In February 2024, we loaded up the car and drove seven hours to Moab, Utah to cross off two more parks: Arches and Canyonlands. We planned around Presidents’ Weekend and left Thursday night and returned Monday night. In the span of those few days, we got to explore Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park, Moab, and Rifle Falls State Park in Colorado. Talk about a jam-packed trip!
Day 1: The Trek to Moab
The drive to Moab was a long one, but well worth it in the end. We didn’t leave until after work, so we didn’t make it to the hotel until midnight. Unfortunately for us there was a snow storm in the mountains on our way out.
We got stuck in the worst of it going through Glenwood Canyon. For anyone who has driven that stretch of I-70 in less than optimal weather…you understand the pain of our drive. Traffic went down to a single-file situation because no one could see any lane markers. It is pitch black through that area at night, and heavy wet snow was falling. I have never felt so nauseous or terrified to be driving. Sean had to keep reminding me to breathe! After we finally made it through the worst of it, my wonderful Alaskan fiance informed me that that was some of the worst driving conditions he had ever seen. I hope to never experience anything like that ever again.
Day 2: Arches National Park
We woke up early, grabbed breakfast at the hotel, and hit the (short) road to Arches! We saw all the major highlights of the park on this day.
Our first stop of the day was the Devil’s Garden Trail. We hiked 6.1 miles with 919′ elevation gain to get our first glimpse of the park. We had the BEST time and had almost the entire trail to ourselves! It was so fun to get a mix of maintained trails and navigating over rocks. There were a lot of cool rock formations to see as well. We followed that up with a 0.7 mile hike to the Windows and Turret Arches and a 0.9 mile hike to Double Arch. We LOVED Double Arch. It was more crowded than other spots, but we were able to get fantastic photos and do some short scrambling.
Our last major stop of the park was our sunset hike to Delicate Arch. This 3.2 mile 620′ elevation gain hike was more strenuous than we had anticipated, but so worth the initial incline! It was the most crowded area we encountered on the entire trip. Thankfully, though, we were able to find a nice corner to sit, drink, and enjoy the scenic sunset.
Day 3: Island in the Sky + Dead Horse Point
After another hotel breakfast, we made the 36 minute drive to Islands in the Sky District of Canyonlands. Our first stop was to the iconic Mesa Arch for sunrise. We got here early enough that no one else was around for about 20 minutes, so we were able to just sit and enjoy the views under the arch without taking away from anyone else’s experience. This arch was very easy to get to; it was a quick 0.8 mile loop from the parking lot with only 115′ elevation gain.
Our next stop was the Grand View Point Trail. This was a 2.0 mile trail with 203′ elevation gain. Again, it was a fairly quiet trail where we were able to explore all the overlooks and canyon walls without seeing too many other people. This hike was absolutely beautiful! The sheer drop offs were crazy and so awe inspiring.
We ended our day with a stop at Dead Horse Point State Park, which was a quick 13 minute drive from the Island in the Sky Visitor Center! It was a $20.00 entrance fee and we felt that there was ample parking. We decided to do the big loop around the park, which totaled 4.9 miles and 679′ elevation gain. The views were very similar to Grand View Point Trail in Canyonlands but featured more views of the Colorado River.
Day 4: Needles District
Our last full day brought out through Bear Ears National Monument and to the Needles District of Canyonlands! This was more of a time investment, as it is an hour and a half drive from Moab to this district. However, the drive was so scenic that it flew by.
We did a few quick trails, including Cave Spring, Slickrock Foot, and Pothole Point. When we made our stop at the Visitor Center, we seriously contemplated making a spontaneous drive to Capitol Reef National Park, which is 230 miles away. Given the time of day at that point, we decided against it. But if you’re planning a long trip to Utah, it is definitely doable!
Needles is a completely different vibe from Island in the Sky, but just as beautiful. We felt that it was worth the extra driving to see a new area of the park that is much less visited. If we had more time and a better vehicle for it, we would’ve loved to drive Elephant Hill Road, so that is on the list for future trips!
Day 5: The Trek Home + Rifle Mountain
To both break up the long drive home and make the most of our last day, we made a quick detour to Rifle Falls State Park in Rifle, CO. While it’s a small park, it’s well worth the stop during the winter. It’s known for it’s water falls that freeze and turn into ice caves. The sunlight coming through the frozen falls creates an unreal turquoise color. There are also some waterfalls that hadn’t frozen over that we were able to climb up to!
We have a Colorado State Parks pass so we didn’t need to pay anything, but if you don’t, the entrance fee is just $10.00. If you make this a winter stop, I highly recommend bringing microspikes or some other form of traction device. Because everything is frozen, you’re mostly walking on ice and you do NOT want to try that in just your running shoes.
Final Thoughts on our trip to moab
Looking back, there isn’t a thing we would change about this trip. Going in February, even though it was a holiday weekend, proved to be a success. The weather was perfect- definitely cold in the mornings and evenings but sunny and brisk all day. The crowd levels were even more perfect- always parking available, we had most trails to ourselves, and it was easy to escape crowds at the more popular areas when needed. We both agreed that had we visited these parks in peak season with hot weather, we probably wouldn’t have loved them as much as we did.
Moab was a super cool town, but was definitely quiet and a little more limited due to it being the off-season. We enjoyed a nice dinner at The Spoke on Center one night and a quick breakfast and coffee at Bonjour Bakery and Cafe.
We also wanted to shoutout Aarchway Inn in Moab. The rates were extremely reasonable when we went, and included a daily hot breakfast, hot tub, and seasonal outdoor pool. It was located right outside of the entrance to Arches (just 2 miles), 2 miles from downtown Moab, and 30 miles from Canyonlands and Dead Horse. The rooms were comfortable and clean, and it served as a wonderful home base for our adventures!
We would recommend every stop on our trip. Arches lived up to the hype and offered a lot of fun hikes and formations. We loved spending most of our first full night at the park taking dark sky photography. If given the opportunity, we would gladly go back but feel like we saw everything we wanted to on this trip. Canyonlands was mind-blowing. Island in the Sky District had jaw-dropping views in every direction. Needles District offered a completely different landscape, and was a bit out of the way, but well worth the trek.
We can’t wait to come back and explore the final district, The Maze, and do some camping on the canyon floor. Dead Horse Point State Park was worth the added destination, especially for our sunset hike. Rifle Falls State Park was a quick and fun pit stop for us; changing it up from desert to ice caves was a great end to the trip!
