Planning Your Time

With its variety of restaurants and lodgings, Moab is the most obvious and fun place to base your southeastern Utah walkabout. From there, it's an easy drive to both Arches and Canyonlands national parks, each of which take at least a day to take in. They should be your first priority. While at Arches, a great, if crowded, hike is the trail to the famous Delicate Arch. At Canyonlands, the Island in the Sky District is a stunning area to visit, with its views of deep canyons, thin spires, and the Colorado River. After a few days surrounded by rock and dust, you can spend one or several days on the Green, San Juan or Colorado rivers. Outfitters also offer half-day, one-day, or multiday trips on mountain bikes and jeeps, if either of those are more your speed. Many side trips from Moab can be taken in a day, some worthwhile treks being to La Sal Mountains, Goblin Valley State Park, and the little town of Bluff. More southern locales, like Natural Bridges National Monument, Lake Powell, and Monument Valley will be much more enjoyable with an overnight stay. Whatever you do, wherever you go, make sure to leave time to just kick back, hang out, and enjoy the outdoors. Moab locals joke that this region has its own time zone—it would be a shame not to enjoy the slower pace.