Above the Clouds on the Island in the Sky

Island in the Sky | Sunday, January 4, 2026

After finishing up my hike in Hunter Canyon early on Sunday morning and then driving back out of Kane Springs Canyon I was just about ready to head back home, but then I thought it might be interesting to drive up onto the Island in the Sky to see if I could get above the clouds that I had been hiking beneath all weekend, so that’s where I headed instead. When I first made it into Canyonlands National Park it seemed like the low clouds on the Colorado River side of the park had mostly subsided already, except closer to Moab where I had just been hiking, but thankfully there were still plenty to be found on the Green River side! These are a few photos I took along the way as I stopped at many of the overlooks this afternoon.

From the Shafer Overlook I could still see some low clouds hanging on over by the Anticline Overlook and Hurrah Pass, which I had been hiking under earlier in the morning.

I could also see that Taylor Canyon was brimful of clouds from near The Neck.

I was happy to find that the Candlestick Tower was floating above the clouds when I reached the Candlestick Tower Overlook.

Although I drove all the way out to the end of Grand View Point, I didn’t stick around long since there weren’t many clouds still hanging around in the canyons below. I turned around and made my way out towards Upheaval Dome instead.

Along the way I stopped and walked over to a viewpoint along the rim of the Holeman Spring Basin which was like a sea full of clouds.

The clouds were acting like slow white waves against the red cliffs.

Here’s a short video clip of the clouds when the wind picked up and they started moving a little quicker.

Holeman Butte in the Clouds

When I reached the end of the road I decided to hike up to the overlooks of Upheaval Dome with hopes that it would be full of clouds. I wasn’t disappointed!

Bowl of Clouds

Upheaval Dome Rim

Although I was pretty excited to see Upheaval Dome in these conditions, a few people who had never been here before were disappointed to find it looking like this.

The peak in the middle poking out of the clouds.

Of course, I had to make a brief stop at the Green River Overlook on my way back out of the park.

Turks Head under the Clouds

I’m so glad that I took the extra time to spend a couple hours visiting the overlooks above the clouds on the Island in the Sky this afternoon!

>> Above the Clouds on the Island in the Sky Photo Gallery