Arrive in Moab and hike to Morning Glory Arch

If you are able to arrive in Moab early in the day, I would immediately head over to the Grandstaff Trail and hike to Morning Glory Arch. This trail is approximately 4.3 miles roundtrip, but has minimal elevation gain, making for a somewhat short hike. There are a few points where the trail is slightly hard to find or requires some scrambling over rocks. Despite the lack of elevation gain there are some challenging stretches. You can also see the hike profile and read trip reports on AllTrails here.

The Morning Glory Arch at the end of the trailhead is spectacular. There is also a spring that feeds a small creek next to the arch, which is pretty cool to see in the Utah desert. If you want a more adrenaline-fueled experience, you can book a canyoneering tour and rappel down into the canyon from the top of Morning Glory Arch. Depending on the time of the year and runoff, there are several places you might have to make a water crossing, so be prepared to walk through water on some parts of the trail. You can find out more about canyoneering tours and rappelling from Morning Glory Arch here.

Head to Arches National Park for the day

Be sure to get your timed entry permits to Arches National Park for your visit. The earlier you can enter the park the better so you can check out numerous sites and hike multiple trails. You can also enter the park prior to the beginning of timed entry for the day. If you are an early riser, this is a great opportunity to photograph Delicate Arch at sunrise. If you do not have tickets for Fiery Furnace on this visit, these are my recommendations.

Delicate Arch

The first site I would head to on your visit is Delicate Arch. The last time I visited, I had the earliest timed entry permit for the day and still barely got one of the last parking spots at the Delicate Arch trailhead. This trailhead is very busy as this is possibly Utah’s most famous landmark. Delicate Arch is so famous that it is the arch featured on Utah license plates. The freestanding arch is truly an impressive site. Delicate Arch is the largest freestanding arch in the park. According to the National Park Service, the opening below the arch is 46 feet high and 32 feet across.

The hike to the arch is also a really neat hike. You go past an old homestead cabin as well as past some Native American Petroglyphs. You then hike up a long sandstone hill before wrapping around some other sandstone features and finally getting a look at the beautiful arch. The trail is just three miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of 480 feet. Despite that distance, do know that the trail becomes incredibly hot in warmer months and people have died from heat related illnesses on this hike. Bring plenty of water and sun protective clothing and consider hiking this trail early in the morning or late afternoon and not in the heat of the day.

Devil’s Garden and possibly Devil’s Garden Primitive Trail

If you are an avid hiker and are not tired from the hike to Delicate Arch, I would recommend heading over to Devil’s Garden to hike the Devil’s Garden Trail. This trail passes numerous other famous arches that should not be missed on your trip to Moab. From this trailhead, you can visit Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch, Landscape Arch, Partition Arch, Navajo Arch, Double O Arch, Private Arch and more. You can also hike out to Dark Angel, which is a massive monolith in the middle of the desert.

Those seeking an easier hike might just go to the famous Landscape Arch and head back to the parking lot. This would be a quick hike of about two miles. Those looking for a challenging hike should consider doing the entire Devil’s Garden Loop and adding on the Devil’s Garden Primitive Trail. If you hike all of the spurs and out to Dark Angel, this trail is around eight miles roundtrip. The Primitive Trail requires advanced route-finding utilizing rock cairns, scrambling up and down steep sections of sandstone, and dropping off several drop-offs of four to six feet high. This is not an easy hike at all and is not recommended for anyone afraid of heights or that does not trust their balance on steep sandstone. It is not recommended if it is wet or icy as there is a great potential for slipping and falling.

Should you hike this loop, bring plenty of water, sun protective clothing, and sunscreen. I would also recommend downloading a map of the trail that does not require cell phone service prior to this hike since the route finding is challenging in some areas. You can find additional information about this hike on the National Park Service website here.

Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch

While in the vicinity of Devil’s Garden, you should stop at Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch trailhead. You can visit both of these arches from the same parking area and should definitely do so if you still have some energy left after hiking the Devil’s Garden trail. Sand Dune arch is located between towering sandstone formations, making it a unique arch that is hidden away between these rock formations. You also walk through soft sand to reach the arch, which makes for a fun hike but will also feel quite exhausting if you just got done hiking the Devil’s Garden Loop.

From Sand Dune Arch, it is a short hike over to Broken Arch and back. This is another neat arch to visit as you can walk under the arch and take photographs from both sides of the landmark. If you hike to Broken Arch and back, it will add an additional 2+ miles to your day, so keep that in mind if you have already done a lot of hiking. For more information about these arches, you can visit their page on the National Park Service website here.

Go back to Arches National Park to visit additional sites

If you spent a day hiking the different hikes I mentioned, you will probably run out of time to check out some of the other famous arches in the park. If that is the case, I would recommend heading out from Moab early in the morning again and heading to Balanced Rock Viewpoint and the Double Arch and Windows Trailheads. You definitely need to see these famous sites and arches on your trip to Moab. The trails to each of these sites are quite short, so you can check out each of these landmarks fairly quickly before continuing on about your day.

Balanced Rock

You can see Balanced Rock from the main road that runs through Arches National Park, but it is worth stopping at the viewpoint and potentially even hiking up to the landmark. If you walk out to the rock formation, it is a simple 0.3-mile roundtrip hike from the parking area. Balanced Rock stands 128 feet tall and is worth stopping to take some photographs. Due to erosion, Balanced Rock will not always be standing, so be sure to take the opportunity to view this impressive landmark while you are in Moab.

Double Arch and Windows Trailheads

When most people think about Arches National Park they probably think of Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, and Double Arch. Double Arch is absolutely stunning and is the tallest arch in the park. It stands at 122 feet tall and is awe inspiring. You can see the arch from the parking lot, but it is completely worth making the short 0.6-mile roundtrip walk to stand beneath the arches and get an up-close look at how immense they are.

From this same parking area, you can also see North Window Arch and Turret Arch. These are also worth the short hike to view up-close before continuing on with your day. If you have followed my itinerary to this point, I would recommend leaving the park next and going to visit Corona Arch and Pinto Arch.

Head to Corona Arch, and Pinto Arch before visiting Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park

Corona Arch and Pinto Arch

To reach Corona Arch and Pinto Arch, you will travel on Utah Highway 279 outside of town. This scenic road follows the Colorado River and passes numerous pictograph panels that are worth stopping to see if you did not do so already when you hiked to Longbow Arch. You can reach Corona Arch and Pinto Arch from the same Bureau of Land Management (BLM) parking lot. Since they are on BLM land, you do not need to purchase a pass to hike to these arches. A lot of people just hike to Corona Arch and bypass Pinto Arch, but I think Pinto Arch is also worth the visit. You can either visit this arch before Corona Arch or on your way back to the trailhead.

The trail to these arches begins with some stretches of moderate incline before leveling out for a while. To get to Pinto Arch, you will go up another moderate incline before walking across a relatively flat stretch of sandstone that leads directly to the arch. To reach Corona Arch, there is a steep stretch where you will need to hold onto chains that are drilled into the rock as well as climb a metal ladder to get to the approach to Corona Arch. These stretches are quite steep, so be mindful of your footing and take your time in these areas to avoid any slips or falls.

Once you are past the chains and ladder, it is a relatively simple uphill hike to Corona Arch. You will also pass Bowtie Arch just before reaching Corona Arch. After taking some photographs of Bowtie Arch, it is just a short trek to Corona Arch. Corona Arch is another really impressive arch that sticks out from the surrounding sandstone cliffs in striking fashion. I would recommend taking photos from both sides of the arch as they both give you a neat perspective. When I visited, I hiked to Corona Arch first and then visited Pinto Arch on the way back to my car. I really do not think you can go wrong visiting them in this order or in the reverse order of what I did. I just think both are worth visiting as long as you are hiking this trailhead.

Dead Horse Point State Park

Prior to visiting Moab on this trip, I had heard that Dead Horse Point State Park was pretty incredible especially for sunset. By the time I visited all of the previously mentioned sites, I arrived at Dead Horse Point State Park about an hour and a half before sunset. The ranger at the entry gate suggested I visit the Dead Horse Point Overlook and then go hike out to Big Horn Overlook for the sunset. Dead Horse Overlook provides very amazing views of the Colorado River to the south and the La Sal Mountains to the east.

After checking out this viewpoint, I went to the visitor center to park at the trailhead that leads to Big Horn Overlook. Since I was hiking to this overlook for sunset, I brought a headlamp and flashlight to make my way back to my car in the dark. The Big Horn Overlook trail is approximately three miles roundtrip but worth the hike. There was only one other person on the trail while I was there, so I had the overlook almost to myself.

The views from this overlook were also breathtaking and made me glad I made this hike. There are also some very neat deep potholes in the rocks of the overlook. It was really interesting to see these deep potholes and think about how potholes in the sandstone like these were what ultimately formed the massive Double Arch in Arches National Park. I would absolutely go back to this area for another sunset and recommend visiting this state park in Moab. You can find out more about hiking trails in Dead Horse Point State Park here.

Check out the Birthing Scene Petroglyphs, Moonflower Panel, and Courthouse Wash Rock Art before heading out of town

Before departing Moab, you should also allocate some time to check out additional petroglyphs in the area. These are all close to the road so you can quickly visit them before departing from Moab.

Birthing Scene Petroglyphs

The Birthing Scene Petroglyphs are 6.2 miles outside of Moab on Kane Creek Boulevard, which is a well-maintained dirt road. I was able to reach these petroglyphs in a 2-wheel drive vehicle with no problems. The Birthing Scene Panel is one scene on a large boulder that features Native American petroglyphs on all four sides. The Birthing Scene is a unique and famous petroglyph that is said to depict a figure giving birth feet first. You will have to decide what it looks like to you and if you think it looks like a birth scene. Be sure to work your way all the way around the boulder as there are additional pictographs on each side of the rock.

Moonflower Panel

On your way back from the Birthing Scene petroglyphs, you can also visit the Moonflower Panel. This petroglyph panel is also located on Kane Creek Boulevard and is found right at Moonflower Canyon Recreation Area parking lot. You can briefly get out of your vehicle and take a look at these rock art panels before continuing on your way.

Courthouse Wash Pictographs and Petroglyphs

As you depart from Moab, I would also recommend making a quick stop at the Courthouse Wash Rock Art Panel. This rock art panel is just outside of Moab and just north of the Colorado River. The hike to this panel is less than a mile from the parking lot. You cannot get very close to these pictographs and petroglyphs, so a pair of binoculars comes in handy for viewing the panels. Archaeologists think the painted (pictographs) figures here were painted between 1,500 and 4,000 years ago. You can find more information about the Courthouse Wash rock art on the National Park Service website here.

If you go to Moab:

If you go to Moab, there are numerous options for camping, glamping, RV parks, and hotels. You can read more about the hotels I have stayed at in my post here. Keep in mind that most lodging options fill up during the peak summer months in Moab. The summer heat is also quite hot, so I would recommend planning your visit in the spring or late fall. For this trip, I visited in early April and found the weather to be amazing and there was still a lot of hotel availability. You can even check hotel availability for your stay on Booking.com below.