Dead Horse Point State Park

State Park 5,362 acres 5,900 ft high point Est. 1959 Utah Division of State Parks Dark Sky Park

Overview

Dead Horse Point is a peninsula of rock that runs out to a single, staggering overlook: 2,000 feet straight down to a gooseneck bend of the Colorado River, with the layered canyon country of Canyonlands stacked behind it to the horizon. It sits on the same Island in the Sky mesa as the national park next door, sharing the geology and the view without the federal fee structure — this is a Utah state park, and one of its best. The name comes from a grim bit of cowboy lore: the point's narrow neck made a natural corral for wild mustangs, and the story goes that horses were once left fenced on the waterless point within sight of the river below. Today it's a compact, well-run destination — a paved rim drive and rim trails to the overlook, the 16-mile Intrepid mountain-bike system on the slickrock, two campgrounds and a set of yurts, and some of the darkest certified skies in Utah. For a Moab basecamp, it's the sunrise-and-sunset counterpoint to Arches and Canyonlands.

Getting in

Entrance fee: $20/vehicle (7-day) · federal interagency pass NOT accepted
Day-use fee per private vehicle (up to 8 people). Utah raised many state-park fees in 2026 — verify the current rate at reservation time. Camping is a separate fee.
Timed entry: Not required (as of 2026-07-12)
No timed entry. This is a Utah state park — the federal America the Beautiful interagency pass is NOT accepted; pay the state day-use fee or use a Utah State Parks pass.
Hours: Day-use typically 6 am–10 pm; campground and overnight guests have gate access. Verify current hours with Utah State Parks.

Permits & reservations

Camping — Kayenta & Wingate campgrounds and yurts — Utah State Parks reservations. Kayenta (~21 sites, mostly reservable) and Wingate (~31 sites) campgrounds plus yurts; reserve ahead through Utah State Parks — sites fill in season. Reserve

Visitor centers

Dead Horse Point Visitor Center — At the park entrance; exhibits, fee station, and the café/store. Seasonal hours.

When to go

Best: Apr, May, Sep, Oct Shoulder: Mar, Nov Hardest: Jul, Aug

Sunset at the main overlook is the crowd peak; the rim trails and Intrepid loops thin out quickly. Spring and fall are busiest overall.

July–August are hot and exposed. Spring and fall are ideal; winter is quiet with a chance of snow-dusted red rock and superb dark skies.

Safety & conditions

Risk level: Medium
Cell service: Spotty
Water: Potable water at the visitor center and campgrounds; none on trails or the Intrepid loops.
Nearest hospital: Moab Regional Hospital, Moab, UT (~45 minutes).

Hazards

Fall (high) — Unfenced 2,000-foot cliff edges at the overlook and along the rim trails — keep back from the edge and watch children and pets.
Heat (medium) — Exposed slickrock with no shade; summer highs are severe.
Dehydration (medium) — No water on the trails or bike loops — carry your own.
Lightning (medium) — The exposed mesa is dangerous in thunderstorms.

Cell coverage is spotty on the mesa; the cliff edges are the real hazard — most incidents here are falls.

Activities

Scenic Driving

A short paved rim drive leads to the main overlook and viewpoint pullouts — the payoff-per-mile is among the highest in canyon country.

Season: Year-round.

Sunrise and sunset are the light; the overlook faces the river bend.

Hiking

A network of rim trails (roughly 8+ miles) traces the mesa edge to a series of overlooks; mostly easy, exposed slickrock walking with big drop-offs.

Season: Spring and fall; summer is hot and shadeless.

No water on trail, exposed cliff edges — carry water and mind children and pets near the rim.

Cycling

The Intrepid Trail System offers about 16.6 miles of stacked-loop singletrack and slickrock, from beginner to intermediate, with rim-edge views — a mellower complement to Moab's harder rides.

Season: Spring and fall best; rideable much of the year.

Shared hiking/biking trails; carry water and watch the exposure on the rim loops.

Stargazing

A certified International Dark Sky Park (2016) with excellent, accessible night skies just off the paved road; the park runs seasonal astronomy programming.

Season: Year-round; new-moon windows best.

Geology

The same layered stack exposed across Canyonlands' Island in the Sky, viewed from a point that isolates one great meander of the Colorado. The blue ponds below are potash-mine solar evaporation basins in the Paradox salt.

Province: Colorado Plateau — Canyonlands Section (Paradox Basin)

Rock types: sandstone, shale

Major formations

White Rim Sandstone (the bench below the point)
Kayenta and Wingate formations (the cliff)
Cutler Group (river-level)

Ecology

Biomes: Colorado Plateau high desert / cold desert shrubland; pinyon-juniper woodland; biological soil crust communities

Flora

Utah juniper and pinyon pine
blackbrush and Mormon tea
cryptobiotic soil crust

Fauna

desert bighorn sheep (occasional)
mule deer
black-throated sparrow and canyon wren
collared lizard

Thin desert soils and cryptobiotic crust off the slickrock — stay on trail and on rock.

History

Established as a state park in 1959 on a mesa that cowboys had long used as a natural horse corral, Dead Horse Point has become one of Utah's most photographed viewpoints and a certified dark-sky destination.

Indigenous homelands: Ute, Southern Paiute

Key events

1959 Dead Horse Point opens as a Utah state park.
2016 Certified as an International Dark Sky Park.

Modern issues

Dark-sky protection and visitation

Status: ongoing

As of: 2026-07-12

As a certified Dark Sky Park near fast-growing Moab, the park balances rising visitation and nearby development against night-sky protection; state-park fees rose in 2026.

Access & regulations

Roads

UT-313 / Dead Horse Point Road — paved. Year-round. Paved the whole way from US-191; the same turnoff serves Canyonlands' Island in the Sky.

Accessibility: The main overlook and visitor center are accessible with paved paths and viewing areas.