Dead Horse Point State Park

Dead Horse Point is a narrow mesa rising 2,000 feet above the Colorado River, offering what many consider the finest view in Utah: the river makes a great oxbow bend 2,000 feet below, and the canyon walls stretch in every direction to the horizon. The Colorado River appears to flow uphill at certain angles — an optical illusion caused by the meandering. The potash evaporation ponds near the river are electric blue against the red desert, coloured by algae and visible from the overlook.

The state park is 32 miles from Moab on SR-313, the same road that leads to Canyonlands' Island in the Sky. The two are easily combined in a single day. The park has a small visitor centre, an excellent campsite on the mesa, and about 10 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails along the east and west rim. Sunset here, with the canyon turning amber and the river glinting below, is one of the outstanding experiences of the Colorado Plateau.

Practical: State park entry fee around $30 per vehicle. Campsite reservations essential from March through October.

things to do sight
A story
The name comes from a story — disputed but persistent — that wild horses were corralled on the narrow-necked mesa by cowboys in the late 19th century. The neck of the plateau is only 30 yards wide, making a natural corral. According to the legend, the horses were abandoned there after the best ones were selected, and the remainder died of thirst within sight of the Colorado River 2,000 feet below.