The junction of the Colorado and Green Rivers divides Canyonlands into three isolated sections – The Maze, The Needles, and Island in the Sky. The Maze can only be accessed by 4 wheel drive vehicles or rugged back country trails. Both The Needles and Island in the Sky have paved roads that dead end at the canyons plus hiking trails and 4 wheel drive roads.
None of the trails are accessible, so for visitors with mobility issues Needles and Island in the Sky are scenic drives with stops at the viewpoints. The visitor centers are accessible. Newspaper Rock State Historical Monument on the way to The Needles is accessible.
Both The Needles and Island in the Sky have small, first come/first served campgrounds that fill early in the day. This isn’t a problem at The Needles because the BLM land just outside the park is open for dispersed camping. We found a beautiful spot on the slickrock (pictured below) along Lock Hart Road. However dispersed camping on BLM land outside of Island in the Sky is restricted to just a few areas to protect the land from overuse. We drove back to our spot on Willow Springs Road near Arches National Park after touring Island in the Sky.
Most of the overlook parking lots have room for RVs.
Park 38.46026, -109.82061 Boondock 38.18852, -109.66962
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