Stunning! Absolutely stunning!…read moreI've traveled on four continents and this is easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Park Avenue was my favorite, then the Delicate Arch, but holy heavens, around literally every turn there was another absolute stunner of a view. I took easily 100 pictures during my relatively short time in the park. Then, when you drive back out, you see all the same stunning views, but at different angles, and you experience those things in a brand new way. This was easily the highlight of my 3,600 mile, 12-day, 9-state road trip. You have to come here, it is nearly unbelievable how beautiful it is. You have to experience it for yourself. Absolutely one of the most beautiful places in the US, without question!

Arches NP actually was a pleasant surprise to me. I'd heard it's small and underwhelming compared…read moreto other parks (e.g. Zion) which I do believe is true re: the size comparison, but honestly I don't think you should compare this park to ones like Zion/Glacier because the expectation is just different. This park's hikes follow one long main road that ends around a campsite area that goes to several arches including Broken Arch. I drove out their first and did this hike which is really more of a long trail. The arch was MUCH bigger than I'd expected, and it was cool to see! The weather wasn't the best -- scattered light showers creeping in but thankfully it never rained too heavily, and despite the trails being all sand/sandy dirt, my shoes stayed fairly dry and it didn't get too muddy. Along this trail are some other arches e.g. tapestry arch (there's three of them connected together). The trail is pretty flat and manageable for almost anyone, just a few areas that are a little more uphill than most but no scrambling or anything. Other cool hikes are the delicate arch trail (even if you just do the short viewpoint one, which I did), the sand dune arch, and the double arch/north window arch (more of a long walk than a hike). The skyline arch is also a nice easy pull off pic (or short walk to get closer), and the Park avenue and Garden of Eden viewpoints (+- other early viewpoints in the park) are absolutely stunning. If you're in the area, I would absolutely rec a trip to Arches NP! If you only have time to do one park in the area my personal pref would be Canyonlands rather than arches, but you can certainly see near all of arches within a day (or even a few hours if you just want to hit some of the major spots) whereas Canyonlands is MASSIVE and some areas require AWD/high clearance so Arches is much more accessible. If you really just want to hit the highlights in both, you can do it in one day (that's what I did -- left around 7a to go to mesa arch and grand overlook viewpoints @Canyonlands, then drove to arches and hit all those short trails/viewpoints mentioned above. Was done by about 6p the same day).

Back in June 2022, I went to Canyonlands National Park (NPS). I dropped by their visitor center to…read morepick up some magnets as I always do. It's a very nice visitor center with tons of souvenirs. The center wasn't that big, but organized and clean. Staff was friendly and very helpful. Tons of people looking around and shopping. They have lots of goodies and souvenirs. Restrooms are outside... they have actual little potty stands in a building. So do drop on by and check them out when you're at Canyonlands NPS. You may find something nice to bring back home as a remembrance of your lovely visit. Happy Canyon'ing!

Island in the Sky is the most popular/visited part of this massive national park (Canyonlands)…read more This is because it is the most easily accessible part for most people traveling in regular cars/RVs (whereas other parts of the park e.g. the needles require high clearance/AWD). This visitor center is clean, nice, and well equipped. The NPS staff are friendly and helpful and the info video is very interesting (that's where I learned about the other three main sections of the park!) and runs often. The gift shop is located here too, and there are water fill stations. Do note that the bathrooms here are all the "glorified portapotty" kind where you don't flush/there is hand sani but they are not air conditioned and do have that classic outdoor bathroom smell. Nevertheless, they were fairly clean/well taken care of. The parking situation is decent; there is one main row of spots that do fill, but there is a lot of turnover so I did get a spot quickly and most folks behind me did too while others were leaving. Of note, the overlook just across the street from the visitor center of the monument basin is one of the best views in the park -- definitely stop here for pictures before you go!

I highly recommend going to all the visiting centers. Collecting all your stamps. Supporting the…read morenational Park with the merch learning interesting facts about the park getting the map and seeing what's happening that day.

One of Utah's awesome 5 national parks and one that you should check out…read more Also located in Moab along with the much busier Arches, this is still worth a visit for sure. You'll likely be able to get in pretty easily and park at each of the trails and viewpoints. There are some great sights and plenty of easy trails. I'm not much of a hiker but there are some easier trails that even beginners should be able to handle at a reasonable pace. Good facilities throughout and places to stop for a quick bite. Check this place out.

Fear of heights/ cliffs will be nerve wracking for the person. But it's doable in an AWD vehicle…read more IF you continue on Potash Rd you will need a full SUV type clearance and 4WD vehicle. Ranger gave inadequate advice re:vehicular clearance for this road. We went to Gooseneck overlook ( think Thelma and Louise end of movie) and back up to enjoy the rest of the Canyonlands.

I had most incredible experience solo camping and canoeing out here. The peacefulness, the awe of…read morebeauty, the sheer magnitude of it all, it's really something quite special. Photos and videos do not do it justice. You have to experience it for yourself, seriously! Every new bend around the corner was even more breathtaking than the last. If you get a chance, definitely paddle the river. It's a whole new perspective down there!!

Dead Horse Point State Park is absolutely stunning--and pet friendly! The overlooks alone are worth…read morethe stop, but there are also several trails to choose from. We hiked the East Rim Trail, which connects to the West Rim Trail, for a total of about 3.9 miles. I'd rate it as easy to moderate: mostly flat with a few sections of light climbing. The views throughout the hike are breathtaking, and when we went, it wasn't crowded at all. Keep in mind that the park is very hot with almost no shade, so bring plenty of water. If you're traveling with a dog, be mindful of the ground temperature to avoid burning their paw pads. The visitor center itself isn't pet-friendly, but the bathrooms are located outside and accessible. My only complaint is that the trail markers could be clearer--since some trails overlap, it can get confusing. Entry is $20 per vehicle, paid at the gate. We spent about 2.5 hours exploring, though you could easily stay longer if you want to sit, relax, and take in the scenery. Overall, this is a must-visit stop in Moab.

We took this as a side trip and we really should have given this more time. If you are thinking of…read morecoming here, I recommend looking at all the activities offered to see how much is here to do so you won't feel as though you missed out on some of what makes this park FUN! As for us, we ran around the valley, played hide and seek, marveled at how these "goblins" were made and just had a great adventure with the time we had.

A triumph of both western topography and federalism. This is one of those awesome parks that would…read morein some ways be less special if it were "upgraded" to a national park. It's great the way it is. Just a few notes: -- the campsite is just amazing; you are nestled in among caves and washes, and your kids can merrily wander off "to the kids cave" or climb up onto a crest and watch the sunset or the rhythm of the campsite. They do have a shared bathroom with running water, which keeps the place just civilized enough for moderately experienced car campers. -- at the same time, this place is really remote. If you realize at campside that your propane stove doesn't work, you would have to drive an hour each way to Green River to get more. Instead, you will just have to figure out how to boil coffee and macaroni and cheese over a campfire. -- the stars. The city lights are far far far away, and the desert sky is clear, so you can see so so many stars. And if you sit and stare at them you see more. The only place I have ever seen so many stars in my life is standing on the side of the road outside Marfa, TX. -- two decades ago this was one of the first camping trips of my life, and it remains a special place in my heart.

The delicate arch is probably the most famous of the arches in Arches national park. There is a…read moreshort walk to the "viewpoint" where you can see the arch from a few miles away, but there is a longer hike where you can actually get up close to the arch itself. I went to the viewpoint because I was short on time and couldn't do the whole hike. Even from far away you can see pretty clearly what it is, and that there are points on the arch that are skinnier than the rest so it looks like it could easily fall (hence the name "delicate arch"). I think it's worth it to at least go to the viewpoint if you don't have time to do the full trail! It's just a short drive off the main road to get to the parking lot that leads to the viewpoint, and the walk takes about 10 min or less (there is a pretty good sized hill though -- be mindful if you have mobility restrictions that getting to the top of the viewpoint could be difficult). Of note, there are a couple national park bathrooms at the lot (the kind with sanitizer that don't flush). They had just been pumped out when I arrived (saw the staff undoing the pumps and leaving) so they were actually very clean and didn't have any smell. I don't know if they're usually like that but it was one of the cleanest experiences I've had involving a national park bathroom!

The hike was a lot longer and strenuous than we felt it was billed as. Give yourself 40 minutes to…read moreget up there, 30 minutes to check it out, wait for pictures ( there is a line). 25 minutes to hike down. Bring a headlamp for the sunset time. It gets dark quickly

Stopped in here for info on the riverfront trail. The gentlemen at the center were knowledgeable…read moreand helpful and were enthusiastic about Grand Junction. For sure stop here for info if you are in the area

So we are on our way to Maine from Southern California and got stuck and couldn't go through the…read moreVail pass. We were directed to go back to Grand Junction and the north. We got lost so thought we'd try and stop and get an idea. Not only did we get assistance to get back on track but we also got maps and highlighted as to where to go! It was over the top help that was not expected but greatly appreciated.

I had friends in town from out of state. I took them to the Eastern Utah Tourism and History…read moreAssociation to get some ideas on where to go. They helped us so much! They gave us so much good information! They know so much about the area and they really helped make our visit great! My friends even got some great books and rocks from them to remember their trip!

From the owner: We are your one-stop shop for all things Eastern Utah. We carry a full line of brochures to help…read moreyou plan your trip and our Interpretive Bookstore features great titles in local and regional history, prehistory and geology. We also carry a wide variety of maps and guidebooks.

Our group had the best time- our guide Ethan was hilarious, kind and helped us take great photos!read more

The experience was amazing! Our guide was an amazing person! Had lots of fun in the area god…read morecreated!