Grandstaff Trail and Canyonlands, UT

The day started with a hike in Grandstaff Trail in the Grandstaff National Recreational Area outside Moab. It was 5 miles round trip, but had 8 stream crossings back and forth across the same stream. There were meandering trails, some short sections with rocky up and down areas. Trail followed the steam the whole way. The views were beautiful along the way and at the end of the trail was a huge arch called Morning Glory Natural Bridge (often classified as an alcove arch), it is the 6th largest natural rock span in the US, stretching 243 feet. The arch is close to the rock wall next to it, so it is best viewed from just below it. An outdoor group was repelling down the rock wall next to the arch wile we were there.
We then took a short drive from Moab to Canyonlands National Park. The park is so large, there is no way to see it in a single day, so we chose one area to drive the outlooks and short hikes to the overlook areas. We stopped at a few and had great views of the park. It is a very different type of park since it's made up of huge canyons of eroded rock over the millennia. The overlooks are not always a fenced off area. Sometimes they are just a flat rocky area that ends at the cliff over the canyon. It's not dangerous as long as you don't wander around too much without paying attention to where you are going. Again the views were beautiful and the blue skies were perfect. We could even see the show covered mountain peaks in the distance.Read more