Canyonlands: 4x4 White Rim Tour with Island in the Sky Views

4.87

(1072 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from a Canyonlands 4x4 tour. The name “Island in the Sky” sounded almost too dramatic, but standing there later, wind tugging at my shirt and red dust in my teeth, it made sense. Our guide—Mike, who’s lived in Moab forever—started us off slow along Byway 279. We pulled over where the canyon wall is basically a storybook in stone. He pointed out petroglyphs I’d have walked right past; some spirals, some stick figures that looked like they were dancing (or fighting? Mike just grinned). It was quiet except for our voices echoing back a little.

The real jolt came when we hit the White Rim Road. The 4WD lurched over rocks and the world dropped away on one side—1,000 feet straight down to nothing but space and river. I kept thinking about how old everything felt here. At Musselman Arch, we hopped out for a short walk; I ran my hand along the sandstone (it’s rougher than it looks), and someone joked about jumping across—nobody did, thankfully. There was a whiff of sage in the air and this dry heat that somehow makes you feel awake instead of tired.

Heading up the Shafer Trail switchbacks was… well, let’s say I tried not to look down too much. Mike told us how this used to be an old cattle route—hard to picture cows making that climb honestly. The Colorado River glinted way below us whenever we stopped for photos or just to catch our breath. Four hours flew by. I still think about that view back toward Moab as we wound up toward Byway 313—the kind of silence you only get when everyone’s just looking out and nobody wants to break it.