Dead Horse Point State Park

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Dead Horse Point State Park is one of those state parks where when you are at it you can't help but wonder how it is not a national park. It's probably because so much of southern Utah is already a series of national parks and something needed to be saved for the state. Beautiful park.

According to the site GoUtah, "The name of the park comes from the legend that cowboys once chased wild horses onto the peninsula and fenced off the narrow 30 yard neck to create a large corral. They selected the best of the herd for use and left the rest. Horses left in the corral when the cowboys left were unable to find their way out and died en masse, leaving just their bleached bones as a reminder. (Whether the cowboys remembered (or bothered) to take down the fence is unclear.)" Hopefully that legend isn't true but if so, that is how it got its name as a result.

It's a small park with an easy loop to drive to the various overlook points. You can also rent 4x4s to go down into the canyon which is not for the faint of heart. The park has very sheer cliffs in places and the main overlook is 6,000 feet above sea level. The Colorado River is the main cause of the erosion which has resulted in a very scenic landscape. The River can be seen far below.

It was a little bit of a cloudy day when I was there so there was a bit of a haze which you'll see in these photos. It's a great stop if you are in the area of Arches and on your way to Canyonlands National Park.

Next up...Canyonlands National Park.

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Photos

Monitor & Merrimac
Located on the way to Dead Horse Point State Park.