I have made Moab a staple in my travel plans for so many years I have lost count. Back in the late 90’s I was living on a ranch in Telluride, CO and this tended to be one of my favorite places to spend my one day off every week. I would leave after work and get to Moab just as the sun was setting. I would set up my tent in the dark along the Colorado River and HWY 128 and spend the whole next day hiking and bouldering in Arches National Park. The town has changed a lot since then and grown quite a bit but it remains one of my favorite places to visit. Here is a list of my favorite things to do in Moab:
1. Visit Arches National Park
There really are so many great hikes and overlooks to take advantage of in Arches, but I will list my favorites…
- Become a Junior Ranger
- If you have kids, stop by the Visitor Center to pick up a Junior Ranger booklet on your way into the park. Work on the activities with your kiddos throughout the day. Return to the Visitor Center with a completed book and have a ranger do a “swearing in ceremony” so they can get their Junior Ranger Badges!
- Hike to the base of Delicate Arch.
- This is just over 3 miles round trip and a little strenuous in areas. As you near the top, you skirt along a rock ledge that is only about 2 feet wide with the other side being a sheer cliff. My kids handled it like pros…I was the chicken. The view of the arch at the end it definitely worth it but be prepared for hordes of people waiting to take pictures under the arch. We arrived at about 8:30 AM and there were easily 50 people in line.
- Hike to Sand Dune Arch
- If you have kids, this is a favorite. This last time, we got smart and actually brought our sand buckets and shovels to play for a while in the cool canyon. It is only about a 1/3 of a mile into the arch and a great place to take a picnic in the heat of the day.
- Hike/climb the Fiery Furnace
- You are required to get a permit for the Fiery Furnace at the Visitor Center but it is well worth it. And honestly, I don’t know that they even allow kids to get the permit so this is a grown ups only adventure. If you have any climbing or bouldering experience, take your chalk bag because this is a climber’s playground. As long as you abide by the rules of walking only on rocks or washes avoiding the delicate cryptobiotic soil crust, you are playing within the rules. I would also recommend checking the weather forecast before heading into the furnace. Rainstorms can become flash floods quickly in slot canyons.
2. Canyonlands National Park
This is a quick drive from Moab and can easily be done within a day. We opted to only do a few very short hikes and explore most of Canyonlands by overlook pull outs. The sheer vastness of the park is overwhelming and is truly best seen from above. If you are feeling like a hike there are definitely plenty of options. Stop by the Visitor Center and chat with a ranger to learn about the best hikes. And while you’re there, make sure to pick up Junior Ranger booklets for the kids!
3. Dead Horse Point State Park
Another great lookout area to experience and check off your list. The view from the main overlook is truly incredible.
4. Moab Giants
This is a fun activity if you have kids with you. Plan on opting for the all-inclusive package that includes the 3D movie and the 5D experience. These are running at regular intervals all day and it is a nice excuse to get out of the hot sun and into some air conditioning for a few minutes. Bring your water-bottles with you and go on the fun nature walk around the property. The trail is about a mile and takes you away from the main attractions but it is lined with life size replicas of all of the types of dinos that historically lived in this valley. We had a blast taking pictures being chased and eaten by these giants.
5. Shop around town
This year we made Moab our last stop on a 2-week adventure of Southern Utah’s National and State Parks. Moab was the ONLY town we actually wanted to hang out in! They have a very charming down town main street area with the Visitor Center smack dab in the middle. There are tons of shops from cheesy tourist t-shirt shops to art galleries and cute specialty shops.
6. Dine out
Moab has a LOT of great food. Honestly, we rarely eat at the same place twice because there is always a new place to try! We do of course have a few favorites that we have returned to over the years including Trailhead, The Spoke and Zax. This most recent visit, we also discovered Gloria’s and I think it might make our new favorites list.
7. Grab an Ice Cream Cone and walk around Main Street
Crystal’s Cakes and Cones is the best place to buy ice cream in Moab, hands down. It is located just behind The Spoke.
8. Hike up Mill Creek
This is a great hike for a hot day because you spend most of the time hiking through a shallow river. It’s on the outskirts of town so you don’t have to deal with going into one of the big parks.
9. Paddle Board on Ken’s Lake
Ken’s Lake is on the south side of town. It is not exactly the most exciting or pretty lake to go to since it is a man-made reservoir with pretty much no trees around it but its an easy access area where you can drive down to the waterfront and put in. Some people like to paddle board on the Colorado River but that makes me a little nervous with the swift currents and murky water.
10. Hike to Middle Earth
This is a gem that we only discovered a couple weeks ago on our latest trip to Moab. It is a short hike from an unsuspecting turn out on Potash Rd. Just a ½ mile hike along and overgrown trail with way too many mosquitos (at least when we went) leads you to the most amazing sandy bottomed stone bowl. The walls are easily 150 feet high giving the bowl perfect acoustics. We were lucky enough to be a part of a small group that was able to experience a fun concert by a quartet here during the Moab Music Festival. It was truly a memorable event. But if you don’t happen to be in Moab during the festival, this is a really great hike to discover on your own. There really is just a small turn out on the side of the road so it’s easy to miss if you don’t do some research and know where you are going. There are no bathrooms or trash cans so be sure to pack it all out!
There is of course plenty of other things to do while in Moab, such as mountain biking, off-roading, music festivals and so much more. These are just the things that we keep going back to time and again. Moab really is a great town to explore and I look forward to discovering more every time I go back!