Canyonlands is Utah's largest national park and, by most measures, its most dramatic. The Colorado and Green rivers divide the park into four distinct districts, each with its own character and access. Most visitors go to Island in the Sky, the flat-topped mesa north of Moab: the drive is 32 miles and the views from the rim drop 1,000 feet into a landscape of canyon, mesa, and river that looks genuinely prehistoric.
The Needles district, south of Moab, requires more effort but has the best hiking: trails wind through a maze of red and white striped spires, and the backcountry campsites are among the finest in the Southwest. The Maze district, on the west side, is genuinely remote — four-wheel drive only, with jeep trails that require experience and a permit for overnight stays.
Upheaval Dome, near Island in the Sky, is a geological curiosity: a circular impact crater (from a meteorite strike about 170 million years ago) whose concentric rings of folded rock are visible from the rim trail. The overlook is a short walk from the trailhead. No timed entry is required, but crowding at Island in the Sky viewpoints can be significant on spring weekends.