Two national parks are found within the Moab, Utah, destination: Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park. Moab is known as a Utah adventure capitol, offering activities such as mountain biking on Slickrock, off-road trails and the Moab Jeep safari, whitewater rafting down the Cataract Canyon section of the Colorado River, and hiking to Delicate Arch – Utah's famous icon.

Arches National Park contains the world's largest concentration of natural stone arches. This National Park is a red, arid desert, punctuated with oddly eroded sandstone forms such as fins, pinnacles, spires, balanced rocks, and arches. The 73,000-acre region has over 2,000 of these "miracles of nature."A 40-mile round-trip paved road in Arches National Park leads visitors to the major sights, including Balanced Rock, Skyline Arch, Double Arch, Fiery Furnace, and the park's most famous geologic feature - Delicate Arch

Hiking through the rolling sandstone of Arches National Park is to follow in the footsteps of prehistoric Native Americans. Other recreational activities within the park include backpacking, technical rock climbing, horseback riding and biking.

• Arches area information (Things to see & do)
• Guided walks into the Fiery Furnace, a labyrinth of sandstone canyons, are available to the public. Reservations are required and may be made at the Visitor Center. Other guided walks and campfire programs are offered daily. Additional costs may apply.
• Biking
• Hiking
• Rock Climbing
• Horseback Riding
• Off-Road ATV Tours
• Guided activites (list of area tours and outfitters)

Location of Arches

The entrance to the park is found 5 miles north of the town of Moab via US 191. The park's paved scenic drive gives dramatic and sweeping views from atop a plateau. Visitors can see many of these geologic wonders from a distance or up close.

Note that Moab, Utah, is full of various accommodations, and Moab lodging options provide an excellent home base from which to explore Arches National Park.

Visitor Center/Fees for Arches

The Visitor Center is open year-round. Visitors are encouraged to stop by and learn how to visit the park with minimal impact to the fragile desert environment. Maps, brochures and books are available for purchase. A slide orientation program, geology museum, and history exhibit are also on display.

• The entrance fee for Arches National Park is $10 per vehicle, or $5 per person. Frequent visitors may be interested in the $25 annual area pass (good for entrance into Arches, Canyonlands, Hovenweep and Natural Bridges) or the $50 annual national parks pass (good for entrance into all properties managed for public use by the National Park Service).
• 52 campground sites are available for $10 per night on a first-come, first-serve basis.
• The nearest accommodations are in Moab.

In Canyonlands National Park, you can view thousands of feet down to the Green and Colorado Rivers, or thousands of feet up to red rock pinnacles, cliffs and spires. Whichever direction you look, you're sure to notice the incredible beauty of Utah's Canyonlands National Park. As Utah's largest national park, Canyonlands has been naturally sliced into three distinctive districts: The Island in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze.

Horseshoe Canyon is also managed as part of Canyonlands National Park. It offers some of America's most significant ancient rock art, including the famed "Great Gallery."

Note that the most popular entrance to Canyonlands National Park is located about 35 miles northwest of Moab, Utah, and Moab lodging options provide an excellent home base for travelers seeking to explore Canyonlands.

To the north between the rivers, and serving as an observation tower, The Island in the Sky district allows visitors to view hundreds of miles across Utah terrain. A profusion of red rock spires and fins encompasses the Needles District, lying to the east of the two rivers.

Densely-concentrated arches, rock spires, gardens, canyons, potholes, prehistoric Native American ruins and pictographs surround the area known as The Needles. Lying to the west, in the remotest region of the park (and only accessible via off-road vehicles) visitors find The Maze. The Maze contains a maze-like canyon of tall standing rocks and fins of colorful sandstones.

Activities at Canyonlands
World-renowned for its four-wheel driving, mountain biking, whitewater rafting and hiking, this rugged national park caters to outdoor activities. Canyonlands also offers stargazing, camping, boating and horseback riding. With so much terrain to cover, the best way to experience the park is with a qualified guide. See the Guided Adventures section of the Utah.com for a list of providers.

• Canyonlands-area information (Things to See & Do)
• Mountain Biking
• Off-Road
• Camping
• Hiking
• River Rafting

Entrances to Canyonlands

There are two major entrances to Canyonlands National Park. One, found 35 miles northwest of Moab, enters the Island in the Sky district. The other lies 22 miles north of Monticello, and leads to The Needles district.