At approximately 6,240 feet or 1,902 meters in elevation, Buck Canyon Overlook at Canyonlands National Park in Utah offers some breathtaking views which are only approximately 200 feet via a smoothly paved path from the parking lot, which has limited spaces available for motor vehicles.
Buck Canyon Overlook at Canyonlands National Park in Utah
Located at the mesa of the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, visitors can enjoy sweeping vistas to the west and across the Colorado River canyon from Buck Canyon Overlook — and the light layer of snow only adds another dimension to the views.
The buttes of Buck Canyon stand majestic in the background.
To give a sense of the scale of the vastness of this canyon, one only needs to refer to the squiggly white line, which is a backcountry road called White Rim Road that is covered with a light accumulation of snow. The White Rim is in the foreground on the left of the photograph and surrounded by the road; while the La Sal Mountains are prominent in the background.
Red walls of sandstone offer panoramic views from Buck Canyon Overlook.
In addition to the aforementioned backcountry road, you might also be able to see the faint outlines of some other roads and seismic lines down in the canyon if you look carefully. These roads were constructed in the 1950s during searches for oil and uranium and oil — but the impacts of the mining activities are still visible even though they ceased decades ago.
Natural vegetation is slowly repairing the adverse impacts of the aforementioned mining activities; but many years will elapse before the vegetation fully recovers in this arid environment.
As with the Green River Overlook, the red sandstone rock in the canyon provides contrast against the azure blue of the sky and other colors within the canyon; and the Colorado River basin can also be seen if you look carefully.
Final Boarding Call
The paved path to Buck Canyon Overlook — which is part of Canyonlands National Park — can be accessed by wheelchairs. Neither bicycles nor pets are permitted at Buck Canyon Overlook.
Canyonlands National Park
2282 Resource Boulevard
Moab, Utah 84532
1-435-719-2313
Entrance fees into the park include:
- Private Vehicle: $30.00 — Admits one private, non-commercial vehicle (15 passenger capacity or less) and all its occupants.
- Motorcycle: $25.00 — Admits a private, non-commercial motorcycle and its riders.
- Per Person: $15.00 — Admits one individual with no car. Typically used for bicyclists, hikers, and pedestrians. Youth 15 and under are admitted free.
Please refer to this National Parks of Utah and Colorado: Itinerary and Master Guide, which outlines my itinerary and has links to other articles here at The Gate With Brian Cohen.
All photographs ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
