitude more elusive.
Whether traveling by foot, boat, bike or vehicle, there are many
things you can do to help protect this fragile desert. Your cooperation
will ensure that Canyonlands remains healthy, beautiful and wild
for generations to come.
The dirt is alive
Many visitors to Canyonlands are surprised when told to be careful
where they walk...that the dirt here lives and the dirt here breathes.
Cryptobiotic soil, a nutrient-rich crust, forms the most common
ground-cover in Canyonlands and the surrounding area. Cyanobacteria,
the main component of these soils, weave microscopic fibers around
loose sand grains, binding them together and creating a stable
environment in which seeds can germinate. When crushed, the soil's
fibers are broken and the rate of wind and water erosion dramatically
increases. Eventually, the nutrient content of the broken soil
is reduced, leaving less habitat for vegetation.
Cryptobiotic soil takes decades to form. Footprints and tire tracks
can last a lifetime and ruin the pristine atmosphere that many
people find so remarkable about the back country. It is essential,
for both ecological and aesthetic reasons, that all hikers remain
on marked trails or other durable surfaces. These include rock
or natural drainages. Avoid using shortcuts or "game" trails as
these further the spread of impacted areas and rarely save time.
When passing other vehicles on four-wheel drive roads, search
for an area where the road is wide enough for two vehicles. Where
one vehicle or bike travels off the road, others are likely to
follow. Many four wheel drive roads in this area follow canyon
bottoms. All vehicles, bikes and horses must stay on designated
roads. Please explore tributary canyons on foot.
When setting up camp in a designated site, limit activities to
within the boundary posts. When backpacking in an at-large zone,
search for areas without soils; above the many canyon bottoms,
there are usually broad benches of slickrock that make ideal campsites.
When camping along the rivers, avoid areas that have not been
used before. At lower water levels, sandbars make ideal, low-impact
campsites.
Archaeological sites are sacred
The archaeological record in Canyonlands spans thousands of years
of human habitation. Throughout the park, structures, pictographs
and petroglyphs provide clues into the lives of the hunter-gatherer
and agricultural peoples who made this area their seasonal home.
Though these archaeological sites have endured the harsh desert
climate for centuries or even millennia, they are easily damaged.
View sites from a distance. Ancient walls are very fragile: do
not touch or lean on them. Never enter structures or human-made
enclosures.
Leave things as they are. When taken from their resting place,
artifacts lose the qualities that make finding them so special.
Also, the presence and exact location of scattered artifacts and
debris at an archaeological site are of great scientific value.
Enjoy rock art with your eyes only. Pictographs and petroglyphs
should not be touched or altered in any way. Oils from human skin
destroy the pigments that were created so long ago.
Preserve the primitive character of Canyonland's archaeological
sites and back country. Do not spoil archaeological sites or any
natural features with modern graffiti or dated initials. Allow
others the pleasure of discovery and enjoyment of a feature they
may or may not be the first to notice.
Human waste is a health hazard
In the desert, it is the sun's heat, not water, that has the greatest
role in breaking down human waste. The dry climate of the high
desert does not promote decomposition like forest or mountain
soils. As a result, the buildup of human waste in the back country
of Canyonlands has become a serious problem, especially in high
use areas like designated sites and high-water camps along the
rivers.
Whenever possible, human waste must be removed from the back country.
To accomplish this, hikers, four-wheel drivers or boaters should
use park-maintained vault toilets whenever they are available.
Groups traveling along the rivers are required to bring and use
their own cleanable, reusable toilet system.
Four-wheel drivers camping in the Maze or at the New Bates Wilson
site in the Needles must provide their own cleanable, reusable
toilet system as there are no vault toilets at these sites.
When backpacking, human waste should be buried in a "cathole"
4 to 6 inches deep, at least 300 feet away from any water source
or major drainage. Avoid using locations too close to campsites
or hiking trails. In Canyonlands, the best place to dig a cathole
is beneath a pinyon or juniper tree where cryptobiotic soils do
not form. It is helpful if the hole has some exposure to direct
sunlight.
Toilet paper must be packed out as it will not decompose in this
dry climate. Never burn or bury it. The burning of toilet paper
can cause serious brush fires in the desert. Consider using natural
alternatives to toilet paper such as smooth rocks or twigs.
Urine alone is not a health hazard and need not be buried. In
high-use areas, odors can build up over time and will sometimes
attract wildlife or be offensive to other hikers. Avoid using
locations too close to campsites or hiking trails. When camping
along one of the rivers, urinate into the main current to prevent
the buildup of odors along the beaches.
Allow space for wildlife
If you are patient, quiet and blessed with good timing, Canyonlands
can offer great wildlife viewing opportunities. Tracks and scat
are the most common evidence of an animal's presence.
Harassing or approaching wild animals will often cause them to
flee, using up vital energy reserves and possibly causing injury.
When encountering wildlife, maintain your distance and remain
quiet.
Teach children not to chase or pick up animals. Never feed wildlife!
Animals who become dependent on human food may not survive on
their own. In addition, wild animals may carry deadly diseases,
including hantavirus, bubonic plague and rabies, and can become
aggressive without warning.
Water is precious
Canyonlands receives only nine inches of rain annually, most of
it from thunderstorms during spring and late summer. The scarcity
of water makes it a precious resource, especially during the cloudless
summer months when daytime temperatures often exceed 100? F.
Slickrock potholes and intermittent streams harbor organisms that
complete their entire life cycles in the time it takes rainwater
to evaporate. These unique ecosystems are very vulnerable: even
the oil from our skin can alter the pH balance enough to kill
them.
Never contaminate back country water with soaps or lotions. Swimming
or bathing in anything other than the Green or Colorado rivers,
or along the Salt Creek 4WD roads prohibited. Collect water for
washing and carry it at least 300 feet from the source before
using. All back country water should be treated to eliminate waterborne
diseases.
Whenever possible, pack in your own supply of water and leave
existing springs and pools for the flora and fauna that depend
on them.
Contain your campfire
Wood fires are permitted only along the river corridors in Canyonlands
National Park. Although driftwood or dead-and-down Tamarisk may
be collected, these are not always available, especially during
high water. Charcoal or traditional camp stoves are recommended
for cooking.
Fire rings of blackened rock and partially burned debris are unsightly
and have no place in the back country. All fires must be contained
in a fire pan, which may be as simple as a metal garbage can lid
or oil pan. Clean up is easiest if you let your fire burn down
to white ash. White ash or coals that will sink may be scattered
in the main river channel. All other debris must be packed out
or burned in subsequent fires until it becomes white ash.
Vehicle campers may have charcoal fires for cooking, but must
use a fire pan and remove all fire debris from the back country.
Fire grates arc no longer provided at the designated vehicle sites
in Canyonlands.
Garbage is an eyesore
The scarcity of rainfall here means that growth and decomposition
occurs more slowly than in other climates. The pinyon-juniper
woodlands common throughout the park include trees that arc over
150 years old, but stand merely eight feet tall. An apple core
may take up to two years or more to break down, a cigarette butt
up to five years.
All garbage, both organic and inorganic, should be carried out
of the back country. Food scraps, no matter how small, should
never be discarded or buried in the back country, as they may
attract and sometimes alter the behavior of wildlife. Waste water
from cooking should be strained and then scattered over a wide
area away from your campsite, or dumped in a river channel.
Food should be hung up in a stuff sack or otherwise packed away
at night to prevent rodents, birds and other creatures from reaching
it. Camps should be kept as clean as possible to prevent ants
and mice, which often attract snakes and scorpions, from becoming
a nuisance at popular sites.
For More Information
- Contact
- Canyonlands National Park
- 2282 S. West Resource Blvd.
- Moab, UT 84532-8000
Phone: (435)259-7164
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Plan your own adventure! Use the Utah Parks Adventure Guide to
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there... |
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