Planning 10 days from Houston to Arches and the surrounding parks May 2008. We are 40 something, no kids. We'll do some hiking/photography/dining/guided tours. Can someone who has done this advise the best driving route and stops to see in 10 days? I believe we'll be flying into Grand Junction, CO. We'd also appreciate clean/comfortable hotel suggestions(with basic kitchen) along the way. We'd also like to visit Canyon De Chelly, 4 corners, Mesa Verde, etc...can these be done at the same time? What is the ideal airport scenario? I'm sure in/out of same airport is most economical,but might be worth flying in one out of another to maximize our sightseeing? We have already seen Vegas, Zion, Grand Canyon, Bryce and Page, AZ. Thank you!

You don't mention Canyonlands, which is just across the highway from Arches NP, as a possible destination. Since you will be so close, I wouldn't miss it.

Monument Valley is a few hours down US191, but the Navajo have imposed lots of restriction on travel in the area. I would so some research before adding it to the list.

Not too far off of US191 south of Moab you will find places like Natural Bridges National Monument, Valley of the Gods, Cedar Mesa and Great Goosenecks of the San Juan.

West of Moab (about 2-3 hrs) is Capitol Reef, one of the great "undiscovered" gems of the western US.

You can reach Mesa Verde by dropping down US191 and then cutting over to Cortez, Colorado. That routine is pretty straighforward. A more adventurous, although much longer, alternative would be to drive south from Grand Junction through Unaweep and Dolores Canyons. There is a lot of "nothing" out there, but the scenery is spectacular.

I wouldn't do Unaweep and Dolores Canyons from Moab. If you are flying in and out of Grand Junction, I would visit Mesa Verde at either the beginning or the end of the trip and connect Mesa Verde and Grand Juction via the canyons. In Colorado, we call the western part of the state the "Western Slope."

My daughter (age 13) and I did Arches this past Memorial Day. We spent 4 days in Moab. We hiked Delicate Arch at Sunset, which is a must. We hiked the entire Primitive Loop at Landscape Arch. You will pretty much have the trail to yourself for 3 or 4 hours. Do see Double Arch and Balanced rock also. www.deserthighlights.com is a neat way to see the fiery furnace. they are the only guides allowed in the park. The canyoneering was great. The rappelling wasn't scary at all. We did Krill, which is in the fiery furnace. Great experience. We took a flight with www.slickrockairguides.com over Canyonland in a small 4 seater plane. Pilot was retired chief park ranger, so he gave us a great flight.
A very scary ride is a Sunset Hummer Tour with www.moabadventurecenter.com. It was great. I would recommend driving to Dead Horse Point while you are there. It is a stunning canyon view. Similar to Grand Canyon only more dramatic with the river goosenecking around. We stayed at Laquinta Inn, which was nothing special, just clean and good place to sleep. Moab Brewing Company was our favorite spot to eat. I would think you could easily fit another couple stops into your schedule. I might try to fly into Grand Junction and then fly out of either Cortez, or Durango on the return if it econimical with the car rental and flight. We rented a lil convertible Chrysler two seater in Grand Junction and it was a blast. We are planning a trip to 4 corners region next May. Two of the things that interest us is the train ride at Durango with the zipline. and hot air balloon in Monument Valley. of course Mesa Verde also. you will enjoy arches. It is easy park to get around in and you can see pretty much the entire thing. Canyonlands is huge. We just saw it from the air and car. We didn't do any hiking there. We will go back and do hiking there sometime.

Thank you for taking time to share your experiences and recommendations. This feedback is extremely helpful in planning a special adventure!

'spirobulldog' did you pre-book all excursions way in advance or book when you got to Moab?

'smueller' can you recommend a place to stay near Capital Reef? Do you have a favorite in Moab? How many days do you recommend to see the Capital Reef area?

Thank you!

I'm not 'smueller' but in Torrey (outside capital reef) we've stayed at Austin's Chuck Wagon and the Best Western, much preferring the latter. The BW has private balconies overlooking the edge of the Park which was amazing watching the sunrise! And for us, a full day in captital reef has been enough, but we've also visited three different times (3 full days).

We've stayed a few times at the BW Canyonlands Inn, right in the very heart of moab, and it was great. Easy walk to all restaurants and shoppes (except the Moab Brewery, which is our #1 restaurant!) Do NOT stay in the Ramada Inn, ICK.

I booked pretty much everything in advance. We didn't prebook the air ride. I called them and asked if we could go that morn, and they took us. You might consider bike riding. These are special bikes. They are in the $4000 range bikes. They even have disc breaks. We did that with moabadventurecenter as well. We did the easiest tour they offered. I would do the easy one or the moderate one. The easy one was a little more strenuous than i thought it would be. This was on our last day and we were tired, so maybe that was why it. Let me know if you are planning on the canyoneering and I will give you more details.

I just came back (maybe I should do a trip report) and we stayed at the Best Western in Moab and Austin's in Torrey. The 2 BWs in Moab are in the center of town, just a few minutes drive to the park. It was nice to not need the car for dinner and just stroll around town. We took the ranger led hike of the Fiery Furnace and it was fantastic. You can make the arrangements at the visitor's center when you arrive. We did the 10am tour and I think it would be a little too hot to do at 2pm. They do book up so make the appt when you get there.

We were disappointed with Capital Reef and it was easy to see why it's one of the least visited Nat'l Parks. If we could do it over we would have spent another day in the Moab area and seen Canyonlands. If you do go to CR, 1 day will be more than enough.

Wow, this is so helpful. Keep it coming! Thanks!

Spirobulldog, we plan to do the canyoneering. Sounds like there might be different options. Please fill me in.

Wow Dohicle,

I'm surprised you didn't like Capitol Reef - but everyone has different expectations and likes. Did you hike?

I think that compared to everything else there it just can't compete. We tried to do the Cassidy Arch hike but there was no markings from Grand Wash and we never did find it. Neither did the 15 or 20 people we saw in the area so that was definitely a bummer. We did the register rock hike and I wasn't too thrilled. The scenic drive was nice, but after Arches and the drive on 24 it just didn't knock me over. Since those were the highlights we cut our losses and headed out. The orchards were pretty. Don't get me wrong, Utah is stunning and awe inspiring it's just compared to everything else there I don't think this is the best park. It still beats everything I see on my way to work everyday!

Oh, sorry you missed the Hickman Bridge hike, it's a pretty good one with a great payoff. One I want to do, but didn't make last time due to thunderstorms, was the Golden Throne. I agree, the register hike didn't thrill me either.

Pioneer Graffiti!

Hickman Bridge did look pretty in the picture we saw. We justified our somewhat early departure by saying we saw some beautiful natural bridges in Bryce on our last trip. We were pretty tired as well and we had a nice time out our next stop – after a nap!

We spent Memorial Day weekend, plus an extra day, in this area. We stayed in Cortez because everything in Moab was full, but it didn't take long to drive to Arches from there.

Arches is great, but it's hot in May - be sure to bring lots of water. We ate at Zax on our way back to Cortez that night; everyone liked their meal.

We spent the next day at Mesa Verde and really enjoyed that. It wasn't quite as hot, and the ranger-guided tours of the cliff dwellings are very interesting.

We stopped at Four Corners on the way back to Albuquerque - this won't take more than five or ten minutes unless you shop at one of the booths or have some fry bread.

Lee Ann

Well, being disappointed with any of the parks in southern Utah is perplexing to me. We just returned from another trip to the area (trip report soon), this time traveling for 10 days thru Zion, Bryce, Grand Staircase, Capitol Reef and Horseshoe Canyon (Canyonlands). We wanted to have more time to really see and experience these amazing places in more detail.

Getting out and hiking and driving on the backroads and finding special places that few people experience is what is special to us. I guess some people only "see" the parks in some "big picture" sort of way and feel some need to compare them. That's too hard for me to understand. We find ourselves amazed and excited by all the small details of these incredible places - the bugs, flowers (lots of things blooming this year!), the snakes and lizards, the colors and crazy rock formations. I was just blown away that someone could be disappointed with Zion and Capitol Reef. But certainly everyone is different and that's good.

It's funny, though, that during our brief 3-4 days in Capitol Reef, we kept wondering why so many folks love Sedona while Capitol Reef/Torrey has all the grand red rock formations and a wonderful, uncommercialized western town without all the silly expensive tourist crap and crowds of people. Again, it's so great that we all enjoy different things....

Yes, we really enjoyed the short 1 mile hike to Hickman Bridge. We had a lovely chat with a couple in their 70s who were returning to see the bridge for the first time in 30 years. They were so excited I almost cried. After we parted ways I said to Sharon that that could be us in 20 years with a little luck. Good for them!

There is nothing more inspiring (IMO) than hiking with and sometimes being PASSED by 70 year old couples on a hiking trail! The fiery furnace was difficult at times and there were two older couples who made it just fine. I love the reminder of what life can be if we stay off the couch.

"ElendilPickle" did you fly in/out of Albuquerque? How many miles is it approximately from Albuquerque to Moab and Albuquerque to Mesa Verde? Also, how many miles from Cortez to Moab / Mesa Verde to Moab?

Sorry, I didn't get back with you sooner. The reason I did Krill Canyon is that it is in the Fiery Furnace and I wanted to see that as well. Pleisiads is in water and it looks interesting. We plan on going back sometime and doing Pleisiades and Medieval. They both look great. I will also do the tryleon traverse. Desert Highlights is the way to go in my opinion. This was definately one of the most unique things I have ever done. Ranks up there with dog sledding in Alaska and rafting the Grand Canyon. Something about Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch just leaves me in a state of awe. To come around the corner and their Delicate Arch is, it's just awesome. Do spend some time at Delicate Arch and go on all sides of it. Most people just kind of see it and leave. I would spend at least 1 or 2 hours getting the full effect of it. Pack a snack and plenty of water. YOU WILL LOVE THE CANYONEERING EXPERIENCE.

By the way US Airways now flys into Moab about 5 days per week.