Gooseneck State Park, Utah

Located within Utah's Gooseneck State Park you'll find a 1,000-foot-deep gorge that slowly meanders along with the San Juan River, a waterway flowing for a distance of 1 linear mile toward the Colorado River, eventually reaching Lake Powell. Chiseled out of the Pennsylvanian Hermosa Formation, this mighty canyon is a breathtaking site offering many opportunities for recreation in one of the country's most beautiful parks.

Reach Utah's Gooseneck State Park about 4 miles off Highway 261 near Mexican Hat by way of a paved access road (UT 316). Enjoy the scenery and views this park affords for free – no entry fee means everyone has the freedom to explore one of the world's most spectacular entrenched river ways.

At the viewpoint enjoy the free campsite available to visitors and park near the cliff's edge for a wonderful recreation spot. Unlike other parks, this destination doesn't offer walking or hiking trails, but you can traverse the length of the canyon at its rim for as long as you want. Biking trails are another option.

If you want to see the riverbank, however, an unpaved road leaves UT 316 and travels northwest into the river canyon toward Cedar Mesa. Look for FR 244, Johns Canyon Road – it leads into the Glen Canyon NRA and trails off at the river. A route less-traveled, if you take this road down to the riverbank, you'll be treated with the spectacle of more than one side canyon and the ruins of Anasazi cliff homes – a rare and exceptional sight.

Gooseneck State Park covers 10 acres of land and rises to an elevation of 5,000 feet. Open year round, you are permitted to stay for up to 14 days.