Biking Down Shafer Canyon

— When we visited Canyonlands National Park in 2016, as part of our Utah’s five national parks, we were impressed by the sheer beauty of that park. In particular, the section known as Island in the Sky was breathtaking at every stop. I believe the Shafer Canyon Overlook was the first place we stopped when we entered the park. You can simply stop your car at the overlook to appreciate the beautiful scenery. If you go down the short trail — it’s about 0.3 miles (0.5 km) roundtrip — you can see more than just the switchbacks as seen in these two shots here. If you are brave enough and have the appropriate vehicle, you can drive down that narrow road. We did not do it, but someone who was also staying at the same bed and breakfast did that drive. He said there were some very steep sections. You couldn’t see past the top and also sometimes around the curves. I cannot imagine biking down that road at all. The road drops down very quickly some 1,400 ft (427 m) all the way down to the 100-mile (161 km) White Rim Road.