Drive-Through National Parks

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands is split into three sections due to the Colorado and Green rivers dividing it. The Needles and The Maze are best used for backpacking and off-roading trips, so we stuck to Island in the Sky, nestled between both rivers. This section has either really long trails or tiny little ones. Since we were exhausted from Arches, we opted for the tiny little ones and viewpoints.

Mesa Arch

A small half-mile hike will get you to the Mesa Arch. This short, but wide, arch holds a staggering view past its frame and is worth the tiny hike.

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Viewpoints

Other than another half-mile hike to the Upheaval Dome caldera (which didn’t photograph well for us), we stopped at the Green River and the Grand View Point Overlooks. Both provided stunning views of the river-eroded landscapes.

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My silliest viewpoint experience was when we tried to get to the park 24 hours earlier – it was snowing so they closed the road in! And for good reason – I took the below photos a day apart, just outside the visitor center at an overlook:

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Colorado National Monument

Like Canyonlands’ Island in the Sky, the Colorado National Monument offered wonderful views from the top of the cliffs. A steep drive (with a delightful munching goat!) and some small tunnels brought us to the top where we could better appreciate the views. Many of the trails seemed to lend themselves to one-way travel, so we opted to drive by most of the overlooks and enjoy the views on our way back to Denver. With our National Park Pass it was free to us, but was a bit underwhelming after the impressive views of Canyonlands. Much greener, though!

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My recommendation is if you’re in the area of either of these parks, stop by. I don’t think I’d go out of my way, though, as we didn’t have a need to spend much time at either. I suppose we’re getting jaded from all our other beautiful adventures!