5 extraordinary ways to enjoy Moab’s cinematic outdoors

Wherever you stand in Moab, nature looms. A Main St among the monoliths, arches, mesas, buttes, and canyons of some of Utah’s wildest landscapes, this tiny city is an adventure-lover’s dream. Positioned right on the doorstep of national parks, river valleys, and mile-upon-mile of weather-hewn swathes of sculpted red, orange and butter yellow sandstone, it’s the perfect base to leave the crowds behind. So, get active and enjoy the great outdoors. The only question is just how will you explore it? On two feet, two wheels, or does the thrill of tumbling rapids and revving 4x4s call? Well, that’s up to you.

Load up your backpack with water and race the sun as it dips behind the rocks, its last ebbs perfectly illuminating great swathes of wind-hewn stone. Moab’s countless trails are uncrowded and include gentle strolls across breezy mesas to scrambles to red rock formations. The hike to Delicate Arch might be one of the most well-known. There’s a reason successive curious feet have worn a trail to this icon of Arches National Park. A 4.8km roundtrip rewards its pilgrims with the perfect, free-standing loop of red rock that frames the sprawling vista below. This popular trail is spectacularly scenic and hides its treasure right at the end. But the lack of shade on the route, combined with the sheer beauty of watching the dawn and dusk light eke out the arch’s crevices, makes this walk best saved for the start or end of your hiking day.

Yet, if all you want is to hear only the breeze rip around standing rocks and ravens squawk and circle above, there are infinite lesser-trodden walks. You might just have the Corona Arch Trail all to yourself. Another 4.8km meander across open desert and ascending slickrock takes you outside of the National Park to what is one of the area’s most impressive arches, rising 32m with a colossal 43m span.

Reach the places roads can’t go. The power of both surging and slow-moving water, and dedicated driving winds, carved these canyons. So, it’s only right to gaze up at monoliths and meadows alike from the Colorado River. Especially in the summer when the cooling waters offer a relief from the heat, and sandy beaches provide the perfect spot to rest up after a job well done.

Moab is the only town in Utah on the Colorado River. Choose from calmer waters to Class V rapids on a one-day paddle, or up to five-day adventures with gourmet meals, campfire stories and guides that make you one of the family. The 20.9km Moab Daily section of the river is a gentle float to relax and let the sounds of the water soundtrack some of the most spectacular scenery in the United States. Grab your camera or drink in the stillness before – depending on water levels – you reach fast-moving small waves and rocks to gently manoeuvre.

Keep aside a couple of days to raft the 27km of the more challenging Westwater Canyon, the first stretch of white water on the Colorado River. Exciting Class III-IV rapids await as you bounce, splash and paddle through the oldest exposed rock on earth. Winding through the jagged teeth of ancient pink and black Precambrian rock formations, the famous Skull and other Class IV rapids of surging eddys require nerve. But the adrenaline rush is worth it. Or truly leave the world behind on the 160km stretch of Cataract Canyon, where the Green and Colorado rivers combine. Over a multi-day hike and paddle – including 22km of rapids – sleep on pristine beach and look out for petroglyphs and pictographs left by Utah’s ancient cultures; sights that few eyes get to see.

This adventure can be as extreme as you want. Keep to the weather worn, flat slickrock, or bump your way down boulders as you plot a course from mesa tops to the rock-strewn slopes of the canyons. With some of the most unique biking terrain anywhere in the world, it’s no wonder Moab has become a bucket-list destination for mountain bikers.

Get acquainted with the meanders of the Bar-M Loop Trail near Arches National Park. This mostly mellow 12.8km family-friendly ride on a dirt road has options for both beginners and advanced riders. Plus, the reward for all your effort is great views of Arches and the Moab Canyons. At the other end of the scale, the famed Slickrock Loop might just be one of the most unique bike routes in the US. But its 15.4km of highly technical trails are not for the faint hearted. It takes nerve and skill to cling to steep, sheer, smooth inclines across the wild, red rock desert. But your reward will be incredible views across the petrified sand dunes.

Nothing can really prepare you for the instinctive emotional reaction that comes with scaling the high-ground, and looking out upon mile after mile of spectacular, untamed nature. The hand of man is absent from the wild miles of the Arches and Canyonlands national parks, which both lie on Moab’s doorstep. In the case of Arches, quite literally.

Just minutes from town lies the entrance to this unique landscape of over than 2,000 sandstone arches: the largest concentration of arches on earth. Looming over the high desert, it’s a wonderland of sandstone fins, towers, ribs, gargoyles, hoodoos, and balanced rocks, eroded and sculpted by nature. Spectacular at any time of day, the intense light of early mornings and late day bake the rocks in golden light, making for spectacular photography. While once the sun has set, and the sandstone cooled, the night sky steals the show with a mesmerising burst of stars.

Canyonlands National Park lies less than an hour’s drive from Moab and is the largest national park in Utah. It’s here that the wind, and Green and Colorado rivers have pushed, scraped, and formed endless deep canyons, towering mesas, pinnacles, cliffs, and spires stretch across 1,364 sq km of desert. Head to the evocatively named Island in the Sky area, for chill-inducing views across the colourful canyons and buttes, where the ribbons of the river shine like steel across the rust-red, rugged holes in the mesa.

Hold on tight. It’s hard to keep track of the horizon when the tyres grip the sand of the canyon floor, the sky moves sideways, and up becomes down. Thank goodness for suspension. You’re in for a thrillingly – and quite purposely – bumpy ride. Moab is a must-visit destination for 4×4 adventures, whether you choose to rent a jeep or take a guided tour. Expanses of former mining roads are just waiting to be explored.

For four-wheel drives, hit the backcountry. Detailed 4-wheel drive maps and trail guides lead hardy adventures into solitary sections of navigable off-highway terrain. Chicken Corners is a 86.9km round trip along the Kane Springs Canyon, ending 122m above the river. And the name? Legend has it, it’s named for the passengers whose nerve failed them and opted to walk the narrower passes through the rock.

Feel the wind in your hair on an UTV or ATV ride. Outside of the parks, much of the public land surrounding the national parks is open to ATV and UTVs. Though guided tours will help you ensure you stick to designated routes, such as White Wash Sand Dunes, where the open desert awaits.