Moab (Arches & Canyonlands)

Gateway town to two national parks: more than 2,000 natural stone arches in Arches, the mesas and canyons of Canyonlands, and sunset at Dead Horse Point — a mecca for off-roading and mountain biking.

Moab is a small town in Grand County in southeastern Utah, set on the Colorado River. Arches National Park lies just 8 km north of town, and the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park is about 50 km to the southwest; both belong to Utah's "Mighty 5" national parks. Arches holds more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, while in Canyonlands the Colorado and Green rivers have carved tier upon tier of mesas and deep canyons. Add Dead Horse Point State Park and vast tracts of BLM public land, and Moab has become one of America's best-known bases for hiking, off-road jeeping, mountain biking and river rafting.

Areas: Arches National Park (Delicate Arch, Devils Garden, the Windows Section and Double Arch); Canyonlands' Island in the Sky (Mesa Arch, Grand View Point, Upheaval Dome) and Dead Horse Point; around Moab (Highway 128 and Fisher Towers, Castle Valley, Potash Road and Corona Arch, the Slickrock Trail, dinosaur tracks); the southern loop (Hole N' The Rock, Wilson Arch, Newspaper Rock and the Needles district of Canyonlands, about 1.5 hours' drive).

Seasons: Mar–May and Sep–Oct have the most pleasant weather; Jun–Aug daytime highs often top 38°C (100°F), so plan hikes for early morning; winter brings few visitors and occasional snow — snow on the red rock is beautiful, but some roads ice over.

Getting there: The nearest major airports are Salt Lake City (about 4 hours' drive) and Grand Junction (about 1.5 hours); Moab's small airport has a handful of flights. A car is all but essential locally, with 30–90 minutes' driving between sights. Allow 3–4 days: 1–2 days in Arches, 1 day for Island in the Sky and Dead Horse Point, and 1 day around Moab or in the Needles.

Good to know: During Arches' peak season (roughly Apr–Oct), daytime entry requires a timed-entry reservation booked in advance on recreation.gov, and the Fiery Furnace requires a permit. National park entry is charged per vehicle, and an annual pass is available; reportedly, from 2026 non-US residents pay an extra surcharge at some popular national parks — check the NPS website for details. The desert is very dry: carry at least 4 liters of water per person per day, and stay off trails during thunderstorms and flash floods.

Top sights

• Delicate Arch – A freestanding stone arch about 16 meters tall, standing alone at the edge of a sandstone bowl. It appears on Utah license plates and glows…
• Landscape Arch – A slender stone arch about 88 meters across, one of the longest natural stone arches in North America. At its thinnest point it is only abo…
• The Windows Section – The North and South Windows and Turret Arch cluster together, and a short, easy loop trail makes this the easiest area in the park to get c…
• Mesa Arch – A stone arch perched on the canyon rim. At sunrise the underside glows red, with the canyon and La Sal Mountains framed beneath it. A must…
• Island in the Sky – The most accessible section of Canyonlands National Park, a mesa rising about 300 meters above the river valley. Viewpoints around its edge…
• Dead Horse Point State Park – A mesa point about 600 meters above the Colorado River, overlooking a huge horseshoe bend. It is Moab's most classic viewpoint.
• Double Arch – Two stone arches standing one above the other on a shared base, about 34 meters high, the tallest stone arches in the park and a filming lo…
• Balanced Rock – A rock pillar about 39 meters tall topped with a huge boulder that appears ready to roll off at any moment, the most conspicuous landmark b…
• Park Avenue – The first highlight after entering the park, where towering sandstone walls and fins line both sides like a row of New York skyscrapers. Yo…
• Fiery Furnace – A maze of dense sandstone fins with no marked trails. Access requires a ranger-led tour or a permit.
• Devils Garden Trail – A long trail at the end of the park's main road, linking seven stone arches including Landscape Arch and Double O Arch. It is the park's mo…
• Grand View Point Overlook – The southernmost viewpoint on Island in the Sky mesa, overlooking the White Rim, the Colorado River canyon and the distant Needles, with an…
• Upheaval Dome – A peculiar circular structure about 5 kilometers across at the western end of Island in the Sky. Its origin is still debated: a meteorite i…
• Green River Overlook – A viewpoint on the western side of Island in the Sky, overlooking the Green River winding through a deep canyon, with the wild Maze and Nee…
• Shafer Trail – An unpaved road descending about 450 meters in switchbacks from the Island in the Sky mesa. It can be driven in a high-clearance 4WD vehicl…
• Needles District – The southeastern section of Canyonlands National Park, with forests of red and white sandstone spires. It is best known for hiking and 4WD…
• Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument – A sandstone wall covered with hundreds of rock carvings, spanning about 2,000 years of indigenous art. It is one of the densest concentrati…
• Corona Arch – A giant stone arch about 34 meters wide beside Potash Road. The roughly 5-kilometer round-trip trail requires climbing a rock slope using c…
• Fisher Towers – A group of dark red mudstone spires rising beside the Colorado River, up to about 270 meters tall. A popular climbing destination and filmi…
• Colorado Riverway Scenic Byway (UT-128) – A scenic road winding northeast of Moab along the Colorado River canyon, flanked by red cliffs. It is also the main section for one-day raf…
• Potash Road Petroglyphs & Dinosaur Tracks – A band of rock art and dinosaur footprint sites along State Route 279 (Potash Road) west of Moab. Viewing is free, and you can simply stop…
• Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite – A dinosaur footprint site managed by the BLM on Moab's northern outskirts. A wooden boardwalk allows close views of about 200 Early Cretace…
• Moab Giants – A dinosaur-themed museum on Moab's northern outskirts, with an outdoor trail of life-size dinosaur models, a 3D theater and footprint fossi…
• Slickrock Bike Trail – A legendary mountain bike route at the Sand Flats Recreation Area on Moab's eastern outskirts. It runs over smooth sandstone known as “slic…
• Castle Valley – A broad red-rock valley beside Utah Route 128, with towering monoliths such as Castleton Tower and the Priest and Nuns. It is a frequent lo…
• Hole N' The Rock – A house of 14 rooms carved into massive sandstone, completed over 20 years by a couple in the 1940s and 1950s. A quirky roadside attraction.
• Wilson Arch – A stone arch about 28 meters wide beside US Route 191. Park and climb a gentle slope for a few minutes to stand beneath it. A free stop for…
• Moab Museum – A small local museum in the center of Moab telling the story of its indigenous peoples, Mormon pioneers, the uranium boom and its transform…
• La Sal Mountain Loop Road – A high-mountain loop road southeast of Moab, climbing from red rock desert to aspen and pine forests at about 2,400 meters. The hillsides t…

Where to eat

• Desert Bistro – Widely regarded as Moab's best fine dinner, set in an 1892 historic house, with game and steaks that have Southwestern…
• Milt's Stop & Eat – Opened in 1954 and Moab's oldest restaurant, this roadside spot serves grass-fed beef burgers and hand-spun milkshakes.
• Thai Bella – Moab's most popular Thai restaurant, with northern Thai flavors, a signature northern Thai curry noodle dish, and many…
• Moab Diner – A local institution since 1993, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, known for “the best green chile sauce in Utah.”
• Love Muffin Cafe – A favorite breakfast spot with locals, offering large breakfast burritos and coffee, convenient for takeout before visi…
• Antica Forma Pizza – Neapolitan pizza baked in an Italian brick oven. The pistachio pizza is widely regarded as the best pizza in Moab.

Itineraries

• Utah's Mighty Five National Parks Crossing in – A one-way crossing from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, covering Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands.
• Southwest Grand Circle Self-Drive in – A loop from Las Vegas linking Utah's red-rock parks, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon and the Grand Canyon South Rim.