Moab: The Weekend Cure for the Winter Blues

Delicate Arch

The natural wonders surrounding the town of Moab, Utah are a happy place for my husband and me.  The first time we went there together, and the first time ever for him, was a few weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  Contemplating the grandness and beauty of God's creations brought peace to our souls and that feeling about Moab has never left us.  A few months ago, we realized that we had not been there since our oldest child could be carried in a Snuggie and our youngest had never been there at all.  The time had come  to make another pilgrimage and make more special memories with our children and we made plans to go on President's Day Weekend.  We invited my parents to come with us.  I know that not everyone could travel with their parents and in-laws, but ours are so pleasant and easy-going that we invite one set or the other on many of our vacations.  It's a great opportunity for us to catch up with them and for our kids to bond with them.  Our parents also get AARP rates at the hotel and seniors over the age of 62 can get a lifetime pass to the National Parks for $10.00.  BONUS!

There are a lot of reasons for lovers of the outdoors to visit Moab.  For us, it's the national parks.  The entrance to Arches National Park is just outside of town and the most accessible part of Canyonlands National Park is about 35 miles away.  Dead Horse Point State Park is on the way to Canyonlands and, despite its strange name, it should not be missed.  Jeep and mountain biking enthusiasts will also find world-class trails in the Moab area.  I have been to Moab at least three times in January or February and winter is a great time to visit the area because there is a good chance that the weather will be sunny and in the 50's, the crowds are smaller, and you get off-season rates.  

Dinosaurs!

Our little boy is a huge dinosaur fan.  As a result, I too have read many dinosaur books, watched many episodes of Dinosaur Train and made many trips to local dinosaur museums.  I feel pretty invested in dinosaur discovery and when I found out about sites near Moab where we could see real dinosaur bones and tracks out in nature, I'm quite sure I was more excited than he was.  I found this information at www.utah.com/dinosaur.  This website lists dinosaur sites all over Utah and four of the five sites in Southeastern Utah are in the Moab area.  Of those, we chose the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail and the Potash Road Dinosaur Tracks.

Sign on Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail

The online directions were good and we found the dinosaur sites without any trouble.  We started with Mill Canyon.  As mentioned on the site, you do need to drive on a dirt road for about two miles to get to the trail.  Our minivan did not have any trouble on this road, though the website says that the road is impassable when wet.  I believe this.  It had rained a couple of days before our arrival and the road goes through a stream bed.  It was mostly dried up and the ground was still a bit frozen on the morning  we drove over it, but I could see how it could be a problem if it were much wetter.

Pointing to dinosaur vertebrae embedded in the rock

There was a small parking lot at the end of the road and on a Friday morning in February, we had the place to ourselves.  The trail is a short loop - a half mile at most, with lots of stops - that is seldom out of sight of the parking lot.  Changes in elevation are small.  Neither, our five-year-old nor Grandma, who is not a hiker, had much trouble with it.  Signs are posted all along the way so we knew what to look for.  I have to admit that I never would have guessed those were dinosaur bones if the signs hadn't told me so.  We also saw fresh coyote prints and the remains of an old copper mill along our walk and those were fun too.  We were there about an hour and I thought it was fun and educational.  It's the sort of thing that most people don't see.

Under the petroglyphs on Potash Road.
The petroglyphs are in the darker area of the rock.

Zoomed in on some of the petroglyphs.

The Potash Road Dinosaur Tracks are more accessible.  Potash Road is just north of Moab and is well marked from Highway 191.  The drive is beautiful, with the Colorado River on one side and sheer, colorful cliffs on the other.  As we drove we saw some climbers preparing the scale the steep rock face.  A little farther down, look for a sign pointing to petroglyphs.  There is a little space to pull off the road.  The petroglyphs are easy to see and I am a sucker for petroglyphs so I think that this is a must-stop situation, at least for a few minutes.  A little farther down the road is a turn off to a parking lot where you can see the dinosaur tracks.  We did not see the spotting scope that was mentioned on the Utah dinosaur website, but you can see the tracks from the parking lot.  There is a little trail that heads that direction, but the tracks are high up and the trail isn't, so as you get closer, they become impossible to see.  Perhaps we missed something.  Anyway, if you have binoculars, this is a good opportunity to use them to see the tracks up close.

Three-toed dinosaur prints

Visiting Arches

We only had half a day to spend in Arches, so we focused on our favorite places and saved the rest for another time.  Our first stop was the visitor's center where we got the kids information on the Junior Ranger Program.  I think that all of the national parks have these and we have only found one that wasn't free.  From there we headed to the Delicate Arch hike.  This hike is about three miles round trip, uphill most of the way there and downhill most of the way back.  There is not much shade along the way and that's what great about hiking it in February, because the temperature is just right for hiking on red rock with a jacket or sweatshirt that can be peeled off when you get warm.  There are not many scary ledges or technical sections along the way, so it is a good hike for families.  However, at the arch itself, there are places where kids could fall.  My kids were fine and I just grabbed one of their hands when I was anxious, but I was talking to a neighbor who took five young children on this hike and the fall potential worried her so much that she couldn't enjoy it.  You make the call that is right for your family.  Grandma was worried about whether she could do it, but she and Grandpa took it at her speed and got there a while behind the rest of us (I'm not too fast up hills myself), but she made it and was glad she did.    She said that none of the photos can compare to seeing the iconic arch in person and I agree.

Delicate Arch

The Delicate Arch hike took most of our time, so we made just one more stop before calling it a day.  We drove to the Windows area and stopped at Double Arch.  The kids and Grandma appreciated it from the car while my husband and Grandpa and I walked a short distance for a closer look.  Before we had kids, my husband and I once climbed into the double arches with a picnic lunch and I envision our kids climbing and playing in there another day, but this time we had already worn them out.

Another short hike that I would like to take my kids on next time is the Sand Dune Arch hike.  It is a third of a mile one way and is all flat on sand.  When my husband and I did this hike once before, we saw a family set up in a shaded sandy area near the beginning of the hike with lawn chairs, sand toys and a picnic.

Double Arch

Visiting Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point


The amazing thing about the national parks in Utah is that they are not far from each other, but they are so different.  In Arches, you will spend most of your time looking up at the unique and beautiful rock formations.  In Canyonlands, you look down at endless canyons and plateaus carved by rivers.  Canyonlands National Park has three districts, with Island in the Sky being the most accessible.  This is the entrance that is about 35 miles outside of Moab and this is where we spent the next day.  Again, our first stop was at the visitor center for Junior Ranger badges.  Then we drove down the main road to a picnic area where my favorite hike begins.

White Rim Overlook

This hike is the White Rim Overlook and it is not marked from the road and it is not labeled on the park map, though you can see the trail on the map at a picnic area.  It is not hard to find once you actually drive into the picnic area.  The hike is about a mile-and-a-half round trip and is mostly level.  Grandma hiked this one too and was glad she did, but it was her first and last trail of the day.  The best thing about this hike is the view at the end.  My picture does not do it justice.  You can see endless canyons in three directions and because it is not as well known we didn't see anyone else on the trail until we were back to the picnic area.  My husband and I have seen others there before, but it's not too hard to get this spectacular viewpoint to yourself.  There are steep drop-offs at the overlook (but not before) and no guard rails, but there is plenty of space to enjoy the view without getting close to the edge and my kids didn't give me reason to worry.  There was also a shady spot for Grandma to sit.  At one point we all agreed to be quiet for 30 seconds and the absolute silence in that setting was amazing.  You don't realize how much noise we live with all the time until you don't hear any of it.

We did a few other short walks and overlooks during the day, but the other hike I want to recommend is the Mesa Arch hike.  This hike is a little over half-a-mile round trip, but with some ups and downs.  My daughter ran it, but I huffed and puffed a bit on the hills.  At the end is a beautiful arch at the edge of a cliff framing the canyons behind it.  Again, no cliffs until the very end of this hike, but no guard rails.  My daughter reported that she nearly ran off the cliff, which made my heart stop.  Grandpa had been close behind her and assured me that she hadn't got that close.  I am choosing to believe him.

Dead Horse Point

On our way home to Salt Lake City, we stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park.   We had just seen all of the spectacular views at Canyonlands and this one was still worth our time and money (though Grandpa got us in for half-price).  Again, my photos are not nearly as great as actually being there.  The story goes that horses were corralled near the cliff and were dying of thirst.  They saw the river far below and jumped to their deaths.  Thus, Dead Horse Point.  We asked the ranger if it was true and he didn't think so.  Though it is a state park, Dead Horse Point also had a Junior Ranger with a free badge for our kids to earn.  And BONUS!, it had the only flushing toilets we had seen since leaving the hotel that morning.

Dead Horse Point

I have found that the national parks offer whatever level of challenge your family is looking for.  If you just want to drive and stop at the viewpoints, you will see some amazing things.  Some trails at popular parks are stroller and wheelchair accessible.  Short hikes offer more beauty, more adventure and more healthy, confidence-building experience for kids and adults.  For high adventurers, there are hikes that will take all day, or more than one day, and you'll see spectacular things that almost nobody else sees.

Where We Stayed, What We Ate

Moab is a tourist town and there are lots of lodging options.  You can find campgrounds, B&Bs, ranches, vacation rentals, and lots of low- to mid-range hotels and motels.  I looked into some of the other options online, but this time we decided on the Aarchway Inn.  When we are looking for a hotel for our family, we want a decent complimentary breakfast, a refrigerator in the room, Disney and/or Nickelodeon on television, and generally positive tripadvisor.com reviews, all for a competitive price.  Depending on the vacation, the pool is also an important consideration, but this trip was too short and indoor pools too rare in Moab to worry about it this time.  Aarchway met our needs for $59 per night.  A couple of things that the Aarchway offers that we hadn't seen before were a hot breakfast and a playground.  Most hotels where we stay offer waffles, fruit, cereal, bagels, etc.  Aarchway has hot scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits, and gravy and we thought they tasted pretty good.  The playground was also fun for the kids for a short while in the morning while we were waiting for Grandma.

For food, Moab has lots of familiar fast food chains, but no sit-down chains, such as Applebee's or Chili's.  I think that Moab has done that on purpose and it's cool with us.  We did give some business to McDonald's (our kids' favorite) and Subway for lunches, but for dinner, we chose a local pizza restaurant called Zak's.  A friend had recommended it to Grandma.  The food was not as good as I'd hoped, and I would like to try somewhere different next time, but they did have something to make everyone happy in a casual kid-friendly atmosphere.  My husband said that his meal hit the spot.  The adults all ordered the pizza and salad buffet and the kids ordered from the kids' menu, which offered the usual fare.  Our kids ate grilled cheese and Kraft macaroni and cheese with fries.  I thought that the salad bar was lacking in fresh vegetables, but it was February and such things are not in season yet.  I didn't think the pizza was amazing either, but there was a nice selection of traditional and more interesting choices and the pizza chef was right behind the bar and asked if I had any requests.  I didn't take him up on it, but it was something fun I hadn't seen before.

Moab is about a five-hour drive from Salt Lake City.  We left on a Thursday afternoon and came home on Saturday night.  It was a quick trip and we didn't do nearly as much as we would have liked, but all that sunshine and beauty was good for our souls and it gave us a reason to not wait so long before our next visit.

Family Vacation
Moab