Utah is home to five National Parks, two of which are a short drive outside of Moab. I highly recommend visiting Canyonlands and Arches National Parks and since they are so close together make one big trip and visit both. I loved both parks, but I preferred Arches over Canyonlands.

Arches National Park contains over 2,000 naturally formed sandstone arches. The visitors center is located at 4,085 feet above sea level and to get to the highest point in the park you climb 1,568 feet in elevation. With more than 1.5 million visitors a year, the park can get busy quickly. To help plan your trip the National Parks Service makes a webcam feed of the entrance available.

You can find more than just arches in the park too. Other odd and gravity-defying geological formations are common to find as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following fun facts were learned through experience after a long, hot day hiking.

Fun fact #1: park rangers have police jurisdiction in National Parks.

Fun fact #2: park rangers can pull you over for speeding.

Fun fact #3: going 10 mph over the speed limit in a National Park is a Federal class B misdemeanor.

Fun fact #4: Arches park rangers were super understanding

Advice from Savannah: never speed, even if your check engine comes on, big oops

 

If you need a place to stay around the Moab area, I highly recommend camping at Dead Horse Point State Park. It is about 30 miles away from the Arches entrance gate, so it’s not too far out of the way. Dead Horse Point overlooks the Colorado River and Canyonlands National Park. The park is also recognized as an International Dark Sky Park (IDSP). According to the IDSP website, this means that the park is “land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment.” It is also a really pretty place to see the sunrise.