Moab…the not so hidden gem of Utah
We visited Moab Utah in October and it has earned a spot in my top 3 of “favorite vacations”. As a born and raised Midwestern girl, who still resides in the Midwest, Moab was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The landscape was stunning and the town itself was adorable. To me, it was the perfect destination because there were a variety of daytime actives (think hiking, mountain biking, UTVs) and an equal amount of evening activities (dinner, swimming in the pool and shopping in town). Also the weather in October is perfection, cool mornings and evenings and warm afternoons, exactly what you want if you are doing long hikes or lots of climbing.
Dead Horse Point State Park
Check out my list of must do’s while visiting
Dead Horse Point State Park. This state park offers plenty of hiking, dramatic views of the Colorado River and is an International Dark Sky Park (this means amazing star gazing!!!!!). If you want to star gaze but don’t want to pay to get inside the park, start driving towards it and pull off on the side of the road, same dark sky views but free.
Arches National Park. Reservations are required during certain times of the year to enter this park, and also make sure you come early because it can fill up pretty quickly when they aren’t utilizing a reservation system. Once inside we hiked Fiery Furnace and also hiked to Delicate Arch. If I said “stay away from the edge once”, I said it 10000 times while we were on this trip…some of these hikes aren’t for the faint of heart.
Canyonland National Park. Canyonland is divided into 4 districts with Island in the Sky being the closest to Moab. This park offers amazing views and amazing hiking, but can be low on supplies so make sure you have food, water and plenty of gas.
Professor Creek and Mary Jane Canyon Hike. This little gem isn’t inside any park but is instead on public land. A little over 8 miles round trip, this hike follows a creek into a slot canyon and ends at a waterfall. Bring snacks and comfortable shoes.
UTV rentals. If you are feeling brave then I will suggest renting UTVs and heading out to some of the trails. We explored Sand Flats Recreation Area and Chicken Corners…and then promptly decided that we weren’t UTV people.
At the bottom of this page I’ve included links to the National Parks website and to All Trails. The Parks website will allow you to view information of every National Park and make reservations. All Trails is my go to app for hiking. It has downloadable maps, reviews from real people, and is very user friendly.
