Moonscape Overlook in Hanksville, Utah: The Complete Guide

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Hanksville, Utah has become Instagram-famous, thanks to its otherworldly landscapes. Moonscape Overlook is one of its most unique features—a cliff that overlooks the surrounding canyon, with hills, badlands, and rugged monoliths stretching across the desert floor below. If you want to see this jaw-dropping scenery for yourself, here’s everything you need to know about visiting Moonscape Overlook.

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Couple sitting on a rock at Moonscape Overlook at sunrise in Hanksville, Utah
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How to Get to Moonscape Overlook

The Moonscape Overlook is located here, about a half hour west of the teeny town of Hanksville, Utah or about 40 minutes east of Capitol Reef National Park.

Woman standing in front of the Temple of the Moon and the Sun in Capitol Reef National Park in Utah

The Hanksville area is pretty remote, with the closest airports being:

  • Grand Junction, Colorado (2 hours and 50 minutes away)
  • Salt Lake City, Utah (4 hours and 15 minutes away)
  • Las Vegas, Nevada (6 hours and 10 minutes away)

If you’re flying here, you’ll need to rent a car, as there unfortunately isn’t any kind of public transit that you can take to the Hanksville area.

I’d recommend getting a vehicle that’s high clearance and with 4WD, as many of the popular destinations in Hanksville, like the Bentonite Hills, Temple of the Sun and the Moon, Long Dong Silver, and—yup, you guessed it—Moonscape Overlook, require driving off-road.

Just be sure to double check the fine print of your rental agreement—many rental companies don’t allow you to take vehicles on unpaved roads!

Driving to Moonscape Overlook

Regardless of whether you’re coming from Hanksville to the east or Capitol Reef to the west, you’ll need to drive along Highway 24 and turn north here on Factory Butte Road. 

You’ll drive north on this road for a little over 6 miles, which should take about 15 minutes. This portion of the road is unpaved, but, otherwise, seemed to be in pretty good shape (at least, when my husband, Justin, and I drove here!).

Couple sitting on top of an SUV in front of Factory Butte in Hanksville, Utah

During your drive, you’ll pass Factory Butte on the lefthand side, a stunning (or should I say butte-iful?) butte with a unique, rippled appearance and a rugged cap rock that towers at 6,300 feet tall.

Eventually, you’ll turn right here, at Skyline View Road and drive the final two and a half miles to Moonscape Overlook. This portion of the drive is a bit trickier, with some pretty massive potholes and large hunks of rock, sticking out of the road. 

We were able to make the drive just fine in our 4WD SUV, but we had friends who tried to make it in a 2WD Sprinter van and didn’t feel comfortable driving this final stretch. I think most high clearance passenger vehicles will be able to make it if you drive slowly and carefully, but you know your car (and driving abilities) better than I do. 

If you aren’t comfortable driving the road to Moonscape Overlook yourself, there’s a handful of guided tours, where someone else will quite literally take the wheel for you, like this option.

SUV driving on an unpaved road to Moonscape Overlook in Hanksville, Utah

This road will take you right up to the viewpoint—no need to climb, hike, or do physical activity of any kind to enjoy the epic views! 

Instead, you can stroll along its cliff sides and, if you’re into adrenaline pumping activities, hike out onto the Instagram famous ridge that juts out over the canyon floor below. 

Man standing on ridge at Moonscape Overlook in Hanksville, Utah

Big caveat to this—be SUPER careful and don’t get too close to the edge here. The rock is extremely soft and crumbly here and, unfortunately, there have been deaths from people standing near the cliff’s edge and it literally crumbling beneath their feet.

Not to scare you, but it honestly feels like it’s just a matter of time before the iconic ridgeline that people walk onto crumbles—I just really hope there isn’t a person on it when that happens! 

When to Visit Moonscape Overlook

The best time to visit Moonscape Overlook is right at sunrise—the soft glowy light over the rugged cliffs and badlands stretching across the desert floor below makes it look even more otherworldly! 

Just be aware that driving to the overlook in the dark can be a tiny bit sketchy, given the condition of Skyline View Road. So give yourself plenty of time before sunrise, so that you don’t feel rushed. 

Canyon and badlands at Moonscape Overlook near Hanksville, Utah

Surprisingly, sunset isn’t really that great of a time to visit Moonscape Overlook. The desert sky looks absolutely beautiful but the sun sets directly behind the overlook, meaning the canyon and all of its interesting features are shrouded in shadow in the later part of the day.

In terms of what time of year you should go, spring and fall have the most pleasant weather, with moderate temperatures and clear skies. We came in May and it was PERFECT—just a teeny bit chilly before the golden sun popped over the horizon and wispy clouds painted across the sky. 

Couple sitting at Moonscape Overlook at Hanksville, Utah

The summer can be brutally hot, with temperatures that can exceed 100 degree. Plus, there’s literally no shade here.

Accordingly, even though Moonscape Overlook doesn’t require any kind of hiking or physical activity, remember to bring plenty of water (we swear by these enormous Nalgene bottles) and sun protection, like sunscreen and a hat. 

Moonscape Overlook will be at its least crowded in the wintertime, but it can also get downright cold in Hanksville during this time of year. I’d also strongly recommend avoiding walking out onto the narrow ridgeline—the rocks here can get icy in the colder months and it would just take one wrong step to fall hundreds of feet to the desert floor below. 

Tips for Visiting Moonscape Overlook

Be aware of the weather forecast

Do not go to Moonscape Overlook if it has recently or is going to rain during your visit.

As mentioned above, the ground here is made of a crumbly clay-like rock that gets incredibly soft while wet.

View out of a car window to Factory Butte near Hanksville, Utah

It would be SO easy to get your car stuck out here, which would result in a $1,000+ tow. Not only are you in the middle of nowhere here, but there isn’t even cell service to call for help if you do get stuck! 

You can camp here

Want an EPIC backyard for the night? 

Moonscape Overlook is actually on a section of land owned by the Bureau of Land Management where dispersed camping is allowed for up to 14 days—meaning you can quite literally roll right out of bed and enjoy sunrise here! 

Cars camped next to the cliffside at Moonscape Overlook near Hanksville, Utah

Please follow the leave no trace principles when you visit.

For example, there’s absolutely no facilities here, including water, toilets, or garbage cans, so come prepared and pack out ALL of your waste, including toilet paper.

Between the landscape’s extreme fragility and the expansive openness of this space, it really isn’t ideal if you need to poop here—but there is a vault toilet, located here near Factory Butte, that’s about a 20 minute drive away. We stopped here during our visit and it was actually quite clean and well-maintained! 

You can use drones

You can currently use drones at Moonscape Overlook, which can get absolutely epic shots of the surrounding canyon. We flew our drone here at sunrise and got some of our favorite footage we’ve ever gotten. 

Woman standing on a rock pedestal overlooking Moonscape Overlook near Hanksville, Utah

If you do drone here, please be mindful of other visitors by limiting your flight time, trying to fly away from people, and being aware of other pilots. There were at least four other drones flying around during our visit, so we were actually a bit nervous about a potential collision!


Do you have any questions about visiting Moonscape Overlook? Let us know in the comments below!

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