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What we do International Dark Sky Places

Canyonlands National Park

The Milky Way over the Needles District, Canyonlands National Park. Photo by Cadence C. Cook.

About

Canyonlands National Park preserves a series of canyons, mesas and other landforms the confluence of the Colorado River and the Green River on the Colorado Plateau. The park is divided into four ‘districts’: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the Colorado and Green rivers themselves. The American environmental essayist Edward Abbey, a frequent visitor to Canyonlands, described the Park as “the most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth” and wrote “there is nothing else like it anywhere.” Much like nearby Capitol Reef National Park and Natural Bridges National Monument – both IDA Dark Sky Parks – Canyonlands is in a highly defensible location with little artificial light pollution. The Canyonlands ethos is to make visitors and neighbors alike aware of its rare and fragile dark night sky as a resource worth defending.

Designated

2015

Category

Dark Sky Park

CANY-map-160px-160px

Address

Utah, U.S.
Google Maps

Contact

Cadence Cook
Website

Land Area

1365 km2

Documents

Application
Annual Reports
Announcement

Weather

Click here to find ideal environmental conditions for viewing the night sky at Canyon Lands National Park (38.2537, -109.93556). Don’t forget to plan your trip during the new moon and astronomical twilight to enhance the viewing experience!