Canyonlands National Park

Permit Information

NPS Special Use Permit required for weddings. $185 application fee, plus cost recovery monitoring fees based on the monitor's salary, time on site, and travel. Weddings can be scheduled up to one year in advance. Contact the Special Use Permit Coordinator at 435 719 2123 before applying to confirm your date. Designated sites: Shafer Canyon Overlook, Green River Overlook, and Grand View Point (Island in the Sky, up to 25 guests) and Pothole Point or Needles Group Campsites (The Needles, 15 to 50…

Planning Your Day at Canyonlands National Park

One-Spot Day

Canyonlands has three districts: Island in the Sky (most accessible, 32 miles from Moab, where all three ceremony sites for couples are), The Needles (south, 90 minutes from Moab via a different road, remote), and The Maze (wilderness, not for weddings). If you are doing an Island in the Sky ceremony, Grand View Point is the anchor at the end of the main road, 12 miles from the visitor center. Mesa Arch is 6 miles from the visitor center, half a mile off the main road. Green River Overlook is 9 miles in on a short spur. All three are within 15 to 20 minutes of each other by car. If you want both the Needles and Island in the Sky, plan two separate days, the two districts are not connected by road inside the park.

Ceremony + Portraits Split

Inside Island in the Sky, splits are short. Mesa Arch to Grand View Point is about 15 minutes (6 miles). Grand View Point to Green River Overlook is 10 to 12 minutes (3 miles via the main road and spur). A typical day: sunrise at Mesa Arch (expect 20 to 50 photographers), then drive to Grand View Point for the ceremony mid morning when light is softer and crowds are lowest, then Green River Overlook for sunset portraits. The Mesa Arch sunrise scene shares space with photographers, so plan for a ceremony elsewhere. Island in the Sky to The Needles is roughly 2 hours by road (out of the park and back in via a separate entrance), so pick one district and commit.

A Note on Light

Mesa Arch glows orange and red at sunrise when reflected light from the canyon floor hits the underside of the arch. That 20 minute window is the reason most people come, and it is shared with 20 to 50 photographers lined up behind the arch. Grand View Point works both ends of the day, sunrise lights the east facing rim and sunset fills the canyons below with warm light from the west. Green River Overlook faces west and is built for sunset, the last hour turns the whole canyon system gold. Spring (March through May) and fall (September through November) have the most workable temperatures. Summer is extreme heat with afternoon thunderstorms that can be dramatic but unpredictable. Winter is cold and mostly dry with occasional snow on the red rock.

Ceremony Spots at Canyonlands National Park

• Mesa Arch — Sunrise ceremony with a glowing arch framing 1,000 foot canyon drops
• Grand View Point — Panoramic ceremony at the edge of a 1,000 foot cliff with endless canyon views
• Green River Overlook — Quieter sunset ceremony overlooking the Green River and Monument Basin