Canyonlands National Park Half-Day Tour from Moab

Overview

Explore the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park on a half-day 4-wheel drive (4WD) tour. Your experienced guide negotiates steep switchbacks and rugged tracks along the White Rim Road to take you to stunning vistas such as Gooseneck Overlook. See sites with remnants of ancient Pueblo civilizations, canyons that drop 1,000 feet (300 meters) straight down, and parts of the Colorado River. An easy trail from Moab, this area offers a fantastic experience of Canyonlands National Park.

City: Moab

Tue 19 Nov

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $170.73

Make a reservation

Tue 19 Nov

Starting at $170.73

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Professional guide

Transport by 4x4 vehicle

Ice Water

Additional Info

Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Things to bring: camera, water bottle (lots of extra water provided on your tour for refills) and sun protection
NAVTEC Expeditions is an authorized concessionaire of Canyonlands and Arches National Park
Every 4x4 tour needs a minimum of 3 individuals to run. If your trip does not meet the minimum, you will be offered other tour options or get a full refund. (Another option is to pay for the 3rd fare)

What To Expect

Potash Road

Our first stop is along Scenic Byway 279 at a petroglyph rock art site. Guides provide insight to the people who passed this way and left markings on the canyon walls.

Utah Scenic Byway 279 Rock Art Sites

The Rock Art Sites of Moab offer travelers easy access to ancient drawings scattered along paths even a novice can navigate.

Island in the Sky

We enter Canyonlands National Park on the 4WD trial and take a short trip along the White Rim. This prominent sandstone formation wraps for 100 miles around the Island in the Sky.

Musselman Arch

Our excursion along the White Rim follows the trail along a bench to Musselman Arch. Guests take a short 300' stroll to see this amazing natural stone arch.

Shafer Trail

We backtrack along the White Rim Trail to the iconic switchbacks of the Shafer Trail. This old cattle trail climbs 1000' to the rim of Island in the Sky with magnificent views of the backcountry of Canyonlands. The 4X4 trail ends at scenic byway 313.

Canyonlands National Park

This 4 hour guided interpretive tour starts along the banks of the Colorado River and travels into Canyonlands on 4WD roads up to the mesa of Island in the Sky.

Corona Arch

Corona Arch is a natural sandstone arch near Moab. The arch is located within the same rock formation as Pinto Arch and Bowtie Arch.

Dead Horse Point State Park

The 4X4 trail passes 1000' under the rim of Dead Horse and 1000' above the Goose-neck of the Colorado River. We make stops at a limestone fossil bed, a giant red rock amphitheater, and the famous Thelma Louise point.

Show 5 more stops

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (631)

Eohippus

Jun 2018

I originally booked this tour as a way to break up a long trip of hiking, hiking, hiking in 4 different national parks. What I didn't realize is that the benefit of this tour was less about adding a little variety to our trip and more about getting a completely different perspective on the national park. The half-day Canyonlands tour takes you on the ride of your lifetime down at the bottom of the canyon. Later, if you plan to hike the national park, you will see the same canyon (and the dirt roads you've already ridden on) from above. It's a completely different perspective and it completely changes your view of the park. This alone makes the trip worthwhile. I want to mention that it was our tour-guide, Ben, who really made the trip special for us. Ben has been driving off-road for most of his life and has lived in Moab all of his life. He was kind enough to share a bit of his personal life story with us, the history of Moab (and what it was like to grow up there), and a tiny fraction of his wealth of knowledge about 4X4 driving and the uniqueness of the vehicles he operates. He was also there to repair, on the fly, one of the other vehicles that had broken down in 102-degree heat. We felt ourselves to be in more than capable hands. That made a HUGE difference in our enjoyment of our trip. I don't know what competing companies offer, but I've been on enough tours of all different kinds to appreciate this about NAVTEC: it was professionally run (follow-up emails and reminder emails were sent, a "night before" phone call was placed to confirm, the tour departed on time). Ben made it clear to us that a high level of skill is demanded of drivers who work for this company and that the company maintains a high standard for maintenance of its vehicles. The only minor criticism that I can make is that the tour guides are not trained to impart a specific body of knowledge to guests. I often felt they were winging it when it came to the prehistory or geology questions which naturally arose. To that end, Ben is attending college geology courses to self educate, so maybe future guests will get to avail themselves of his education. I, personally, wasn't on the trip for a lecture, so this didn't bother me at all. My only regret is that I didn't book a second tour during our stay. I think the Needles trip sounded thrilling. (P.S. Ben -- we're rooting for you and hope you win your bid for the Lexus!)

David C

Jun 2018

We had a great 5 hour trip with another NavTec 4x4 vehicle that went above and beyond our expectations. Driver was great, provided insight into all aspects of the NP and the roads leading in. Petroglyphs, movie sites (*Thelma and Louise), top to bottom sites, and a ride that always felt safe but at times on the edge, literally!! Highly recommend.

wendyvalglass

Jun 2018

Last Thursday was our last night in the Moab area and Tony @Navtec took my husband & I on a never-to-forget tour of the White Rim in Canyonlands National Park. We've been in many places in the USA & the world, but Canyonlands is pretty unusual, special. Having toured the top of the park ourselves the day before, and having noticed jeeps down below in the canyon coming up the Shafer Trail, I became very fearful and I suddenly regretted that we had booked the tour the next evening. But it was awesome! And yes, I closed my eyes some of the time, but Tony was a great driver! My husband took the front seat with Tony and was thrilled! We learned so much about the geology, the history, some folklore; saw the Thelma & Louise point, petroglyphs, great vistas above the Colorado River, Muscleman Arch & the canyons below and so much more. He took us through BLM land where cows run free along the roads on our way to Cowboy Camp Campground to see the most perfect sunset. The pit toilets here and there in the wilderness were pretty nice, considering. Very cold water, lemonade, and snacks were provided. We would do this again, and again, and again! Additional Kudos to Tony for recommending we have our final breakfast at Crave Moab. The food was terrific!