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Just past the Island in the Sky visitor center at Canyonlands National Park in Utah is the Shafer Canyon Overlook. It sits along Grand View Point Road.
Shafer Canyon Overlook
The Shafer Canyon Overlook gives you a closer look at Shafer Canyon. You can walk out to the edge of the mesa where you can stand 1,400 feet above the canyon. At the parking lot is also the Neck Spring trailhead.
At the edge you can see Shafer Trail, which gives access to White Rim Road, as well as the mesa where Dead Horse Point State Park is located. You can also see the La Sal Mountains in the distance.
Shafer Trail is a switchback road that quickly descends into the canyon. It’s a historic path that was likely used by Native Americans to access the Colorado River below. In the early 1900s, ranchers would drive livestock up and down the path. Finally, in the 1950s, the path was widened to create a road for heavy trucks carrying mining equipment in search of uranium.
Shafer Trail Viewpoint
A bit further up Grand View Point Road from the parking lot is the Shafer Trail Viewpoint, where you can get a better view of the curves on Shafer Trail. Dead Horse Point State Park and the La Sal Mountains are again in the distance.
From the other side of the road, you can see the desert landscape that the Neck Spring Trail take you through.
