We are starting to plan a trip to Canyonlands National Park for September. I have a few questions, if anyone can help....
1. How many days is reasonable to plan for to get a good idea of the park.How many would you suggest to spend in each section?
2.What is the weather typically?
3. Any suggestions for reasonable places to stay....nothing fancy just clean and close.
4. is 1 day long enough to spend in Goblin State Park just to see it?

Thank-You Gail

Weather: http://www.canyonlands.national-park.com/weather.htm

Lodging: There's no lodging in the park. Assuming that you're planning on visiting the Islands in the Sky and Needles districts, and presumably Arches National Park as well, the closest place to stay is in the town of Moab. Here are the Tripadvisor reviews of hotels in Moab: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g6...ah-Hotels.html I stayed in the Hampton Inn, and it was perfectly pleasant and adequate.

Recommended time: This, I think, would depend on what kinds of activities you have in mind. Just scenic drives and getting out at view areas? Some easy walks on flat hiking trails? Long day hikes? Backcountry backpacking? Whitewater rafting? Skydiving?

Hi gaila,

Start here by doing a search for Utah and trip reports. It will give you lots of good ideas and info!

How many days to you have? You can easily spend a week in Moab and not do it all.

My DW and I spent only 5 hours in the Island in the Sky section. We spent about 2.5 days in Arches. IMHO Arches is nicer. If you don't like the lodging or prices in Moab, you can stay in Green River.
You should watch the movie '127 Hours' which was filmed in Canyonlands.
We spent about 4 hours in Goblin Valley SP on the way back from Capitol Reef to Green River (Robbers Roost motel).

Thank-you everyone for replying so quickly. I should have mentioned that I have been to Moab once before . We have been to Arches, Bryce and Zion. I have seen 127 hours the movie and have read the book 3 times. We would not be able to do the exact hike that Aron Ralston did but I would still like to see how far we can get. No skydiving or rafting I don't think but lots of hiking and scenic driving. I was thinking 4 days including Goblin. Should I add on more time?

Don't neglect the Needles district of Canyonlands. It gives you a very different look at the park. We stayed in Green River the last couple of times we were there. The information and link to pictures are in a TR you can get by clicking my name and scrolling to the TR section.


Hope to get back there this spring and do more hiking than last time, I'll probably do a TR for this trip too.

When we've been in the area in Sept. the weather was great, but thunderstorms are always a possibility at that time of year.

Have a fantastic trip.