5 Must Do Adventures When Visiting Moab, Utah
Moab, Utah has become The Town to visit if you are looking to do some offroading or to check out Arches National Park, but we want to show you what else Moab has to offer. Such as being the closest town to another national park, Canyonlands National Park, and having fossilized dinosaur footprints. With Moab, there really is more than meets the eye. So, step back from the overwhelming, and overcrowded, town and step into the outdoors, because Moab is near some awesome outdoor adventures.
Check out our top 5 Must Do Adventures When Visiting Moab, Utah
Canyonlands National Park is first on our list for the sheer beauty and magnitude of the national park. Many people are unaware of how vast the national park is, but it has 3 individual sections to it. The Island in the Sky, the Maze, and the Needles are the 3 different sections that make up Canyonlands National Park. Unlike other national parks we have been to, you can not access all 3 sections of the national park from within the park. Think of the park as having levels.
The Island in the Sky is the top level. From this section of the park, you can look out over the park and see 360 views of the park. You can find canyons, hoodoos, arches, etc all from this section of the park. This section of the park is also where you can find Mesa arch, the iconic viewpoint of this park.
The two hikes we did in this section of the park are Mesa Arch and Whale Rock.
Mesa Arch
Mesa Arch was a half mile trip that has you climbing over rocks to reach a fantastic viewpoint. Mesa Arch is beautiful, I recommend hiking to either side of the arch and viewing the sight unobstructed by people. It is a magnificent sight to see.
Whale Rock
Whale Rock is a 1-mile rock scramble that has you climbing up the sides of rocks in order to reach an incredible viewpoint. The national park service recommends this as a hike for children, but I would not recommend it for anyone less than 5, unless they are in a backpack carrier. The climb up and over rocks does not have many handholds and there are steep drop-offs on either side of the rock. If your child is a good climber and you know they will not take off running across the rock, then I think they will absolutely enjoy this trail. It was great.
The Maze is the one section of Canyonlands National Park that we did not visit. The Maze is an offroaders dream. We were able to look down among the offroading trails from the Island in the Sky District and we look forward to experiencing them one day, however we did not feel safe completing this section of the national park with our 1 year old sun. Beware, most trails in this section, if not all of them, require a permit to access. There is one trail in this section that is said to take at minimum 3 days to complete.
The Needles is a small section of the park that gets its name from the spires of sandstone that stick up against a beautiful blue sky. This section of the park is best if you want to avoid the crowds. It is full of hikes and off-roading trails that can show you the true beauty that Utah has to offer. Beware though, some trails out here do require a permit. Check the national park service website before heading this way.
The two hikes we completed while in this section of the park are Pothole Point and Cave Spring.
Pothole Point
Pothole Point is a half mile loop hike that has you trekking around potholes in the slickrock. It made me feel like I was walking across the surface of the moon. It was a pretty cool hike, however, please do not walk through the potholes. The sign at the entrance will instruct you not to walk through the potholes also as many microspecies live within these potholes. They are dormant when the pothole is dry, but as it fills up with rainwater these species come alive. If you step in the potholes you may destroy the fragile ecosystems they contain.
Cave Spring
Cave Spring is the most amazing hike we did in all of Canyonlands. It is only a half mile loop trail, but it packs a big punch. It has a cowboy camp that has been preserved, caves, petroglyphs, and 2 ladders. This trail is a constant surprise and leaves you wondering what will be up around the next corner. Declan was able to walk the first ¼ of a mile and enjoyed exploring the sandy path and trail side caves. After a ¼ mile, you will climb 2 ladders and walk across the tops of rocks. You can climb up to a higher viewpoint if you want to watch the sunset from here, but I recommend completing the trail while there is still light. Once you come off the rock walk and your feet hit sand again, begin looking at the walls around you. You may spot a petroglyph or two.
Corona Arch is the best hike we completed anywhere near Moab. It is an absolutely incredible hike, that I could do repeatedly and not get bored with it. It is a 3-mile hike, but you stay intrigued the entire way, so it does not seem to be that long at all. The trail starts off with a pretty steep uphill climb, but this is short and there are steps cut into the cliffside to make it easy. Once you cross over the railroad tracks You climb across slickrock, following green painted trail markers.
Do not follow the cairns on this trail. They are built by other hikers and not the national park service. You should also know that building cairns is not only illegal, but it is also dangerous. Cairns are used as trail markers along desert trails and when individuals build them wherever they want it can cause hikers to get lost. I have never seen as many cairns as I did along this trail. I was so frustrated with them. We stayed for sunset at Corona Arch, which I highly recommend, but that meant hiking back in the dark. Green paint on dark rocks is extremely hard to see after the sun has set, but we could not trust following cairns. We thought about hiking in the dark ahead of time and brought flashlights, but many of the other hikers did not. I hope that someone’s carelessly built cairn did not cause a hiker to get lost.
You do have to climb a short portion of the trail holding on to a metal cable and another portion along a ladder. I saw kids and dogs complete these portions, so it was not that difficult, however, if you carry a small child in a backpack carrier, be careful. I tried to climb down facing forwards like other hikers were and Declan’s foot got caught. He was not hurt, but it did scare him.
The view from Corona Arch is one of my favorite views in all of Utah. It is an absolutely DO NOT MISS sight. We even joked that if we ever renewed our vows, it would be done at this location.
3. Colorado National Monument
The Colorado National Monument is a 23-mile-long rim drive. It travels up along the canyon, on top of the mesa, and down into the valleys. Our favorite sites were of the Independence Monument and the big horn sheep we spotted along the road edge. We loved the short hikes and viewpoints we found throughout this monument. If you are going to be near Grand Junction, Colorado I suggest you take a few hours and check out this amazing site. It is run by the National Park Service, and there are fees to get into it, but if you have a national park pass it will get you in to this site for free also.
4. Arches National Park
Arches National Park is definitely in one of our top 5 places to visit in Moab, Utah, but as you noticed it is not the first item on our list. It just was not as impressive as we expected it to be, but it is still something you should not miss seeing.
The two hikes we completed within Arches National Park.
Balanced Rock
If you are going to do any hikes within arches we recommend you take the short jaunt around Balance Rock, its only about a quarter of a mile, and its worth the walk to see this amazing rock structure from all the different angles.
Landscape Arch
Landscape arch is a trail you should not miss. On the way to Landscape arch you will get the chance to see two other arches. Tunnel arch and Pine tree arch. I honestly enjoyed these two smaller arches at the beginning of the trail more than I did landscape arch, but that is just my personal opinion. If you continue past Landscape arch the trail does continue on to more arches, however, the path is literally rock climbing. Now, we have done some short rock climbing during our trails throughout Utah, but one look at this uphill rock crawl and we turned around. I did not feel that it was safe to carry Declan while climbing up a rock face with no handholds. I watched several individuals make the climb in hopes of figuring out a way to do it safely, but it just did not seem safe. If you continue past Landscape arch will you share your pictures with me? I would love to see what is back there.
The Dinosaur trail was probably one of our greatest surprises while in Moab. We had planned to go Arches National Park that day, but the park was too full, and they stopped allowing visitors into the park. At last minute we hit up google to find something nearby, and stumbles upon this Dinosaur trail. It was a short-paved trail, but it is a self-guided trail with signposts informing you about the dinosaurs who lived in this area prior. Also, in the rock you can see the footprints left behind by the dinosaurs that once roamed the earth. It took a little imagination to be able to depict the footprints in the rock, but once you can distinguish one the rest sort of jump out at you. As adults we were thrilled with the trail, and I know children would be also. I highly recommend you taking anyone interested in dinosaurs along this trail.
***Note: The national parks and monuments on this list do not have a place to purchase food or drinks while on their premises, so please bring your own. Carry enough water for each person to stave off dehydration. Remember you need 1 liter, per person, every 2 hours. ***
