Page Updated: May 18, 2023
Dead Horse Point State Park
Dead Horse Point - Moab UT
Ten hours is not enough; especially if you’re sleeping for six of them. Conveniently situated between Canyonlands: Island in the Sky and Arches National Parks, Dead Horse Point State Park sits just 30miles from Moab. Its location cannot be beat. Neither can its views. Of all the places we visited in Utah, the views from Dead Horse Point were the most phenomenal. It’s easy to see why it’s one of the most photographed vistas in the world.
Because of its proximity to Arches - and since all Arches campsites were booked - we reserved a tent site at the Kayenta Campground to allow us an early start on our Arches hike. After a day in Moab and stopping by Canyonlands beforehand, we arrived at Dead Horse Point at dusk and the vistas from both Dead Horse Point (pictured above) and Basin Overlook were jaw-dropping.
Kayenta was our third camping experience; we were excited to see our camp site had a shade awning - which at the time of this rewrite, I’ve found to be atypical. We were also pleasantly surprised that our site was mainly private compared to our first experiences. It also somehow seemed neater and cleaner and gave us some good views of the Milky Way.
In a twist of something different, this park also has yurts. Complete with queen beds, bunk beds, futons, electrical outlets, heat, and air-conditioning. Dead Horse Point has 64 campsites (tent, RV, and yurts) between 2 campgrounds - Wyngate and Kayenta - and what I’m gonna call “the yurt-patch,” … because there are only a handful of yurts in it. Looks like a neat experience; and with the park’s Dark-Sky distinction, here might be a fantastic place to try glamping!
Of course there are hiking trails at Dead Horse Point, but they also offer designated mountain biking trails. Its Intrepid Mountain Biking System offers over 16 miles of trails of varying difficulties. Need a bike? Bighorn Mountain Biking offers rentals in the park. Totally worth checking out at a later date with a respectable amount of time.
Dead Horse Point is a peninsula of rock atop sheer sandstone cliffs. The peninsula is connected to the mesa by a narrow strip of land called the neck. There are many stories about how this high promontory of land received its name.
According to one legend, around the turn of the century, the point was used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa top. Cowboys rounded up these horses, herded them across the narrow neck of land and onto the point. The neck, which is only 30-yards-wide, was then fenced off with branches and brush. This created a natural corral surrounded by precipitous cliffs straight down on all sides, affording no escape. Cowboys then chose the horses they wanted and let the culls or broomtails go free. One time, for some unknown reason, horses were left corralled on the waterless point where they died of thirst within view of the Colorado River, 2,000 feet below. -utah.gov
The Legend of Dead Horse Point
scenes from Dead Horse Point
-b&b
Canyonlands National Park Island in the Sky
Arches National Park
