Moab & Monticello UT

We have always dreamed about visiting Moab since I can remember. I have always heard about the outdoor activities in the area and that it is an “outdoor paradise”. Unfortunately, we could never make our travels line up with a good time to go to Moab. Seems it was always in the dead of summer and the temperatures were in the 100’s. After visiting the area for about five days I can now tell you it is nothing like what I imagined. It is what I thought, just on super steroids!

We went to Moab in May of 2023 expecting it to be wide open, boy were we surprised. We found an RV Park at a person’s home about ten minutes south of town. Everything else was booked solid for our size of rig. You can imagine our thoughts as we were following GPS directions into a neighborhood outside of town. We pulled in “Sunsets of Moab RV Park” (https://www.sunsetsofmoabrvpark.com) and were we ever glad we found this place. They have five spots in their back lot that back up to the hills with views of the valley. We hooked up and set up to explore the area. We met some great people who had been to this place before and they told us the owner was extremely nice and accommodating. We didn’t get to meet them, but we enjoyed our time there. Quite and off the beaten path unlike all the other parks in the area.

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

First thing to know about Arches – You must have a timed entry ticket to get into the park. You buy the ticket online at www.recreation.com. We did not know this until we saw the sign at the park. I went and looked at available times and none were available for the next two weeks, however, every night at 6:00PM sharp, they release the next days tickets that they did not use. At 6:00PM I was logged in and boom! Here they come, I grabbed a 9-10am pass for the next day, yes!

We spent the entire day in the park. It has quite a lengthy road through the park from site to site, but it is amazing. Take your time and do some of the easy hikes. We did a primitive trail to the back of “Double Arches” and were able to climb up into the arch. Quite the view and a moderate hike. Check out the campground if you can, this is where I would like to camp someday under the stars. Make sure and hit the road pullouts as they have some of the best areas to take pictures. Some of the formations shoot up to 1300 feet above you and make you feel insignificant.

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK

I had never given much thought to Canyonlands National Park, but it was on the list to see. Our new RV neighbors gave us some pointers so off we went. I can honestly say I was impressed. The Grand Canyon is big, but this place is amazing. We drove in and started to head toward the furthest point on the road with the intention of hitting the sites on the way back. We ended up stopping at the first viewpoint because it looked interesting. WOW!! Is the only way to describe this place. What an amazing place. I thought after all the parks we had been through on this trip, nothing could top them, but this place does for its own reasons.

We walked out and next thing I knew we were looking straight down 1500’. I got so weak in the knees I had to move back, Lori on the other hand had to go out to the edge and get her picture taken. The views are amazing, and the topography is something to see. We could see the road that you can take down into the canyon, but I don’t know if I could do it because it crosses the walls of the canyon down to the bottom. They say to do the whole road around the Canyon will take a high clearance 4×4, three days of camping and a permit. Boom, this immediately went onto the bucket list!

Canyonlands is basically three different parks – or more accurately, one park with three different entrances. We could see the southern portion of the park known as “The Needles” in the distant and planned to visit this part of the park when we moved south. Make sure if you visit these parks to have a good set of binoculars! We could see so much because of our high-powered binoculars we brought. We shared them with many people on this trip as they didn’t have any and were so happy, we let them use ours. You can see so much that you would not be able to see with the naked eye.

Next, we took a road trip up through the “La Sal” mountain range. Up to 9000’ we went looking over Moab and the ranges out in the distance. The road had just opened because the snow was melting fast. The road went forty miles across the mountains and came out at the Colorado River just North of Moab. What a beautiful drive. We headed north along the Colorado River and drove up to the “Fisher Towers” trailhead. These are amazing spires that you can climb. Notice I said you, we did not get to do the hike because we were not planning on hiking that day, but if you get the chance I suggest a visit.

Back on the road up the Colorado River gorges we went. The scenery along here is unbelievable. There are numerous sites to stop and see and lots of history. Check out “Dewey Bridge” and its history if you get a chance. We were able to see lots of people rafting down the Colorado River which is extremely high because of the runoff from the snow. We even saw a place where the river current turns back on itself making rafter paddle their way down stream.

We stopped for a late lunch / dinner at “Spokes on Center” (https://www.thespokemoab.com/eat) in Moab. I suggest a table outside so you can watch the show in downtown Moab. We saw every imaginable thing you could drive going through Moab. Motorcycles, UTV, Jeeps, Mountain bikes, road bikes, and a lot of weird stuff. The highlight was what looked like a group of Mexican Police Officers on Harley’s, I mean Police issue Harley’s, going through town and the local Moab Police looking at them like “what the ___” everyone is very respectful of whatever and it is a genuine family atmosphere.

Off we went down south to Monticello UT, about 40 miles south of Moab. We chose this post specifically to visit “The Needles” section of Canyonlands National Park and boy were we glad we did. First thing we did was park the RV at “Mountain View RV Park” and connected up. We then headed out to “Needles Overlook” which is back up the road and quite a way off the road (about 25 miles) but once we got there, WOW and we had the whole place to ourselves. Even the road to there and back had many side sites to see and I suggest you take the time to see them all.

Back to Canyonlands we went the following day. We drove out the Colorado River confluence with the Green River and the signs warned us that it was a 4×4 and high clearance off road vehicles only, but off we went. We made it 2/3 of the way when Lori gave me explicit instructions to turn around. For the record, I think we could have made it.

We did some hikes but by far the best one was to “Needles Loop”. You drive down into a canyon and then hike out 1.5 miles through some of the most spectacular scenery we have ever seen. Once you get to the end, you can do the loop trail which is 9.0 miles. We went a little further but being later in the afternoon, we headed back.

We stopped on the road out at “Newspaper Rock” to see the petroglyphs. These are amazing and it just makes you wonder what they were saying. There has been some vandalizing of them over the years, but you can see when they started. One person marked their name in 1902. Funny how time seems to take on a different meaning when you see stuff like that.

The next thing we did was golf in Monticello at the Hideout Golf Course (http://www.hideoutgolf.com/). This course is beautiful but just opened after a heavy winter. The greens and tee boxes are still waking up and they are still working to get it in shape to play. Even though it was not up to its full wake state, it was still a beautiful course to play. They say in summer and fall it is spectacular and I can believe it. We will come back and see.

Next, we are off to see Mancos CO. to check out Mesa Verde National Park and other areas around there.