Moab, Utah is a small town in the middle of nowhere, but it is jam-packed with some amazing adventures. We were able to spend 3 days in Moab and I wish we had gotten to spend a lot more time there. Some of the highlights of Moab are Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Mill Creek Trail, Downtown, Dead Horse Point State Park, and the KOA. 

After visiting for too short of a time, I think the perfect amount of time to spend there would be 5 days to a week. There is so much to offer from the parks to the town itself. I’ll be revisiting Moab eventually!

Downtown Moab 

Downtown is super cute and small, there’s small shops everywhere and lots of food options.

Off of a recommendation from one of our good friends, we made sure to eat at the Quesadilla Mobilla, which was one of the best quesadillas I’ve ever had. We also had dinner at the Moab Brewery. The food was great and the beer was too! We had to bring back some beer to the car while staying at the KOA. 

Each morning or afternoon we got our coffee fix at Moab Coffee Roasters. They had great coffee, and trust me when I say good coffee is few and far apart out west. We didn’t have the coffee options we were used to here in Rochester, or in larger cities we’ve visited before. Their espresso drinks were awesome, and they had a wide variety of pastries and ice cream.

Overall, the town felt safe, clean, and was super cute! It’s so close to Arches and Canyonlands, maybe a 20-minute drive to the entrance of the parks, and has lots of options for Airbnbs, camping, or hotels.  

Arches National Park

Arches National Park quickly became one of my favorite National Parks of all time right next to Acadia and Joshua Tree. It’s fairly easy to see a lot in Arches by driving the main road and stopping off at sites, and it has a variety of hikes in length and difficulty.

We were looking for good hikes while we were there and our favorite hike was to Double O Arch. It’s a much longer more difficult hike, and we got lost at some point, but it was one of the least crowded routes and was beautiful the whole way. At the beginning of Double O is Landscape Arch which is much more popular, so once you pass Landscape Arch there aren’t many people and the hike gets much more difficult.

Delicate Arch was a must-do hike and was fairly difficult only because of the sun. There is no shade what-so-ever so make sure you go earlier in the day when the sun is lower and bring lots of sunscreen! It’s super easy on the way down too.

We didn’t care so much to take pictures or see North and South Window or Double Arch because they just aren’t as pretty or cool as Double 0, Landscape, or Delicate. They were also the busiest parts of the park, and finding parking was too difficult to make stopping to see the windows or Double Arch worth it. If we had more time we would have stopped, but we weren’t mad that we didn’t stop. Overall, Arches was one of the busiest parks we have visited yet.

Canyonlands National Park

In Canyonlands, the hikes we wanted to do the most were closed because of rock slides (a common problem we ran into on our trip especially in Bryce Canyon and Zion), but we got to do the short hike to Mesa Arch and see the Grand Viewpoint which is in the Island in the Sky section of the park.

The views were breathtaking! I have this weird scary/exhilarating feeling I get whenever I’m looking over such a vast space like the Grand Viewpoint or the Grand Canyon, and every time I get that feeling I know that a place is particularly special.

We planned an entire day at Canyonlands, but we only ended up spending a half-day there. If you’re exploring other sections of the park it can take much longer, but we were able to see what we wanted to relatively quick which allowed us to see more we didn’t originally plan on seeing like Dead Horse Point State Park.

Dead Horse Point State Park

The state park entrance is on the road that leads to the entrance of Canyonlands National Park, so it’s super easy and convenient to stop at Dead Horse Point on your way in or out of Canyonlands.

There is a separate entrance fee of $10 because it is a state park and you can’t use your national park pass, but it’s worth it for a nice hike and view. You can hike the entire rim of the canyon, but we decided to just drive up to the main overlook, and do a short hike around that area.

It’s a similar formation to Horse Shoe Bend, but not as spectacular. It’s such a convenient location that it just makes sense to stop and see it along the way.

Moab KOA

We were super lucky to have been able to book at the Moab KOA, which can be completely booked months in advance. We just stayed in a car spot which had an awning, grill, and picnic table, but they have nice cabins as well. The showers and bathrooms were super clean! We used the ones attached to the main building which were a bit nicer than the ones closer to where we were parked. 

The pool and hot tub were such a bonus. After hiking all day it was the best feeling ever to just relax! They also had coin-operated laundry which was great for us to get some laundry done, and a small convenience store that had camping supplies and a small selection of snacks and food. 

When we go back, I think we will rent out a cabin because they looked so nice! And it’s more of our speed kind of vacation rather than the hotels in the area. The staff were super sweet, and the view was amazing as well!

Mill Creek Trail

Mill Creek is a serious hidden gem. We didn’t even know it existed until we were already in Moab and looking for the best hikes. It is located slightly outside of the main town, maybe a 10-minute drive, and has a good size parking lot.

The hike itself is easier, you do have to walk through the water at some points, but the best part is that it ends at a beautiful oasis! There’s a small waterfall, and a lot of people were jumping off of the top. I’m not that daring, so we made our way to the top of the waterfall and hung out in the water. The water pools at the top before it goes off into the waterfall and is perfect for relaxing under the sun.

There were only a few people who came and went from the top of the waterfall and most people were staying at the base. It’s so satisfying to reach the end of a hike and be able to relax in the water and chill out. I read my book for a little bit, took some pictures, and enjoyed the cool water under the hot sun. The hike back was even easier than on the way to the waterfall. It was the perfect end to our day.

Moab has so much to offer, and I can’t wait to go back! I think the order that you do all of the adventurings in Moab doesn’t matter too much, but I think a good breakdown would be to dedicate 2 days to Arches, 1 day to Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point State Park, 1 day of relaxation at the KOA and exploring downtown, and another day of Mill Creek Trail and downtown.

A 5-day trip would be the ultimate Moab adventure, but of course, with more or less time you could still do everything just at a different pace.

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