Road Tripping to Moab, Utah
The cosmos aligned and I finally was granted a road trip to Moab, Utah! Living in Denver, Moab is a pretty accessible place to visit. Better yet, road trip!
For my 32nd birthday, I convinced my boyfriend + 3 other close pals to join me on a road trip to Moab for a weekend of exploring. (Yeah, so it took me over a year to get this blog post up. It’s fine.) We booked a large Airbnb and took off early on Friday to make the 5.5 hour drive from Denver, Colorado. We made a long weekend out of it, but I definitely could have stayed longer! The national parks located in Moab have a lot to offer.
Saturday, Day 1:
We enjoyed breakfast at popular spot Eklectica on the town’s Main Street. This place has a ton of character and outdoor seating (great for kids!). BTW, Moab’s town is basically one street. But don’t be fooled, there are plenty of restaurants and amenities for tourists.
Then we made our way to Arches National Park which isn’t far from the main drag. Be prepared to pay $30 per vehicle entrance fee, unless you can convince them it’s your birthday (like I did!). Don’t worry, they take credit cards.
There are tons of beautiful hikes to choose from at Arches. The one you MUST do is the famous “Delicate Arch” trail. Yup, this 3 mile hike will take you to the site of the Instagram-famous red rock arch. It’s stunning. But also packed! We went at sunset and it was gorgeous but crowded. I don’t recommend this trail for kids, since there are some narrow and steep bits. (However, there ARE kid-friendly trails at Arches!)
After accomplishing about 2 and a half hikes at Arches, we made our way back to our Airbnb. If you’re looking for more detail on Arches hikes, this blog is awesome. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up the goods to cook a BBQ kabobs feast at our Airbnb. BTW, our quirky Airbnb was HUGE. It was just outside town which made it private yet convenient. Check out my video above for a look inside the house.
Sunday, Day 2: My birthday!
We had a lazy mimosas-and-board-games-morning and then headed to Canyonlands National Park, which is about a 40 minute drive from town. This park also has an entrance fee of $30 per vehicle, but I promise it’s well worth it.
There are a ton of quick and easy vantage points at Canyonlands. Not as many true “hikes” as at Arches. Canyonlands is awesome in its own right. Instead of boasting arches, they boast intense deep canyons that you will marvel at like it’s The Grand Canyon. Definitely do the easy 2 mile “Grand View” hike. And it turns how they have TON of other stuff to do in addition to sightseeing such as ATVing, rafting, and more.
For dinner we took a healthy option and chose Peace Tree. It’s more of a lunch place, but it got the job done for dinner. A word to the wise, make a reservation for dinner! We had a hard time getting into more popular places which is the real reason we ended up here.
Half of our group drove home Sunday night, and the other half stayed through the evening and drove home early on Monday. I will definitely be back to Moab! There is a ton to explore and I would jump at the chance to go back to either of these jaw-dropping national parks.
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