Canyonlands National Park and surrounding area
Below is the official Canyonlands National Park map as a jpeg and in three geocoded formats, as a GeoTIFF, as a KMZ file, and in Oruxmaps format. The official park map as a PDF can be found here.
- Click to download a GeoTiff file viewable in PDF Maps
- Click to download a KMZ file viewable in Google Earth
- Click to download an Oruxmap file (Note - in IE Right Click and choose Save Target as)
Google Map of Island in the Sky
Probably the best images of Canyonlands come from the Island in the Sky district. These include False Kiva, popularized by Tom Till, and Mesa Arch with its incredible sunrise glow.
Mesa Arch is accessed by a short 0.3 mile on-trail hike. It is a fantastic sunrise shot. At sunrise there will be many other photographers present and vying for space, even in January when temperatures can be near zero. Mesa Arch is best shot in the winter months as the sun will be furthest to the right in your frame, and fewer people will be present. I suggest you get to the Mesa Arch parking area at least one hour before sunrise. Start hiking in as soon as you see another car enter the paking lot. Set up close to the arch. Blue hour shots can be productive, as well as sunbursts. Shoot everything from ultra-wide panoramas to close-ups of Washerwoman Arch and the surrounding terrain. If the sun is out of the frame consider using a polarizer to minimize haze. Mesa Arch is also good foreground for the Milky Way with March and April being optimal. You can place tea lights under the arch to give it a glow. It's likey you will see other photographers there even at night.
Due to vandalism the National Park Service no longer permits visits to False Kiva. The following information is provided should the park service reopen the area. False Kiva is accessed via the Alcove Spring parking area off of Upheaval Dome Road. The hike to False Kiva, while only one mile long, is moderately difficult with some exposure towards the end. The trail to False Kiva is now well defined by cairns. Make sure that you follow the cairned trail closely, you could get into serious trouble if you don't. I have included both my track to False Kiva and the OpenStreetMap track on the Google map below. My track should be accurate except for the last 100 yards or so when steep cliffs and overhangs cause considerable degradation in the GPS signal. Inside the False Kiva alcove my GPS reported that the signal was only accurate to 300 feet. At the end of the hike to False Kiva you will be following a bench 100 feet or so below the kiva. False Kiva cannot be seen from this bench. When you reach the end of the bench you should see a cairn pointing steeply up the hillside on your right.
False Kiva opens to the south and is best photographed mid-late afternoon under indirect lighting. It also photographs well at night with the Milky Way in the background. You may see a few other people at False Kiva while you are there. You will need a pano head to capture the full alcove. There is an ammo can with a log at False Kiva, please sign in and comment. Do not enter the stone circle, or the roped off area in the back of the alcove.
Below is a Google map showing the locations of Mesa Arch and False Kiva
To view the map in Google Maps please click anywhere on the map above.
- Click to download a KMZ file (Note - in IE Right Click and choose Save Target as)
- Click to download a KML file (Note - KML files do not include custom icons)
- Click to download a GPX file (Note - in IE Right Click and choose Save Target as)
USGS 24K Topo Maps
There are four "units" to Canyonlands National Park. Three are defined by where they lie relative to the Green and Colorado rivers. The fourth unit, the Horseshoe Canyon Unit, is detached and is covered by the Sugarloaf Butte topo map found in the Maze section below. Here are the topo maps by unit:
Island in the Sky
| Geo Tiff/Avenza | KMZ | Oruxmaps | KMZ Decollared | Oruxmap Decollared | Avenza Decollared |
| Bowknot Bend | KMZ | Oruxmap | KMZ Decollared | Oruxmap Decollared | Avenza Decollared |
| Cleopatra's Chair | KMZ | Oruxmap | KMZ Decollared | Oruxmap Decollared | Avenza Decollared |
| Horsethief Canyon | KMZ | Oruxmap | KMZ Decollared | Oruxmap Decollared | Avenza Decollared |
| Mineral Canyon | KMZ | Oruxmap | KMZ Decollared | Oruxmap Decollared | Avenza Decollared |
| Monument Basin | KMZ | Oruxmap | KMZ Decollared | Oruxmap Decollared | Avenza Decollared |
| Musselman Arch | KMZ | Oruxmap | KMZ Decollared | Oruxmap Decollared | Avenza Decollared |
| The Knoll | KMZ | Oruxmap | KMZ Decollared | Oruxmap Decollared | Avenza Decollared |
| Upheaval Dome | KMZ | Oruxmap | KMZ Decollared | Oruxmap Decollared | Avenza Decollared |
| Island in the Sky Merged Map | NA | NA | KMZ Decollared | Oruxmap Decollared | Avenza Decollared |
The Needles
The Maze
