Moon Arches & Canyonlands National Parks

DISCOVER Arches & Canyonlands

6 TOP EXPERIENCES

Planning Your Trip

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR . . .

AVOID THE CROWDS

BIG VIEWS

The Best of Arches and Canyonlands

SEVEN DAYS IN THE PARKS

BEST DAY HIKES

BEST BIKE RIDES

THE LEGACY OF ANCIENT ROCK ART

RIVER TRIPS

Southeastern Utah is so filled with staggering beauty, drama, and power that it seems like a place of myth. Two national parks, several national monuments and recreation areas, and multiple state parks are all within a day’s drive of each other. The colorful canyons, arches, and mesas found within this high, dry area are surprisingly diverse, and each park has its own characteristic landscape.

Nor are the riches here restricted to natural beauty: These rugged landscapes hold the remains of ancient indigenous cultures, while the haunting beauty of their rock art is on display at hundreds of locations. The area’s modern hub, and one of Utah’s most vibrant communities, is Moab, a recreational mecca known for its mountain biking and comfortable, even sophisticated, dining and lodging.

The beauty of Arches National Park, where delicate rock arches provide vast windows into the solid rock, is awe-inspiring and nearly mystical. Short trails draw hikers into a dramatic landscape of slickrock promontories and stone bridges.

In Canyonlands National Park, the Colorado River carves through deep red sandstone. From the Island in the Sky unit, expansive vistas take in hundreds of miles of canyon country, while rafting the Colorado’s Cataract Canyon is the wet and thrilling climax of many a vacation.

Beyond the national park boundaries, much of the land is publicly owned. In many cases it vies with the national parks in terms of beauty and grandeur. No trip to Island in the Sky should neglect a side trip to Dead Horse Point State Park, with its astonishing views into the Colorado River Canyon. Hikers looking for their own patch of wildlands should check out Fisher Towers, a Bureau of Land Management recreation area upriver from Moab. A bit off the beaten path, Hovenweep National Monument preserves a wondrous series of Ancestral Puebloan villages perched on the edge of a cliff.

Although many people first visit southeastern Utah as part of a grand tour of the Southwest, they often return here to further explore a smaller and distinctive corner of this vast landscape. Best of all, you can still find special places that you will have all to yourself.

6 TOP EXPERIENCES

Planning Your Trip

Where to Go

Arches National Park

Just up the road from Moab is Arches National Park, with its famous natural bridges. Arches is a great family park: It’s not too large and there are lots of accessible hikes to explore. Unlike other Utah national parks, there’s plenty to see even if you can’t get out of the car and hike. Be sure to hike the Windows Section, a series of arches and rock fins at the center of the park, and to Delicate Arch, overlooking the Colorado River.

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park is made up of four sections: the River District, containing the canyons of the Colorado and Green Rivers; the Needles District, with hiking trails and backcountry roads through a standing-rock desert; the Maze District, a remote area filled with geologic curiosities and labyrinthine canyons; and the Island in the Sky District, a flat-topped mesa that overlooks the rest. A separate area, the Horseshoe Canyon Unit, lies to the west and contains a significant cache of prehistoric rock art.

Moab

At the heart of Utah’s slickrock country, Moab is the recreation capital of southeastern Utah. Although mountain biking put Moab on the map, old mining roads make four-wheel-driving an increasingly popular alternative. Arches National Park is just minutes from downtown, and Canyonlands’ districts are an easy drive from Moab. But Moab is a destination in itself: a youthful, high-energy town that offers good restaurants and brewpubs.

The Southeastern Corner

Although Arches and Canyonlands National Parks get most of the attention from first-time visitors, veterans of the area know that southeastern Utah has abundant other wonders in national recreation areas, national monuments, and state parks. After you have explored the national parks, take time to visit such fascinating destinations as Natural Bridges and Hovenweep National Monuments, and the lovely alpine glades of Manti-La Sal National Forest.

Know Before You Go

High Season

(APRIL-SEPTEMBER)

The parks are all open year-round, although spring (Apr.-early June) and early fall (Sept.-Oct.) are the most pleasant times to visit. They are also the busiest seasons, and travelers may find that popular campgrounds and hotels are booked well in advance.

Spring rain can dampen trails, and late winter-early spring storms can play havoc with backcountry roads. Thunderstorms are also fairly common in summer (late July-early Sept.) and bring the threat of flash flooding, especially in slot canyons. In Canyonlands, Arches, and Moab, summer temperatures can exceed 100°F.

Low Season

(OCTOBER-MARCH)

Winter days tend to be bright and sunny, but nighttime temperatures can dip into the teens or lower. However, The lack of crowds and brilliant sunshine can make this a wonderful time to visit, if you don’t mind layering your outer wear.

Park Fees and Passes

Entrance fees to both Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park are $30 per vehicle. If you’re planning on visiting more than two parks over the course of the year, buy an America the Beautiful—National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass (valid for one year, $80) at your first stop to cover entrance to all national parks. Senior passes (lifetime pass $80) and free passes for residents with permanent disabilities are also available. Paid fees are good for seven days.

Camping Reservations

Many national parks now offer reserved campsites. If you want to camp in a park, reserve ahead, especially at Arches—or plan to arrive early in the day to get an unreserved site. Reservations at Devils Garden Campground (www.recreation.gov) must be made no less than 4 days and no more than 240 days in advance.

In Canyonlands, all campgrounds are open year-round. Reservations can be made at the Needles Campground (Mar. 15-June 30 and Sept. 1-Oct. 31) in the Needles District. If Needles Campground is full, head east to the first-come, first-served campgrounds, either at the private Needles Outpost or at Bureau of Land Management sites along Lockhart Basin Road, east of the park entrance.

Wherever you plan to camp, it’s a good idea to arrive early in the day to get an unreserved site. If you don’t have a reservation, Moab offers lodgings and campsites, from primitive sites along the Colorado River to shady comfort in town at the private tents-only Up the Creek campground.

What to Pack

Unless you want to return from Utah looking like a leather handbag, remember to use lots of sunscreen. Prepare for wide variations in temperature; nights in the desert can be very chilly even when summer highs soar above 100°F. There’s no need to pack dressy clothes. Casual clothes are acceptable nearly everywhere, even in what passes for a classy restaurant. Bring your cell phone, but don’t count on reception in the canyons of southern Utah.

Visitors Centers

The Arches Visitor Center (8am-5pm daily Mar.-Oct., 9am-4pm daily Nov.-mid-Mar.) is just past the park entrance booth.

In Canyonlands, there are visitors centers at the entrances to the Island in the Sky District 435/259-4712, 8am-6pm daily late Apr.-late-Sept., 8am-5pm early spring and fall, closed late Dec.-early Mar.) and the Needles District (435/259-4711, 8am-6pm daily spring and fall, 8am-5pm daily July-Aug.).

The Hans Flat Ranger Station (435/259-2652, 8am-4:30pm daily year-round) is on a remote plateau above the even more isolated canyons of the Maze District and the Horseshoe Canyon Unit.

The National Park Service Office (2282 SW Resource Blvd., Moab, 435/719-2313, 8am-4pm Mon.-Fri.) covers the River District, but can generally handle inquiries for all districts of the park.

For backcountry information, or to make backcountry reservations, call 435/259-4351.

The Moab Information Center (8am-4pm daily) can handle inquiries about the town and the nearby parks, Arches and Canyonlands.

Getting Around

The rugged topography can make driving challenging. Unpaved back roads can serve as shortcuts if you have a high-clearance vehicle, but check locally before setting out to determine current conditions. Rainstorms and snowmelt can render these roads impassable.

The Best of Arches and Canyonlands

If you’re a hiker or biker, it’s easy to spend a week exploring Southeast Utah—and if you’re a fan of the backcountry, you could easily spend another week investigating such remote and otherworldly destinations as the Maze District and the Green River canyon.

Moab is an excellent hub for visiting Arches and Canyonlands, as it affords comfortable lodgings and very good dining in addition to a lively nightlife scene. But each of the parks also offers campgrounds, and the region also has a selection of guest ranches and B&Bs. In the southern part of the region, the tiny town of Bluff is a handsome destination with good hotels and restaurants and is a good center for visits to Hovenweep and Cedar Mesa.

Seven Days in the Parks

Day 1

Drive into Moab and claim your hotel room (or head to your campsite at Arches National Park). Take the rest of the day to explore this hip and youthful town with its obsessive regard for mountain biking and microbrews. It’s not hard to find good food and convivial company, all with the splendid backdrop of red rock canyons.

Day 2

Explore Arches National Park, with a drive around the ring parkway and frequent stops for short hikes. Be sure to hike to the dramatic Windows section and stand below these massive stone bridges. Save some time and energy to climb up the slickrock bluff to Delicate Arch, perhaps the park’s most famed beauty spot.

Day 3

Get an early start on the day by joining a ranger-led hike of Arches’ Fiery Furnace area (you’ll need advance reservations for these popular and moderately strenuous tours), and then return to Moab to join a half-day raft trip that explores the canyons of the Colorado River.

Day 4

Check out the mesa-top vistas from Canyonlands’ Island in the Sky District. On the way to the mother of all belvederes at Grand View Point, be sure to stop by Dead Horse Point State Park and take the short hike to cliff’s edge or bike the park’s Intrepid Trail System.

Day 5

Drive south from Moab to the Needles District of Canyonlands. On the way into the park, be sure to stop at Newspaper Rock, one of Utah’s top caches of ancient Native American rock art. Plan to explore some of the Needles backcountry on hiking trails before driving south to Bluff to spend the night.

Day 6

From Bluff, drive east to Hovenweep National Monument, a well-preserved series of Ancestral Puebloan stone-built villages at the edge of high-desert canyons. In the afternoon, return to Bluff and explore some of the many rock art panels in the area.

Day 7

From Bluff, drive back north to Highway 95, stopping to view the Ancestral Puebloan ruins at Butler Wash, and detour into the wonder of Natural Bridges National Monument. Then, if you’re visiting during summer, take Highway 276 south and cross the Colorado River’s Lake Powell on the Halls Crossing and Bullfrog ferry. Outside the ferry’s season, you can continue on Highway 95 to cross the Colorado on the Hite Bridge, with no loss of scenic value. Once on the west side of the river, follow paved roads north to Hanksville for the night and dream of more Utah adventures.

Best Bike Rides

Moab is the center for some of the most noteworthy mountain bike trails in the West. However, most of the trails here aren’t for novices—you need to be proficient on your bike and ready for extreme weather before heading out on your two-wheeled steed. If you’d rather explore these backcountry routes with a guide, simply contact one of the many bike shops in Moab, and they can set you up with a tour.

Slickrock Bike Trail

This is the trail that started the mountain-bike craze in Moab, and it’s a challenge even to strong riders. The aptly named trail traverses steep, exposed slickrock faces over 10.5 mi (16.9 km), passing a succession of canyon and mountain viewpoints.

Gemini Bridges Trail

You’ll find dramatic scenery along this trail (14 mi, 22.5 km one-way) that drops though the rock fins and arches of the Wingate Formation. The trick is getting to the trailhead, which is 12.5 mi uphill from Moab. The best answer is to hire a shuttle bus as transportation—from that point onward, this is one of the more moderate biking trails in the Moab area.