Dead Horse Point State Park

Dead Horse Point State Park
Utah State Park
View of the Colorado River and Canyonlands National Park from Dead Horse Point
Country United States
State Utah
Counties Grand, San Juan
Location Moab
 - elevation 5,900 ft (1,798 m) [1]
 - coordinates 38°30′30″N 109°44′32″W / 38.50833°N 109.74222°W / 38.50833; -109.74222Coordinates: 38°30′30″N 109°44′32″W / 38.50833°N 109.74222°W / 38.50833; -109.74222
Area 5,300 acres (2,100 ha) [2]
Founded 1959 [1]
Management Utah State Parks
Visitation 560,783 (2017) [3]
IUCN category V - Protected Landscape/Seascape
Location of Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah
Website: stateparks.utah.gov/stateparks/parks/dead-horse/

Dead Horse Point State Park is a state park of Utah in the United States, featuring a dramatic overlook of the Colorado River and Canyonlands National Park.[4] The park covers 5,362 acres (2,170 ha) of high desert at an altitude of 5,900 feet (1,800 m).

The park has several overlooks, a visitor center, the Kayenta Campground with 21 RV campsites with electricity and tent pads, the Wingate Campground (New 2018) which features 20 RV campsites and 11 hike-in tent only campsites, nine yurts, a picnic area at the point, a coffee shop that serves food and beverages, and a 9-mile (14 km) loop hiking trail that allows access to the East Rim Trail and the West Rim Trail. Safety concerns include the relative isolation of the park (gas, food and medical care are over 30 miles (48 km) away in Moab), lightning danger and unfenced cliffs.[5] Nearby Moab is a noted center for mountain biking. Bikes in the park are allowed on paved roads, and there is a mountain bike trail called Intrepid Trail with 17 miles of single track trails near the State Park Visitor's Center with loops of varying levels of difficulty. Hunting is not allowed in the park.

The park is so named because of its use as a natural corral by cowboys in the 19th century, where horses often died of exposure.[6] Dead Horse Point has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.[7]

The area was also used in the final 'Grand Canyon' scene of the 1991 film Thelma & Louise.[8]

Dead Horse Point State Park panorama

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Dead Horse Point State Park: About the Park". Utah State Parks. Archived from the original on 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
  2. ↑ "Dead Horse Point State Park Resource Management Plan" (pdf). Utah State Parks. April 2007. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
  3. ↑ "Utah State Park 2017 Visitation" (pdf). Utah State Parks Planning. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  4. ↑ Leigh, Rufus Wood (1961). Five hundred Utah place names: their origin and significance. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press. p. 17.
  5. ↑ "Dead Horse Point State Park" (PDF). Utah State Parks. February 2004.
  6. ↑ Van Atta, Dale (Jan 22, 1977). "You name it - there's a town for it". The Deseret News. p. 15. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Parker, Quentin (2010). Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places. Adams Media. pp. ix.
  8. ↑ "Movies filmed in the Moab area". Moab Area Travel Council. Retrieved 2013-10-06.
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