Gold-Tier Dark Sky · Sunset · Stargazing
Canyonlands Stargazing
Canyonlands has some of the darkest skies in the country. Moab In A Day's small-group sunset tour offers an extra hour of stargazing, with an option that spends the sunset in Canyonlands rather than Arches.
- 5.0 / 5 118+ Reviews
- 3 to 4 hours Duration
- Gold tier Dark Sky Park, 2015
- 3 to 4 h Sunset + Stars
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the Sunset and Stargazing Tour Covers
Moab In A Day's small-group evening, with the stargazing add-on.
Highlights
- Sunset in Arches or Canyonlands, depending on the option you book
- An optional extra hour of stargazing
- Small group, up to 11 per booking, air-conditioned vehicle
What's Included
- Cold water refills & snacks
- Photography focused small-group tour in a comfortable, spacious vehicle. Not offroad.
Not Included: National Parks entries: $15/pp extra or free for up to 4 w/ 1 existing pass
How a Stargazing Night Works
Pick the option, check the moon, dress warm.
Pick the Option
The listing has four options: Arches sunset with an hour of stargazing, Arches sunset without it, Canyonlands sunset with stargazing, and a 4-hour easy-walking morning in Arches.
Check the Moon
Stars and the Milky Way are best on nights near the new moon. A full moon still lights the rock beautifully but washes out the fainter sky.
Budget the Park Fee
National park entry is not included: it costs $15 a person, or one valid pass covers up to four people.
Dress for a Cold Desert Night
Even after a hot day the desert cools fast. Bring layers; the operator provides water refills and snacks.
Photo Gallery
Dusk and Dark in Canyon Country
Photos from the tour listing: sunset on the sandstone and the night sky above it.
Book Your Experience
Check Dates for the Sunset and Stargazing Tour
Dates, times and the live price open on the tour's Viator page.
Moab In A Day LLC
Moab Sunset Tour with Optional Stargazing, Small Group
- 5.0/5 from 118 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor
- 3 to 4 hours
- From $189 per person (checked October 2026)
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
- Moab In A Day, 150 E. Center St., Moab; hotel pickup offered
Three Stargazing Nights Near Moab
A guided sunset with stars, an astrophotography hike and a telescope night. Prices as listed on Viator in October 2026.
| Feature | THIS PAGE Sunset + Stargazing | Arches Astrophotography Hike | Telescope Night |
|---|---|---|---|
| What You Pay | From $189 per person (October 2026); park entry extra | From $175 per person (October 2026); park entry extra | From $200 per person (October 2026) |
| Where | Arches, or Canyonlands on one option | The Windows section of Arches | A private desert site 30 minutes south of Moab |
| Time | 3 to 4 hours | 2 hours | 2 hours |
| Transport | Air-conditioned vehicle from Moab | Meet at the trailhead | Drive yourself; directions sent after booking |
| Best For | A first night out, with sunset included | Learning to photograph the night sky | Seeing galaxies and planets up close |
| Rating | 5.0 from 118 reviews | 5.0 from 108 reviews | 4.7 from 15 reviews |
| Check dates | See the photo hike | See the telescope night |
Other Night Tours
More Stargazing Near Moab
Astrophotography in Arches, a telescope night south of town, and the same tours on GetYourGuide.
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHYAstro-Photo & Stargazing Tour in Arches National Park
A two-hour night hike through the Windows section of Arches with an astrophotography guide; headlamps and tripods are provided.
TELESCOPESProfessional Stargazing in Moab
Two hours at a dark desert site 30 minutes south of Moab with an astronomer, keypad telescopes, astro-binoculars, blankets and hot drinks.
ON GETYOURGUIDEMoab: The Windows Astro-Photography and Stargazing Hike
Meet your guide after dark in the parking lot and begin your guided hiking tour. Get set up with the included red LED headlamps and tripods. Take your pictures to …
ON GETYOURGUIDEMoab, UT: Professional Stargazing Experience
Stargazing Moab is pleased to host you, family, and friends for an entertaining evening of stargazing and astronomy within the beautiful Colorado Plateau. If you are …
The Guide
Stargazing at Canyonlands: Where, When and With Whom
The park is dark. The tours mostly run in the park next door, and that is fine.
In 2015 the International Dark-Sky Association made Canyonlands a Gold-Tier International Dark Sky Park, its highest grade, after the park converted nearly all of its lights to night-sky-friendly fixtures. Dead Horse Point State Park, next door, followed in 2016, and Arches is a dark sky park too. Around Moab, then, the question is less where it is dark than how far you want to drive after sunset and whether you want a guide.
Most guided stargazing near Moab happens in Arches or at a desert site south of town, closer to the hotels than Island in the Sky. That is not a compromise. The sky over Arches is the same sky, and the drive back is shorter.
The tour on this page
Moab In A Day’s small-group sunset tour, in the booking box above, includes a Canyonlands option. You choose between an Arches sunset with an hour of stargazing, an Arches sunset without it, or a Canyonlands sunset with stargazing; a fourth option is an easy-walking morning in Arches. Groups are up to 11 in an air-conditioned vehicle, with water refills and snacks. It costs from $189 a person for 3 to 4 hours, rated 5.0 from 118 reviews (checked October 2026). National park entry is extra, $15 a person or free for up to four with a pass.
Check dates for the sunset tour
Photograph it, or look through a telescope?
Moab Sunset Tour with Optional Stargazing, Small Group
A guided sunset in Arches or Canyonlands, then an hour of stargazing. The only one here with a Canyonlands option.
Check dates →Astro-Photo & Stargazing Tour in Arches National Park
A two-hour night hike around the Windows in Arches with help on camera and phone settings; tripods and red headlamps provided.
See the photo hike →Professional Stargazing in Moab
Two hours at a dark site 30 minutes south of Moab with an astronomer, keypad telescopes, blankets and hot drinks. You drive yourself.
See the telescope night →Prices, ratings and review counts from the Viator listings (checked October 2026). Treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.
The astrophotography hike starts at the Windows trailhead and covers roughly 2 miles of walking in the dark, so it is not for very young children. The telescope night has no toilets on site and you need to download the directions before you lose signal. Both operators also sell these tours on GetYourGuide: the Windows astrophotography hike and the professional stargazing night.
When the sky is best
Pick a night near the new moon; a bright moon washes out the Milky Way, though it lights the arches well for photographs. Summer and early fall put the brightest part of the Milky Way high in the evening sky, and the desert is pleasant after dark when the days are hot. Winter nights are long, clear and cold, with average January lows of 22°F at the park. If you are camping at Dead Horse Point or Island in the Sky, walk away from the campground lights and give your eyes twenty minutes; the Dead Horse Point page has the state park’s fee and the road.
Guest Reviews
What Stargazing Travelers Say
Read the 118 reviews of this tour on Viator
See All ReviewsSunset, Then the Stars
Moab In A Day's small-group sunset tour with an optional hour of stargazing, in Arches or in Canyonlands, in an air-conditioned vehicle with water and snacks. Park entry is extra. Starting from $189 per person.
Check dates on ViatorCan't Make These Dates?
Browse More Available Options
Find a tour that fits your schedule. Dates and cancellation terms are on each listing.
Stargazing Near Canyonlands: Questions
Dark-sky status, the best months and where to look.
Yes. The International Dark-Sky Association named it a Gold-Tier International Dark Sky Park in 2015, its highest grade. The park had converted nearly all of its lighting to night-sky-friendly fixtures before the award. Dead Horse Point State Park became an International Dark Sky Park in 2016, the first Utah state park to do so.
Island in the Sky's overlooks, on a moonless night, are the closest dark viewpoints to Moab inside the park. The Needles and the Maze are darker still but far from town. Dead Horse Point, on the neighbouring mesa, is a certified dark sky park too. The guided tours mostly run in Arches or at a desert site south of Moab; the sunset and stargazing tour has a Canyonlands option.
The town is not, but the parks around it are. Canyonlands, Arches and Dead Horse Point are all certified dark sky parks. In town the street lights wash out the fainter stars; a short drive into any of the parks, or the telescope site 30 minutes south of Moab, brings the Milky Way back.
Arches, Dead Horse Point and Island in the Sky, away from the town lights, on a night near the new moon. The astrophotography hike in the Windows section of Arches is built around photographing it; tripods and red headlamps are provided.
For the Milky Way, late spring to early fall; for long, clear nights, winter. The brightest part of the Milky Way rides highest in the summer evening sky, and the desert is pleasant after dark when the days are hot. Winter nights are longer but cold: NPS records average January lows of 22°F at the park. In any month, the week around the new moon matters more than the season.
The tours inside the parks do not. Moab In A Day asks $15 a person for national park entry, or one valid pass covers up to four; the GetYourGuide listing of the Arches astrophotography hike excludes Arches entry ($30 per vehicle). The telescope night is at a desert site south of Moab, outside the parks.
Still have questions? Email us at info@canyonlands-tours.com