Dazzling. Spellbinding. Other-worldly. It’s hard to overstate the towering red-rock grandeur of southeastern Utah. Unimaginable, panoramic beauty permeates a region woven with soaring spires and sandstone arches, deep-walled canyons and flat-topped sedimentary rock, inspiring visions of the dawn of creation.
Wonderstruck at first glance, I was visiting Moab for the first time, prompted by my mountain guide daughter, who proposed a mom-daughter getaway to her favorite outdoor adventure sanctuary. While I mostly prefer to keep my feet on solid ground except when flying commercially, she strives for mountain elevations—the higher, the better—and I wanted to see her bask in her natural element.
Visit Utah
An estimated 5,400 residents live year-round in Moab, Utah, a mix of retail and restaurants located near the confluence of two mighty rivers, the Green and the Colorado. Popularly recognized as the gateway to the surrounding wilderness rocks in the “Four Corners” region of the American Southwest, over a million travelers pass through here annually. Attracted by the spectacular desert beauty and 300 days of sunshine, recreational enthusiasts eagerly embrace the vast height, width and depth the area affords.
I might have passed (or passed out) on the zip lining and Via Ferrata climbing course, but I found my own softer adventures in town and within the mesmerizing desert landscape. Here’s how our days unfolded.
Day One: Route 191 South
Impatient for an early start, we rise at 8:00 a.m. After fueling up with lattes and bountiful breakfast burritos at Moab Coffee Roasters, we head 24 miles south on U.S. Route 191, the main road that stretches through town. By 9:35 a.m., we arrive at our first stop, Wilson’s Arch, just in time for the short but steep hike to catch the morning light crest over the top of the formation. It’s a stunning sight, popular with visitors, especially at dawn and dusk for its supreme photo ops. Named after local pioneer Joe Wilson, the structure’s formation through erosion is detailed on signage that also reminds visitors to “Respect the Rocks… Protect the Past…Tread Lightly… Keep It Clean,” setting the tone for explorations of the area.
Scrub and sagebrush line the roadway, while spectacular vistas of snow-dusted mountains circle the perimeter along our scenic drive as we continue 26.5 miles south to our next destination, Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs, off Route 211. Listed in the Register of National Historic Places, this cultural landmark features figures etched into the sandstone rocks by pre-historic peoples from B.C.E. to C.E. 1300. In historic times, Ute, Navajo and European Americans have also made their marks here, according to information at the archeological site.
Mere minutes away, we stop at the Donnelly Canyon Parking Area in Indian Creek to meet climbing friends and members of Access Fund, a non-profit organization devoted “To lead and inspire the climbing community toward sustainable access and conservation of the climbing environment.” From here, a short mom-daughter walk leads to gentle warnings about ground vegetation (“Be careful not to step on the cryptobiotic soil, Mom.”) and crack climbing, a technique whereby climbers jam body parts (hands, fingers, feet) into cracks in the rock face to create a hold when ascending.
Visit Utah
We wind our way back to Moab near dusk after passing sweeping views of Bears Ears National Monument, renowned for its prehistoric dwellings and rock art, sacred sited to many Native Americans. Brief stops follow: first, at the Big Spring Canyon Overlook, where we stand silent at the magnificent, expansive views below; then, Ken’s Lake Campground, just 10 miles south of town, where visitors can enjoy fishing, hiking and equestrian trails.
Day Two; Island in the Sky
Canyons National Park covers three main parts over roughly 338,000 acres: Island in the Sky to the north, The Maze in the west and The Needles in the southeast. We opted to explore Island in the Sky for its easy proximity from Moab (10 miles via Route 313) and the promise of plentiful dramatic viewpoints and moderate walking and hiking trails along the 34-mile roundtrip scenic drive. Aptly named, this wide, flat mesa rises to an elevation of 6,080 ft, 1,000 ft above the surrounding canyons and rock formations, and a 2,000 ft rise from Moab’s 4,025 ft elevation.
After a mid-morning start, 32 miles in, we reach the Visitor Center, a welcome invitation to learn more about geologic cycles (hint: a process of deposition, lithification, uplift and erosion), how plants survive in the high desert, and a recognition that “Our ancestors’ spirits are still here in animals, plants, rocks, and the springs.”(Hopi elder, 2017).
Beyond the Visitor Center, drivers can make the trail loop in approximately two hours, though we meandered, taking our time, heeding the siren calls of grand vista after vista, enticing us where to stop, look, hop out, and listen to nature’s soundscape, from the raven’s croaky caw to whispering winds, to twigs breaking underfoot as we walked the trails.
A short distance away, Shafer Trail Overlook highlights views of the winding Shafer Trail and Colorado River below. Keep going another 10 minutes en route to Mesa Arch, a photographer’s dream, especially at sunrise and sunset, for its natural frame of the expansive canyon and mountain views in the distance. From here, our drive continued to the starring attraction and highest elevation point, Grand View Point Overlook, electing to bypass several other viewpoints—Aztec Butte, Upheaval Dome, Whale Rock Trail and Green River Overlook—for another visit.
Visit Utah
At Grand View Point Overlook, on a clear day like ours, layers of views showcase the region’s vast diversity of geological formations in one sweeping sight: La Sal Mountains, Utah’s second-highest mountain range that borders Colorado; the steep-sided walls of the Colorado River Canyon (though not the river itself) and Monument Basin, and the Needles, appropriately named for its series of colorful sandstone spires vaulting skyward.
Day Three: Potash Road
Arches National Park lies at Moab’s doorstep, easily providing the most accessible opportunity to adventure here, whether on a two-hour scenic drive, walking and hiking, picnicking or camping on longer stays. We saved this spot for last, but after realizing that three days are not nearly enough to explore Moab’s magnificence, we passed by this most visited tourist spot in favor of Wall Street, a popular roadside rock-climbing site along the Colorado River where first-timers can learn the ropes, so to speak, on mostly single-pitch climbing.
I crane my neck, watching climbers ascend, wondering what compels humans to take on the challenge. I turn around to ask my daughter, who meanwhile has propelled 20 ft up a crack in the rock face. One look at her beaming face tells me why.
When you go
Getting There: Moab’s remote location makes getting there half the fun.
- Contour Airlines offers daily flights into Moab Airport, about 18 miles from downtown, via Denver or Phoenix.
- From Grand Junction Regional Airport, it’s a one-hour 40-minute drive to downtown Moab.
- From Salt Lake City Airport, it’s a 3-hour, 45-minute drive.
- Salt Lake Express offers a limited daily service from SLC Airport to Moab.
Stay: A variety of lodging accommodations include hotels and motels, campgrounds and vacation rentals.
Eat: A few favorite eateries on our stay included:
- Moab Coffee Roasters
- Red Rock Bakery
- Spitfire Smokehouse BBQ + Taps
- The Spoke on Center
- Moonflower Community Cooperative
Shop:
- Made in Moab
- Gearheads Outdoor Store
- Back of Beyond Books
For more information, visit https://www.discovermoab.com/.