Final Thoughts on our stay in Moab
Moab is a jumping off spot for two of Utah’s most spectacular National Parks and a stunning state park. It has a southwestern flavor that caters to tourists. You definitely need time to explore the area so don’t rush it!
Where we stayed
Canyonlands RV Resort and Park
https://utah.com/canyonlands-rv-resort-and-campground
The RV park is centrally located to Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse State Park. This is a very clean well run RV park with all the “ amenities”. There is a laundry room, showers, a pool, nice cement pads with patio and picnic tables. The sites include full hookups with both 30 and 50 amp electrical service. There are also numerous tent sites with tables and fire pits. The employees were friendly and helpful.
Tip: request a site towards the back of the park as the RV Park is located just off the main road through town and it can get noisy toward the front.
As a side note, we had a very personal experience with this park and its employees: we had an unfortunate incident when our kitty got out of our trailer and, in what we think was a moment of fear, she ran. During the course of the next two days, we, some of the other RV’ers in the Park and the staff looked for her. The staff in the office even made flyers for us and put them up. Unfortunately she has not been found yet, but the staff at this park is continuing, as we write this review, to look for her and keep the flyers up.
What we did
Arches National Park
This is the smallest of the National Parks but it is breathtakingly (literally, over 6000 ft elevation) beautiful. Every Arch and stop through this park is worth the trip, not to mention there are photo ops galore, the main one being Sunset at Delicate Arch, which is not to be missed. The Park never closes, so for phototogs, getting sunrise and sunset photos is no problem.
With over a million visitors a year to Arches, timing to see this park is critical. The following info is a must read: https://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/traffic.htm \
Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands is not as popular as Arches and looks very much like the Grand Canyon to many who visit this park.
There are three very different regions to this huge expansive park, the northernmost is Island in the Sky.
Lots of empty open space filled with amazing land features and stunning vistas overlooking surrounding valleys and canyons. It is worth visiting day or night but be prepared to arrive well before dawn if you want a good photographic vantage point at the more popular morning attractions such as Mesa Arch.
TIP: If you are adventurous and have a 4-wheel (or rent one from the many Jeep rental places in Moab) be sure and take the Shafer Trail from Moab to just inside the park entrance station. It took us about 3 hours and was one of the highlights of our trip.
The southernmost part of the park is called The Needles. This region is very isolated, 60 miles south of Moab and underrated, so not many people visit this region but it is well worth the drive. We didn’t spend a lot of time in the Needles Region but were able to catch the cactus in bloom, view the sweeping vistas, and see the needle rock formations.
The middle region of the park is called The Maze. This region is isolated and on the west side of the Colorado River. We did not have time to visit this area but we will be back.
