The Mighty Five – Arches and Canyonlands

In our penultimate installment of this Mighty Five adventure we will cover the last two parks of the actual Utah Mighty Five. You may be thinking, how can there be one more after this if this is the last two parks of the Mighty Five? Well, this may be the last part of the Mighty Five parks, however, our trip continued! We could not come this far without taking a trip to our favorite park, Rocky Mountain National. So, our actual last post of this series will be yet another Rocky Mountain National Park post.

GLAMPING?

After about 4 days of camping and a lack of access to real showers we were really happy to arrive at Moab for two days of cabin “camping” with showers, washing machines, and a pool!

We decided since we were going to stay in one place for two nights, half way through this trip we could splurge on a cabin. Thank goodness we did because it was insanely hot at this point in the trip and those camping at this location looked miserable.

For this camp we stayed at Moab Valley RV Resort and Campground, in their cabins. This came with some great amenities: real beds, areas for camping/parking an RV, pool, shower facilities, laundry, dog park, games, bike stations, and WIFI.

Arches at Dawn

One of the best hikes we did over this entire trip was the hike to Delicate Arch at dawn. Pretty much everyone has seen this iconic arch somewhere, but up close and with no one else around was a fascinating view.

We woke up between 3-4 a.m. to get to the trail before sunrise and hiked under the light of a bright full moon. We may have taken the “scenic route” on this trail since we could not see all of the markers. After a pretty short hike we arrived at Delicate Arch just before sunrise and we were lucky to have a few moments of solitude before it was flooded with people.

The best time to visit is either dusk or dawn, especially in the summer with hotter temperatures. At dusk you will get a beautiful sunset through the arch but you will find it to be quite a bit busier.

We also discovered another gem immediately behind Delicate Arch with an overlook that looks other-worldly.

When the sun finally came up, we moved to other areas of the park including: Sand Dune Arch Trail and Broken Arch.

We capped off this morning with a classic park sign photo before a much needed nap.

Canyonlands

Later the same evening we headed for Canyonlands. Again when it was not in the heat of the day. We drove through much of the park before hiking Grand View Point Trail and Mesa Arch. This was a very windy day and hike, so we tried our hardest to not get blown off of the bluffs.

Our last stop on this leg of the trip was the famous Mesa Arch. This was very popular with a line of people waiting for photos.

After spending one more night in Moab we hightailed it to Rocky Mountain National Park to spend one night in our favorite park before we headed home.

Details:

• These particular parks are great for both early morning and later evening hikes. This is great to both avoid the mid-day summer heat and see the parks in the best light.
• We really enjoyed our stay at the Moab Valley RV Resort and Campground. We were able to take real showers, do laundry, and even relax in the hot tub!
• These are also parks that are almost as fun to drive through as they are to hike in. Don’t dismiss a nice drive with lots of scenic overlooks.
• While Delicate Arch and Mesa Arch are iconic and must-sees we highly recommend seeing them at off-peak hours so you are not swarmed with people.

Specifics:

• Places Visited
  • Arches National Park
  • Canyonlands National Park
• Camp
  • Moab Valley RV Resort and Campground
• Hikes
  • Delicate Arch Trail (Arches)
    • Distance: 3 miles | Elevation Gain: 610 ft Feet | Type: Out and Back | Difficulty: Moderate
  • Sand Dune Arch Trail Divide (Arches)
    • Distance .3 miles | Type: Out and Back | Difficulty: Easy
  • Broken Arch Trail (Arches)
    • Distance: 1.7 miles | Type: Loop | Difficulty: Easy
  • Grand View Point Trail (Canyonlands)
    • Distance: 1.8 miles | Type: Out and Back | Difficulty: Easy
  • Mesa Arch Trail (Canyonlands)
    • Distance: .7 miles | Type: Loop | Difficulty: Easy