Our last stop in Utah was in Moab to visit Arches and Canyonlands National Park. As we came through town the kids were so excited to see civilizations with tons of choices in shops and restaurants. We really liked Moab Brewery for food and beer!
Moab KOA Holiday
We stayed at Moab KOA Holiday for 4 nights. This was the kids favorite pool of the trip! The sites were a little close together but the campground was nice and did it’s best to provide shaded areas.
Arches
Arches was my kids favorite National Park, and for good reason. The hikes were short, there were a ton of rocks to scramble and play on and we could see a lot in a short span of time. My best advice for Arches is to get there early, as they closed the park around 730 each day for capacity, reopening in the afternoon. The parking lot at double arch/the windows area fills up very fast! It’s also extremely hot later in the day with little shade.
Balanced Rock
The first area we visited in Arches was Balanced Rock. This is an easy .3 mile loop around that anyone could do.
Windows Section
Next we headed to the Windows Section. We got one of the last parking spots. We headed to double arch on one side of the parking lot first. The double arch trail is an easy .5 mile round trip walk. The kids enjoyed climbing up into it, while I stayed at the bottom.
Afterwards we walked to the other side of the parking lot to the windows. This is also a pretty short hike.
As part of this trail, you can keep going past windows to her to turret arch.
Sand Dune Arch
After the windows are, we visited sand dune arch. This was the kids favorite! Shady and lots of sand to play in and rocks to climb. Best of all it is only .3 miles round trip and very easy.
Skyline Arch
Afterwards we continued on to Skyline Arch. This one is easy to see from the road, but a short hike gets you closer.
On our way out of the park we stopped at the Wall Street overlook. There are a lot of overlooks and stops along the main road to choose from.
Delicate Arch
Delicate Arch is probably the most famous arch in Arches National Park. We spend our second morning at Canyonlands, but came back in the afternoon because I wanted to do this hike. We started around 4 and it was hot! But the befit was barely anyone at the arch. It’s a tough hike, with steep uphill climbs. The hike is around 3 miles round trip. Make sure you bring lots of water, the elevation and the lack of shade make it a necessity. We shared water with some people on the trail who ran out.
Canyonlands
Canyonlands is a little more of a drive from Moab then Arches, about 50 minutes away. I’ll be honest Canyonlands wasn’t my favorite park, but the nearby wildfires made for a pretty hazy experience.
Grand View Point Trail
For our first hike of the day we drove to the back of the park to hike to Grand Viewpoint. This was 1.8 miles round trip and fairly easy, with only a few small climbs.
Green River Overlook
Our next stop in Canyonlands was green river overlook. This can be seen right from the parking area.
Mesa Arch
Canyonlands actually has its own arch, Mesa arch. The trail to mesa arch is .7 miles round trip. It’s a pretty easy trail, with some rocky terrain.
Skydive Moab
On our third day we opted to try something fun and we decided on skydiving! I had been once before but it had been a long time. The weekday pricing was reasonable at around $200, plus $60 for pictures. There were more pricey photo packages to pick from as well including video. This was super fun! We took a small plane up and then attached to an instructor did the jump. It started and finished at Canyonlands airport. The landing was very smooth and easy. Would reccomend if you are a thrill seeker!
Wineries
There are two wineries near Moab. The first is Castle Creek Winery. This was about a 30 minute drive. It was $1 per tasting but you could only choose 4 tastings. I would reccomend. Wine wasn’t great and it’s a very quick experience. The second is Spanish Valley Vineyard. They actually grow their grapes right there. It was only a few minutes from our campground. Would highly recommend! The tasting room is cozy with seats to enjoy your tasting. For $8 you could taste all the wines (about 8) and you got a glass to take home. The wines were great, I bought 3 bottles to go. One thing to note is Utah does not allow anyone under 21 in tasting room (so no kids)
After our time in Utah, we headed to Colorodo Springs for our last stop before heading back home. Moab was our hottest stop with temperatures reaching 115 degrees so we were looking forward to some cooler temperatures!
Camping with the Kennedys 