Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park is Utah's largest national park and arguably the most dramatically otherworldly landscape in the continental United States. Where Arches National Park dazzles with its famous formations, Canyonlands overwhelms with sheer scale — mile upon mile of eroded canyon country carved by the Green and Colorado Rivers into a maze of mesas, buttes, and chasms that stretches to every horizon.

For families with kids old enough to understand what they're seeing, Canyonlands delivers a perspective on geological time and natural scale that no other experience can replicate. Standing at the edge of Island in the Sky and looking down at the Colorado River 1,000 feet below gives children a visceral understanding of deep time that no classroom lesson can produce.

The Island in the Sky district is the best entry point for families. It's the most accessible, with paved roads leading to dramatic overlooks and moderate hiking trails with stunning payoffs. Mesa Arch — a relatively short hike to a stone arch framing the canyon below — is one of the most photographed spots in the Southwest, and for good reason.

Sunrise here, with orange light pouring through the arch onto the canyon walls, is legitimately extraordinary.

Water is not available in most of the park. This is critical. Carry a minimum of 3 liters per person, more in summer. Summer heat also makes extended hiking genuinely dangerous — spring (April–May) and fall (September–October) are the right seasons for family visits with young children.

The $80 America the Beautiful Annual Pass covers entry to all national parks and pays for itself quickly on a Moab trip that visits Canyonlands, Arches, and potentially other federal lands. Buy it before you go.

Canyonlands rewards families who arrive prepared with water, food, and time. It's the kind of place that changes how you see the world.