Arches and Canyon lands nation park

[jeff14]

Can anyone give advise on how many days to spend visiting Arches and Canyonlands National Parks? I have allotted 4 days as of now.

[monkey44]

If you have a 4x4 or good legs, and a camera you can spend a month there enjoy every minutes of it.

Advice -- water, water, and then take water. Desert climate will fool you if you're not familiar with it. WATER !

Also, gas up before you go into Canyonlands -- no fuel in the park. NO water in the park campgrounds either, so 'water-up' prior to entering parks too.

[djsamuel]

We were there in September for 4 days. Went to Arches and the Islands in the Sky portion of Canyonlands. We could have spent another 2 or 3 days there easily, but we like to hike and would have liked to see the Needles portion of Canyonlands.

[trailertraveler]

A few places in the Moab area that I don't think have been mentioned are: Kane Creek Road, Potash Lower Colorado Byway, Upper Colorado River UT-128 Scenic Byway, Sago Canyon, and Newspaper Rock.

If you are not aware of it, City Market is a Kroger company. If you have a Kroger, Smith's, Fry's, Dillion's, Ralph's, King Soopers, Fred Meyer or any of their other stores' loyalty card; the fuel points will be good at City Market and the one in Moab has a fuel station.

[NCWriter]

TucsonJim wrote:
You should get a pretty good overview in four days. At Canyonlands, I'd drive the Islands in the Sky road first. Plan on a 3/4 of day for this. On the way in, or the way out, take the side trip to Dead Horse State Park. The view at the end of the road is spectacular. If you have 4x4, then take the Needles route the next day. I'd spend a good full day or day and a half at Arches. You can take some short hikes there. Be certain you have a camera at all these places. The scenery is stunning. Make sure you visit the Moab Brewery for dinner one night.

Completely agree with this for a quick overview, plus more time if at all possible. Lots of easy hikes in all those areas that will lure you to fabulous views.

We camped a few nights each in Moab, at Arches, Dead Horse Point SP and down at Needles (Squaw Flat) to enjoy the different sunset views, night skies and ranger programs.

Moab Brewery is great for a cool, leisurely lunch, too, to escape the afternoon heat. Close by, the City Market grocery store is excellent for stocking up.

[agesilaus]

4runnerguy wrote:
Depends on what you like to do. How much hiking/walking do you do? Would you rent a jeep for day to do some exploring? Four days is good for a quick view of the parks, but there is a lot to do it the area. I've been going to Moab for decades and still find something new every time I go out there. We spend 2-4 weeks there a year total. Yeah, it's just a great place. Don't know when you're going, but spring and fall are busy. Summer is hot. The week before Easter is beyond busy. Avoid if unless you like lines and crowds everywhere you go.

Yeah that's way we stayed at Monticello and not Moab which is a tourist trap. Monticello is several thousand feet higher and a lot cooler. The Needles district of Canyonlands is close but Arches is a several hour drive tho.

[agesilaus]

Trackrig wrote:
We were there last fall. Four days will do it, but longer could be better. You'll need more time if you're doing Zion, Bryce, Grand Staircase Escalante and Capital Reef. If you're not on limited vacation time, it's well worth it to see all of them while you're in the area.

Yes if you have a 4X4 or something with higher ground clearance than a standard car, take the trail down through Pucker Pass. And right before your get to the visitor center at Canyon land is a trail that will take you over the edge of the canyon and back to Moab. The park people will point it out to you. Both are well worth it.

Bill

If that is the same trail that the ranger sent us down from the visitor center then don't plan on doing it with a long wheel base 4WD pickup. It had vertical 18-24" ledges that you need to drive up and over (or down on the way back) the approach angle means trouble on big trucks. I got out and built a ramp out of loose rocks to get back down after going up one. I did not go over the second one farther down the trail so we only made it maybe 2/3 rds of the way.

[TucsonJim]

You should get a pretty good overview in four days. At Canyonlands, I'd drive the Islands in the Sky road first. Plan on a 3/4 of day for this. On the way in, or the way out, take the side trip to Dead Horse State Park. The view at the end of the road is spectacular. If you have 4x4, then take the Needles route the next day. I'd spend a good full day or day and a half at Arches. You can take some short hikes there. Be certain you have a camera at all these places. The scenery is stunning. Make sure you visit the Moab Brewery for dinner one night.

[amandasgramma]

If you're really into a lot of hiking, 4 days may not be enough :). But for me, 4 would have been. We got in one day and the govt. shut down and kicked us out. 😞

[4runnerguy]

Depends on what you like to do. How much hiking/walking do you do? Would you rent a jeep for day to do some exploring? Four days is good for a quick view of the parks, but there is a lot to do it the area. I've been going to Moab for decades and still find something new every time I go out there. We spend 2-4 weeks there a year total. Yeah, it's just a great place. Don't know when you're going, but spring and fall are busy. Summer is hot. The week before Easter is beyond busy. Avoid if unless you like lines and crowds everywhere you go.

[Trackrig]

We were there last fall. Four days will do it, but longer could be better. You'll need more time if you're doing Zion, Bryce, Grand Staircase Escalante and Capital Reef. If you're not on limited vacation time, it's well worth it to see all of them while you're in the area.

Yes if you have a 4X4 or something with higher ground clearance than a standard car, take the trail down through Pucker Pass. And right before your get to the visitor center at Canyon land is a trail that will take you over the edge of the canyon and back to Moab. The park people will point it out to you. Both are well worth it.

Bill

[agesilaus]

That's plenty for Arches. If you are there in the summer plan to do any hiking before 10AM or after 4PM. It is HOT.

4 Days for Canyonlands just scratches the surface. But you need a 4WD to explore much of the park. We were in the area for 2 weeks last summer but just began to look at the park. However we also went to other parks in the area of which there are many.

If you are just doing a quick look the Needles and Anticline overlooks are a must. There are long dirt roads to get to them however, but they were in excellent condition. Just as long as it doesn't rain. You can sit on the edge of a 1500 foot cliff and dangle your feet off the edge while watching vehicles on the trail far below.