Photo Tips USA – Dead Horse Point State Park

• Altitude 1800 m (5,900 ft)
• About 1 million visitors per year

Dead Horse Point SP, located just outside Canyonlands NP, looks down from the narrow terminus of a high mesa to the spectacular loop of the Colorado River 700 m (2,300 ft) below to the south and across Meander Canyon to the La Sal Mountains to the east. These calendar motifs are not to be missed! The small state park offers a visitor center and several well-equipped campgrounds with sites also for RVs. Just getting there via Rt-279 is a treat: after 6,5 km (4 mi), the second overlook offers a beautiful view of the large formations at the entrance to Arches NP and the La Sal Mountains. At Kilometer 10 (Mile 6), you look east at Monitor and Merrick Butte; at Kilometer 11 (Mile 7), five cliff-like overhangs are visible to the right in the smooth breakaway of the high cliff face. The overlook at Kilometer 13 (Mile 8) combines all of these scenic views and provides the best view. After the turnoff to Dead Horse Point SP from Rt-313, you head straight for the La Sal Mountains. In the early morning, you look at the beautifully illuminated cliff edges of the Canyonlands. From Moab, it takes about 1 hour with short stops to travel the 51 km (32 mi) to Dead Horse Point.

The Dead Horse Point Overlook is the shooting point for the dominant motifs of this area. The long east flank of the mesa in the middle of the river loop is photogenic all day, although you need a polarizing filter at midday to eliminate contrast-reducing stray light. However, sunrise and sunset are the most beautiful when the low sun from the sides casts dramatic shadows on the landscape. 28 mm is a good focal length for this panorama. The view of the La Sal Mountains, on the other hand, requires the sun in the western sky during the second half of the day. Without this, it lacks contrast and, thus, depth. At the east end of the overlook, there are photogenic trees to enliven the foreground of this canyon panorama. From the vicinity of the visitor center, there is a good view of Pyramid Canyon in the morning.

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