Arches National Park and Surrounding Area
Utah, USA
Hello, inquisitive people. Wander Woman here. If Arches National Park in Utah, USA, isn’t on your travel bucket list, it should be! And I’m here to tell you why.
As is my habit, whenever I get three or more days in a row off work, I will hit the road if I possibly can. A while back, when I had a week off work, I decided to head out with a friend to see Arches National Park and the Moab, Utah, area. It was a fantastic road trip, and we saw much more even than we had expected to see. While Arches itself is a major draw to the area, there are other lesser-known but still worthwhile attractions nearby, a few of which I’ll highlight here.
Now, Moab itself will always hold a special place in my heart because, as you may recall, if you read my very first introductory post, Moab was where I found the “Wander Woman” refrigerator magnet that inspired my pen name for these little blogs. Moab is a charming and easy-to-navigate town nestled among the red bluffs of Utah’s backcountry. It also serves as a very convenient launching pad for your Arches National Park adventure. My friend and I ate a delicious meal at Sultan Mediterranean Grill, walked around, and did some window shopping (and some actual shopping!) in the cute boutiques downtown, and of course, we stopped for a selfie in front of the “Greeting from Moab” mural, easy to spot at 169 N Main St.
When it was time to head into the national park itself, we took a couple of different approaches. Once you purchase your entrance pass ($30/car) there is a lovely scenic drive you can take that allows you to see many of the park’s natural wonders at your own pace from the comfort of your own vehicle. Of course, there are also countless places you can park and get out for a hike or just a photo op. This is the basic Arches experience, and it’s pretty great. You will leave with a feel for the park and its stunning vistas and rock formations. But if you want to go a step further, as we did, I recommend an Arches backcountry off-road tour. For this experience, which we booked ahead through Viator, we were picked up right from the lobby of our Moab hotel by a guide in a rugged 4×4 vehicle. The half-day tour of the less commonly accessible areas of the park gave us the opportunity to see and experience things that most park visitors don’t. My favorite was Tower Arch, way off the beaten tourist track. The guide had bottled water and snacks in the back of the vehicle and knew just where to take us at the end of the tour for a splendid sunset view.
There are two more small but worthwhile attractions near Moab that I believe are worth mentioning: Hole ‘N’ The Rock and Wilson Arch. Both are located along Highway 191, an easy drive from town. Wilson Arch is as magnificent as any of the soaring arches or rock formations that you’ll see inside the national park, and it sits right beside the highway with a small free parking lot at its base. It was named after Joe Wilson, a local pioneer who lived in a cabin nearby. Hole ‘N’ The Rock was originally a private family home carved into the base of a red sandstone cliff by a man named Albert Christensen. He worked on the home between 1940 and 1952, at which time he and his family moved into the cave-like dwelling and resided there for some years until his death. Tours are now given of the home for the very modest price of $6/adult and $3.50/child. There is a gift shop, a general store, and even a petting zoo, making this a very family-friendly destination. It’s a fascinating and inexpensive way to spend a couple of hours in the Moab area. From Moab, our next destination was Las Vegas – but that’s a story for another day. In the meantime, happy travels all!
Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah USA
Red rock formations, Arches National Park, Utah USA
Red rock formations, Arches National Park, Utah USA
Wander Woman in Arches National Park, Utah USA
Tower Arch in the backcountry of Arches National Park, Utah USA
Wilson Arch near Moab, Utah USA
My Previous Adventure: Superstition Mountain
