Leaving Monument Valley our first stop was to visit Utah’s Goosenecks State Park. It was just a short drive off our route to Moab and certainly worth the
stop.

It was about a three hour drive up to Moab but once again the scenery along the drive was breath taking. One of the most notable rock formations was Church Rock just north of Monticello

We would also pass by this massive arch on the way called Wilson’s Arch.

Since Moab is the gateway city to both Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, we rented an Airbnb here for three days so we could explore the parks. The entrance to the Needles section of Canyonlands is about 50 miles south of Moab so we began our exploration here. My favorite stop in the Needles Section was seeing the petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock.

The petroglyphs seemed to be protected by the overhanging rock.

Before arriving in Moab we would also take the road out to the Needles Overlook. I thought this view was pretty amazing and a must do when you visit Canyonlands.

The entrance to the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands is about 30 miles out of Moab. For our first hike we did the Mesa Arch. This is a very popular hike for sunrise photos but we decided to go ahead and hike out for this amazing view midday.

The view through the Mesa Arch was spectacular! But then again all the views from the top of the mesa into the canyons were unbelievable.

There is actually a road from the mesa top down into the canyon which you can drive. That is if you have a 4WD vehicle with high clearance. I thought you might like a glimpse of the Shafer Trail.

We had also heard about Dead Horse Point State Park. It is located along the drive into Canyonlands National Park. We did drive down to catch the sunset but honestly I think it would be time better spent to go to the Needles Overlook.

Early the next morning William and I headed out to hike the 3 mile round trip trail up to the most famous arch in all of Arches National Park. While the hike was a moderate hike up the back side of a rock mountain making it to the summit to see the Delicate Arch is worth the difficulty of getting there.

Along the climb you have to walk along the side of the mountain. Some people were a bit nervous with such a narrow path but William didn’t seem to mind the climb at all.

Just before reaching the summit there is another Arch that you can climb even further up to and take a look at the Arch. We did not climb up there.

At the base of the hike to Delicate Arch is a cabin built in 1906 by John Wesley Wolfe. Here John Wesley and his son lived for over a decade raising more than 1,000 head of cattle.

My favorite Arch is Double Arch. It is a very easy hike up to see this incredible Arch located in the Windows area of the park.

Above is Skyline Arch. Did you know there are over 2000 Arches in Arches National Park? There are also lots of other rock formations and some of our favorites are pictured below. Balanced Rock is probably one of the most iconic formations.

This is Courthouse Rock.

The Three Gossips are next.

The scenic drive in Arches is only 22 miles long but you can easily spend at least a full day seeing all the arches and formations. There are also lots of hiking trails you can enjoy in the park.

Moab is a really cool town with lots of shops and nice restaurants. We really enjoyed Antica Forma where you can get authentic pizza just like you would in Italy. The crust is thin and delectable. We both ordered one of the personal size pizzas but really we should have shared just one of them. But then again we had extra to take back with us to the Airbnb to enjoy again.

We also enjoyed our meal at Thai Bella. William loves Thai food and he said that this was the best Pad Thai he had ever had. I had the Pineapple Curry which was also excellent.

Moab is an excellent place to stay to visit both Arches and Canyonlands. We certainly enjoyed our three days here.