Moab, Utah: The Best Gateway to Arches and Canyonlands

Moab, Utah is a great small town in Utah’s southeast desert. It has tons of cute shops, tasty restaurants and fun bars that make it worth a visit by itself. Yet, that’s not Moab’s main draw.

Sitting right outside the city’s borders are two of Utah’s grand national parks: Arches and Canyonlands. Moab’s proximity to these parks makes it the perfect place to stay for some outdoor fun. In addition to the parks, Moab also has a wide variety of outdoor activities and adventure sports to offer visitors.

We stayed in Moab for a brief time on our way around the Grand Circle. Find out what we did during our two nights in Moab, Utah!

Updated June 2023

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Sunset at Canyonlands National Park

Our first stop in the Moab area was Grand View Point in Canyonlands to catch one of the best sunsets I’ve seen in my travels, and this is where I recommend you start your stay in the region.

Canyonlands is divided into three sections: Island in the Sky, the Needles and the Maze. Of the three, Island in the Sky is closest to Moab. If you’re only in Moab for a day or so, this should be your destination.

The views here are astonishing. It’s such a unique landscape that you can’t find anywhere else. With the setting sun causing the land to glow in the various orange, red and yellow hues, it was one of my favorite experiences of our whole trip in Utah.

There is also a 1.8-mile hike you can do from this viewpoint if you want to get some different vantage points of the canyon.

From the highway, it’s about a 45-minute drive to this viewpoint. Keep this in mind when planning your drive to leave yourself enough time to enjoy the drive along Island in the Sky Road and then the sunset at the end of your trip.

You will need to pay an entry fee to enter the park unless you already have a National Park Pass. Entry per car is $30.

Arches National Park

Arches was easily my second favorite Utah national park behind Zion. Because of the short time we had to visit, we only did three shorter hikes, but the hikes we did had some of the most amazing landscapes and rock formations.

The entrance to Arches is just a short drive north on U.S. Route 191 from Moab. If you have some extra time, there’s a bike path along the road that you can ride into the park which could make for a fun experience.

Like with Canyonlands, expect to pay a $30 fee to enter the park if you don’t have an annual park pass.

Due to Arches National Park’s proximity to Moab and the popularity of some of its hikes, this park can be very crowded, so you will want to wake up early if you want any chance at seeing some of the more well-known sights in relative solitude.

You should also keep in mind that you are in the desert. If you are visiting during summer, it is going to be hot. Make sure you bring plenty of water even if you are only doing one or two short hikes. It’s better to be over-prepared than not prepared enough.

Read more about Zion National Park to find out why it’s my favorite national park!

Reservations

Since April 2022, Arches National Park has instituted a timed-entry system from April to October to control crowds and improve the experience for visitors. Visit recreation.gov to reserve your ticket as early as possible as they do tend to sell out.

Delicate Arch Trail

Odds are, this trail is where everyone will be going first, so you’ll definitely want to wake up early to try and get here before them. For good reason, this is the most popular landmark in the whole park.

Delicate Arch is 3 miles round-trip. It’s not particularly difficult with the exception of one section near the mid-point where you are climbing a steep rock face. There’s a narrow ledge near the end of the trail that might be challenging if you are afraid of heights. The trail also has an optional little rock scramble that can be slightly difficult towards the end that affords a view of Delicate Arch through Twisted Doughnut Arch.

Once you reach the end of the trail, you’re met by Delicate Arch, a simply magnificent piece of geology. It rises into the air from the ground below like some sort of spiritual totem while sitting precariously at the edge of the rock. It’s a defiant piece of nature. Wondering at its structure, it seems as if it should fallen into dust eons ago, and yet it continues to stand as one of Nature’s best spectacles.

My biggest piece of advice is to just take your time once you get to the trail’s namesake arch. It deserves your time to sit and reflect on this magnificent gift from nature. Don’t rush this experience.

Delicate Arch is my favorite hike of many I’ve done. My second favorite? Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park!

Landscape Arch Trail

After your time with Delicate Arch, the next must-see destination is Landscape Arch. To get to Landscape Arch, drive to the Devil’s Garden Trailhead about 18 miles north of the visitor center.

The hike to Landscape Arch is slightly under a mile. If you do the two spurs to Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch, it will come to a little over 2 miles roundtrip. Whether you do the spurs or not, this is a pretty easy hike.

As before with Delicate Arch, you should take your time to admire nature’s beauty on display here. However, while impressive, it is not quite the same experience as Delicate Arch. Several minutes should suffice unless you are trying to get that perfect photograph.

You should also hike the short trails to Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch towards the beginning of this trail. These two spurs are close enough to the main trail that they won’t add much time to your hike. Tunnel Arch is the least stunning of the two, so if you want to only do one it should be Pine Tree Arch. However, with how short of a hike Tunnel Arch is, you really should take the few minutes to see every arch you can while you’re in the park.

The Windows Section

After doing the two longer hikes above, the Windows Section is a good place to wrap up your visit. There are four different arches to see here, all found just a short walk from the parking area.

The easiest to access is Double Arch. Named because it is two different arches formed from the same piece of sandstone, Double Arch can easily be seen right from the parking lot. Despite this, you should take the time to walk down to the arch for some up-close views.

If you’re going roughly clockwise, you’ll next come to the North and South Windows. In my opinion, these two arches are the most forgettable formations in the park. If you walk up to each arch, you are treated to some decent desert views. Other than that, you can just view these arches from a distance without missing much.

Turret Arch is the last arch in this area. Of the four in the Windows Section, I think Turret Arch was my favorite. The whole rock formation dominates the landscape here. It looks like an ancient fort left behind in the desert. Turret Arch is also fun because you can do some light rock scrambling to climb underneath it and to the other side.

In Moab

Everything I just recommended in Arches can be easily done in just a few hours. You could stay in the park to do more hikes, or you could drive back into Moab to see what the town has to offer. We chose the latter because this was our fifth day straight of a combination of driving and lots of hiking. We were ready for some down time.

I do wish we had done some more hikes, but I’m also not disappointed in the time we spent in Moab. There are enough art galleries, boutique stores, bars and restaurants to keep you busy for a whole afternoon.

Enjoy the afternoon leisurely walking along Moab’s Main Street, stopping in whatever shop, eatery or bar strikes your fancy. It’s a great opportunity to relax and reflect a bit on the sights you’ve seen in Utah.

The Blu Pig

Just a short walk from Sun Outdoors Moab Downtown (the RV campground we stayed at – more on that below) is Blu Pig, a barbecue restaurant that doubles as a live blues venue. We were there in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, so I can’t and won’t comment on the service or music (there was none), but I can let you know about the food.

I had the barbecue combo with pulled pork, brisket, mac and cheese, and onion rings. The onion rings were good, which wasn’t surprising because, let’s be honest, you can’t really mess up onion rings. Similarly, the mac and cheese was pretty good. They make their mac and cheese with white cheddar, so it is a little different from what most places do.

Now to the meat of this review (sorry!). After having lived in North Carolina for several years, I can be a little picky about my pulled pork. Their pulled pork wasn’t my favorite. It was a little on the dry side. It wasn’t bad, just kind of forgettable.

The brisket, on the other hand, was very good! I’m not even a big fan of brisket because most places overcook it and it becomes dry, but the Blu Pig’s brisket was some of the best I’ve had. It was perfectly tender and moist.

Asides from the food, Blu Pig has a very good drink menu. There is a wide range of regional craft beers across all the major beer types. If you’re a craft beer aficionado, you definitely will appreciate this menu. They also have an extensive liquor list if that is more your style.

The Spoke on Center

The Spoke on Center is a fun place to stop for a couple drinks after a day of hiking and wandering through Moab. They have a decent alcohol menu with a good selection of cocktails and craft beer.

We didn’t go in planning to buy food;. However, because of Utah’s liquor laws, we ended up having to purchase something. We ate shortly before this, so we only ordered their buffalo fries. For pretty standard bar fare, these were super tasty!

Overall, The Spoke on Center was a fun stop. The atmosphere was relaxed, service was good and the drinks were refreshing. I could have spent more time here, but we didn’t want to spend our whole afternoon in one place.

Moab Brewery

As a beer snob, Moab Brewery was one of my favorite parts of Moab. They have a wide selection of beers to choose from to satisfy any palate. I tried a few different ones and all four were very good. My two recommendations are FMU (a double IPA) and Black Raven Oatmeal Stout.

In addition to some high-quality beer, they also distill their own spirits. They make two different gins, a vodka and an agave liquor. I tried each of the gins which were both very good, especially the Tight Squeeze gin. This gin is aged in pinot noir barrels giving it a unique taste compared to your average gin. Even if you don’t particularly like gin, you should give it a try just to have something different.

Where to Stay in Moab, Utah

If you’re coming to Moab with an RV, Sun Outdoors Moab Downtown isn’t the best RV campground in the world, but it isn’t the worst, either. For one or two nights, it’s perfectly adequate.

Sun Outdoors’ biggest pro is its location just on the outskirts of Moab’s downtown. You’ll be within walking distance of grocery stores, Moab Brewery and Moab’s fun downtown scene.

Sun Outdoors Moab Downtown also has several utilities for campers including a bathroom, showers, laundry facilities, and full hookups for your RV. If you’re exhausted after a day of hiking, you can take advantage of their swimming pool, too. There is also a convenience store and gas station right on site.

Unfortunately, this RV campground has a couple big strikes against it. First, it doesn’t have any grills or fire pits adjacent to each RV site. This isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker, but it is very convenient to have those things right outside your RV door.

The second negative is the campground itself. It’s pretty crowded at Sun Outdoors Moab Downtown. The RV sites are all close together, so it’s hard to relax with any privacy.

Getting to Moab

The closest major airport to Moab is in Salt Lake City. From here it’s a 3.5-hour drive to Moab. There are some regional airports nearby: Canyonlands Field Airport 18 miles away and Walker Field Airport in Grand Junction, Colorado 110 miles away.

However, most people drive to Moab as part of a tour of Utah’s national parks and/or the Grand Canyon. If you are one of these people, you have several options that will depend on how much time you have, whether you are including the Grand Canyon and which direction you are driving in.

The most common starting points will likely be Bryce Canyon National Park; Capitol Reef National Park; or Page, Arizona.

From Bryce Canyon, it’s a five-hour drive if you include the drive through Capitol Reef. This is the route that we took. If you stay a night in Capitol Reef, then you will have a 2.5-hour drive the next day to get to Moab.

Coming from Page, Arizona, it’s about a 4.5-hour drive. Whether you are driving to or from Page, take your time driving through Monument Valley to admire the monolithic rocks scattered in that part of the desert.

More Posts for Planning Your Grand Circle Road Trip

Here are my guides to more of the Grand Circle’s stops.

• Bryce Canyon
• Grand Canyon
• Las Vegas
• Popular Detours (including Capitol Reef)
• Renting an RV
• Zion Hiking Guide
• Zion Planning

And don’t miss my full 12-day itinerary to planning your Grand Circle road trip!

Resources to Book Your Trip to Moab, Utah

Whether you’re looking for tours, hotels or flights, here are some tools to help get you started planning your trip to Utah!

Look for activities and tours offered through GetYourGuide or Viator!

Still can’t find what you’re looking for? Check out my travel essentials pages for more of my recommendations.

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