Canyonlands was home to the Fremont people and the Anasazi. The Fremont people left records in the form of pictographs and petroglyphs in Horseshoe Canyon and Salt Canyon. The Anasazi built several granaries, like Keyhole Ruin, probably in the twelfth century. Ute and Navajo Indians subsequently occupied the canyons until the late 1800s. They were eventually pushed out of the area by cattlemen. In 1869 and 1871 John Wesley Powell explored the Green and Colorado rivers as they traveled through Canyonlands. Today, the park is divided into three districts, Island in the Sky, Needles, and Maze-Standing Rock.

Island in the Sky is the northernmost district. It is a high and extensive mesa located in the area between the Green and Colorado rivers. Some of the popular attractions in this area are Upheaval Dome, Shafer and White Rim Trails, Grand View Point, and Monument Canyon.