With our spring, 2021, wheelchair Moab trip now in the books, I wanted to post about our travel experiences in Canyonlands and Arches. These two national parks, have played a major role in making Moab the tourist destination that it is today. Visit both of the parks and view the stunning red rock landscape and you will understand why – Arches and Canyonlands offer a wonderful outdoor experience to the wheelchair traveler.
In this post I will discuss some the planning that was done for the trip. I will also present the sights we visited and should have visited in the Canyonlands area. Finally, I will talk about a stop to a highly recommended “must see” state park on the other side of Canyonlands called “Dead Horse Point”.
How We Did Moab
On this trip, we rented a condo that could house our entire family, so we had a range of vacationers, from small children to adults. Sure, it may have been a bit crowded, but it was a good way to go and spend time together. The tradeoff of travelling in a large group is the challenge of accommodating what everyone wants in a vacation. But by being flexible we assured that everyone had an enjoyable time.
Spring travel is always a little unpredictable in Utah and we did have some adverse weather the first two days. Rain and wind limited outdoor activities, but the latter part of the week was quite nice for walking around and exploring.
The Utah deserts get hot in the summer, and in this area, triple digit temperatures are common in July. For this reason, we opted to come in the peak season of spring. Fall is also a peak season to visit Arches and Canyonlands since temperatures are comfortable.
Canyonlands Entrance and First Viewpoint
Canyonlands is divided into four districts and much of it is pretty rugged. The area we visited seven years ago has the best facilities and viewpoints for wheelchair travelers and is called “Island in the Sky”. It is also, by far, the most popular area, hosting three of four visitors who come to Canyonlands. We went to this area on this visit.
There is a visitor center and restrooms shortly after entering. There is a lookout across the street, that you need an off-road type of wheelchair to get to. We had Jamie’s freewheel and could make it down across the rocks with care. The photo below gives you a view of the terrain – we had to go slowly while watching for the gentlest way down:
The insert in the photo above is looking back up from where we came from the visitor center. On the plus side, it is a hard surface. But it is uneven with multiple cracks to catch a wheel – you will definitely need help getting down to the viewpoint and it probably isn’t worth the risk of a spill. If we pass this way in the future, we will skip this stop, but since we did do it, below is a photo of the view we saw:
We continued driving deeper into the park to see other features and lookouts.
Mesa Arch and Other Viewpoints
I mentioned that seven years ago, we hiked to Mesa Arch. We hiked it this time as well. There would have been no way to make it without the freewheel attached to the chair – this is not an accessible trail even if it is considered an easy hike by the National Park Service. If you attempt it with a rugged chair, use the trail that goes to the left as you approach it from the parking area and return the same way, like this:
If you can manage that, you can see from the insert in the photo you are rewarded with a nice view. Our mistake was that after seeing the arch, we continued to the second half of the loop and it is rough terrain filled with stairs. Thankfully, I had plenty of help to get Jamie back to the car:
The parts of Island in the sky I would recommend are the official overlooks that are designated “wheelchair accessible”. They are Green River, Buck Canyon, and Grand View. We actually only made it to the first one, but check out the nice sidewalk that leads up to it along with the views (and these photos really don’t do it justice):”
Here are some arial views I pulled off of Google maps of the other two overlooks – the accessibility really does look pretty good, and again, they are recommended for wheelchairs by the National Park Service:
Dead Horse Point State Park
Throughout my life, I have seen Dead Horse Point develop from a somewhat primitive state park with fantastic views of the Colorado River to one that sports a visitor center, decent restrooms, and sidewalk access to the most popular viewing area. There is also a structure for shade so it has become a nice spot for a wheelchair vacationer. Check this out:
There are also some trails along the rim if the more able-bodied travelers in your group want to do a little exploring. Jamie and I hung out at various spots where the sidewalk and shade were. I did not feel cheated though because the views were breathtaking:
Canyonlands Area Conclusion
If you make it to Utah and specifically, the Moab area, take a visit to the Island in the Sky area of Canyonlands. You will be rewarded with some lovely red rock desert views of the Green and Colorado Rivers. Make it a point to take the side trip to Dead Horse Point where you will most assuredly enjoy the picturesque scenery this state park has to offer.
In the next post, I will talk exclusively of Arches – a national park that has much to offer wheelchair travelers.