Moab: A gateway to southeastern Utah

By Thad Kelling
For Now Utah

The one and only Delicate Arch.

So you’re planning a trip to southeastern Utah, and your looking for a place to set up camp. Chances are, you will be headed to Moab, the starting point for thousands of sightseers and adventurers to this area of the state.

Moab is the gateway to two of Utah’s five national parks — Arches and Canyonlands. It’s know around the world for its off-road and mountain bike terrain. Plenty of guiding services are available for river rafting, biking and more. And the town has a rich calendar of events that spans a spectrum from contra dancing to art walks.

“In Moab, the grandeur of the scenery is matched only by the adventure experiences,” reports the Moab Area Travel Council.

If you are only in Moab for one day, the Travel Council recommends visiting Arches National Park. Images from this park are among the most familiar to visitors. The park is marked by its collection of oddly shaped sandstone formations. Among the most famous are Delicate Arch, Balanced Rock and Double Arch.

Arches National Park contains more than 2,000 arches and spans more than 76,000 acres. Visitors can hike, bike or tour the park by vehicle. One popular route is a 40-mile paved loop that takes drivers by the major sites.

Canyonlands National Park offers similar diversity. It’s the largest national park in Utah and has three unique districts divided by the Green and Colorado Rivers — the Island in the Sky, the Needles and the Maze. Each district is named after the formations found in them.

Another park near Moab is Dead Horse Point State Park. This park is known for a scenic vista that provides a vast panorama of the Canyonlands and the Colorado River 2,000 feet below.

To get away from the desert climate, visitors can head to the La Sal Mountains. This range is part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest, and the lush forests stand in contrast to the stark landscape surrounding it. The Moab Travel Council recommends checking out the spring wildflowers.

For a little more adventure, ample rafting opportunities are available along the Colorado River. Visitors can also rent ATVs, jeeps and bikes to explore the region on their own. Contact local guides and outlets for details.

For a taste of history, visitors can witness the Newspaper Rock petroglyphs. These rock drawings date back an estimated 2,000 years. Researchers are unsure who created them, but they could have been scratched by prehistoric people from the Archaic, Basketmaker, Fremont or Pueblo cultures.

When visitors have had enough of sightseeing, they can head back to Moab, where plenty of events are scheduled throughout the year. Ongoing activities include art walks and a lecture series. And a couple of the summer events include the Moab Arts Festival and the Moab Iron Horse Rally.

Between activities, visitors will find a wide selection of restaurants and lodging options in Moab. The town has more than 1,600 hotel rooms, 50 bed and breakfast rooms and 1,700 campsites.