Upheaval Dome Overlook Hike, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

May 13

The hike to the Upheaval Dome Overlook is a short hike to a viewpoint looking out over a geological formation that scientists still don’t know how it formed. What is Upheaval Dome? It’s a bunch of oddly angled layers of rock that formed a depression more than 2 miles wide.

I parked at the Upheaval Dome Trailhead and headed out along the main trail from the trailhead. There were obvious signs for the Upheaval Dome Trail. The first overlook is 0.3 miles from the trailhead, which is what I hiked to. The trail was wide and well manicured, with well-placed rock steps for the parts of the hike with an incline. The hike to the overlook was mostly uphill, but at a very manageable grade. This trail was very busy on a weekday in May. I quickly found myself at the overlook, along with 10-15 other people.

What’s so interesting about Upheaval Dome is that scientists don’t know what created it. There is one theory that it was formed from a slow moving salt dome that cracked and tilted the rock over time. The other theory is that a meteorite struck the ground here several hundred million years ago. Those are two quite different theories! I wonder how much more research will be needed to solve the mystery. Regardless, it’s a pretty neat geological formation to check out if you find yourself in Canyonlands National Park!

Total Stats: 0.6 miles, 115 ft of elevation gain