Hanksville is primarily a launchpad for southern Utah's most remote canyon country. The town itself has two or three genuine points of interest, but the real draws are in the surrounding desert: Capitol Reef to the west, the Henry Mountains to the south, the canyons and mesas of the San Rafael Swell to the north, and the Mars Desert Research Station nearby. If you're arriving by car from any direction, plan to arrive with a full tank.