Canyonlands National Park Backcountry Tour
Description
To truly understand the raw scale of Canyonlands, get off the pavement and down onto the canyon floor. As an authorized concessionaire of the National Park Service, we hold exclusive permits to take you into the rugged heart of Canyonlands on this premier half-day adventure. Our route begins along the Colorado River corridor and reveals a red rock desert that most park visitors completely miss. Professional guides offer an authentic, deeply knowledgeable look into the region's natural history and complex geological layers. The trail serves as a living timeline of earth's history, showcasing the exposed rock layers within the park. Along the way, we'll step out to examine the intricate petroglyphs left behind by the Ancestral Puebloans, take in the sweeping bend at the Gooseneck Overlook, and track across the White Rim to view Musselman Arch. The trip culminates with a dramatic ascent up the sheer cliff face via the Shafer Trail switchbacks, delivering you right to the top of the mesa.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Folks visiting the parks on their own typically only see what is along side the pavement road - this tour will venture into the 4x4 backcountry for an exquisite and unique National Park experience. Throughout this half day experience you will learn all about the parks, history, and geology of the Moab area. Your guide will point out formations, and other towering landscapes along the way. We stop frequent for photos but there is little hiking. Sight seeing areas on this tour include but are not limited to Potash Road, Shafer Trail, Musselman Arch, Ancient Petroglyphs (Rock Carvings), Thelma and Louise point, and breathtaking canyon views.
Potash Road as it carves along the Colorado River, tracking beneath towering red cliffs before the pavement ends and the real backcountry begins
Stand beneath the towering sheer cliffs, where centuries-old petroglyphs left by ancient cultures are etched into the dark desert varnish.
We’ll ascend the legendary Shafer Trail, a stunning series of dirt switchbacks that hug the cliffside, offering sweeping, panoramic views that open up wider with every turn as we climb toward the top of Island in the Sky mesa.
We’ll stop to look out at Musselman Arch, a striking, flat-topped stone bridge that juts out over a sheer 300-foot drop to the canyon floor offering a dramatic look at the power of natural erosion.
Thousands of feet above the canyon floor with sweeping views of a landscape carved by time. Where each layer of exposed sandstone tells a different chapter of earth's ancient geologic history.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Please contact us 24 hours prior to confirm pick up. Thank you.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please book separate reservations for groups over 6. Your group will travel together in separate vehicles.
Reviews(69)
Our party of 4 really enjoyed all the beautiful sights that our guide, Ron took us to see. He was very informative. He was a terrific guide!
Kevin took my husband and I out for the afternoon and we saw so many cool sites and heard backstories. So glad we did this and also had an experienced driver
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! We are so thrilled to hear you had a wonderful time with Kevin and were able to learn, explore all while feeling safe and comfortable! We hope to see you again and safe travels!
We had originally signed for a tour of Arches, but our guide, Kevin, offered us the back country tour of Canyonlands, explaining that the mall of the key sites are easily available by car in Archea. We accepted his offer and we really glad we did! The back country tour of Canyonlands was great, taking on steep and foreboding roads I would never drive down and out of canyons, but Kevin was so experienced a driver we always felt safe.It was like driving into and through the Grand Canyon, The next day we toured Arches on our own, Thanks Kevin you were right. Without having you for a guide, Canyonlands would have been just a bunch of scenic overlooks.
Highly recommend this tour. Kevin Walker was our tour guide. He is very personable and knowledgeable of the park, the history, the landscape, the flora and fauna. He entertained us with lots of stories. We felt very safe with him. We would not have been able to enjoy the park like this on our own.
Amazing tour with Kevin. Kevin made me feel safe on the back roads and he had so much information and many wonderful stories. I highly recommend this tour.
This is a great experience that stops to allow you to view and walk to many of the most iconic locations in Arches National Park. Its comfortable riding on good roads in a minibus with large open windows on both side for excellent photography - a welcome change after bouncing for hours on dirt tracks for other trips. Dane, our driver and guide, kept to the topics for each location, which made the drive even more informative. Listed as "senior-friendly", it is - but I would recommend it for anyone.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us, we strive to create fun and unforgettable experiences for guests of all ages! We love that you would recommend this tour for all ages too! We hope to see you again and safe travels!
This is a great way to see Canyonlands! Kevin is an experienced driver/guide who gave us an amazing tour sharing the park’s history and little quirky facts which enriched our experience. The views were extraordinary! He pointed out details I would’ve never seen on my own. I recommend this experience wholeheartedly.
You will become immersed in the beauty and history of Canyonlands Island in the Sky on this tour. Kevin is an experienced and knowledgeable guide who is also an expert and very careful driver on this rigorous backcountry tour. He is exceptionally familiar with the terrain and surrounding areas. If you want a great Moab backcountry tour…go with Kevin to Canyonlands!
Since we did not want to drive our own Xtreme jeeps, we chose to do a half day Back Country Jeep Tour of Canyonlands NP. Kevin was an amazing guide - both personable and knowledgeable. He told us lots of interesting facts about the area around Moab and the park. We stopped to check out the Petroglyphs on Potash Rd., then on to a quick stop to see some dinosaur tracks nearby. It was fun to see where the end of the Thelma & Louise movie was filmed, but even more, just taking in the moment to enjoy the incredible beautify surrounding the area near Canyonlands and Dead Horse State Park. The best to me was getting to experience all this on the back roads. Fun!!
Kevin was an excellent driver and tourguide!
