Dead Horse State Park, Utah

Dead Horse State Park is very near Canyonlands Nat'l Park. In fact, it's a turnoff on the way. Dead Horse got its name, apparently, from long ago, when this place was used as a natural corral for horse thieves. The plateau drops off with sheer cliffs several hundred meters tall on 3 sides, with only a narrow neck of land (30 yards or so) connecting the plateau to the main plateau. Thus it was easy for rustlers to simply fence off this narrow neck, and keep their horses from running away. Unfortunately the dry desert conditions, lack of food and water, and limited space often killed the horses. The area was used as the set for the Grand Canyon scenes in the 1991 film Thelma & Louise.

This is a really small park: there's really one one spot to look out at, but what a sight! At sunset, this place is so beautiful. I can't tell you how nice this place was; the pictures do not do it justice. So, if you come out this way, make sure you leave about an hour near sunset to check this place out!