IN the Parks: Canyonlands National Park, A Wilderness Playground

My family and I are hitting our 4th of Utah’s Mighty 5 national parks. We’re going to Canyonlands National Park, not far outside Moab. It was certainly a wilderness playground between the hiking, canyons, and offroading opportunities. We hiked trails at Grand View Point Overlook and Mesa Arch before taking on the famous Shafer Trail. Driving the Shafer Trail means managing switchbacks, passing cars on narrow gravel trails with steep dropoffs to the side, and making it 1,500 feet down to the bottom of the canyon. Then you have to come back up! An amazing trail! One thing of note: from what I could tell, Canyonlands only has pit or vault toilets. Even the bathrooms at the nature center were outdoors, so be mentally ready for that! YouTube episodes are adapted from my podcast so are audio only but include pictures from the park. You can also listen on Apple or Spotify. Follow along on Instagram & Facebook @intheparksonline Interviews & episode are from summer 2026 and have been edited for length and clarity. Any mistakes are my own. Hope to see you IN the Parks!