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Top 10 Adventures Around Moab

Moab is the stunning area surrounded by Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. The canyons extend all around, stretching far beyond the park boundaries. If you are planning a visit to Arches National Park, then we recommend booking a tour so that you can get the full experience in the canyons. The guides here are passionate about the land and they are excited to share their knowledge with you. These adventures will take you away from the crowds of tourists and into the very heart of Canyon country. You can also take the new new Rocky Mountaineer from Denver to Moab which is an excellent way to enjoy the beautiful journey to Moab. The experience of a lifetime is waiting for you! Read through our top 10 adventures around Moab so you can decide which one is best for you.

#1 Off-Roading in Moab

Off-roading on 4x4 ATVs is a thrilling adventure for those who want the ultimate Moab experience! The Canyon country surrounding Arches National Park makes for a beautiful, exciting, and challenging tour. Off-roading is a fantastic adventure for the whole family. The guides at Moab Cowboy, Cricket and Kent, have been navigating the Moab area for 21 years and are happy to take you along and show you the cowboy way. They will take you to a true off-road rock crawling trail and tell you the history and colorful tales from the Moab area. You can choose to either ride with a guide or experience the excitement of driving yourself. Bring your camera because this tour will provide you with memories that will last a lifetime!

#2 Mountain Biking

Mountain biking often tops the list of fun things to do while visiting Moab, Utah. Another popular activity is taking in the sights at Arches National Park, so combining the two seems like a no-brainer. I think the absolute best way to "get your pedal on" and still take in the parks while visiting Moab might involve one of the following mountain biking options:

Moab Brands / Courthouse Loop

The Bar M Loop at the Moab Brands Trailhead is a great introduction to mountain biking in Moab and is available as a half-day tour from Rim Tours. Spectacular views of Arches National Park and gently rolling terrain on wide, doubletrack make this ride perfect for beginners and families. Many riders can try the Rusty Spur Trail, just off the main loop, as their first foray into singletrack terrain. Whether you’re new to the sport or just looking for an easy cruise, their guides will be happy to help you improve your skills.

Photo credit:  Franklin Seal, Rim Tours Mountain Bike Adventures

Klondike Bluff

This is a classic Moab ride! You’ll gain elevation (approximately 700 ft.) as you “get your pedal on” up toward the boundary of Arches National Park. Having a good fitness base will help you enjoy this ride. Keep your eyes open for the dinosaur tracks embedded in sandstone along the way. Riders will experience a variety of Moab’s unique terrain, including Slickrock and short technical rocky sections. At the top of the climb, a short hike will take you into a remote area of the park with breathtaking views of the colorful bluffs below. The return ride is almost all downhill!

Photo credit:  Franklin Seal, Rim Tours Mountain Bike Adventures

Dead Horse Point

Dead Horse Point is one of Utah’s most spectacular state parks and offers a great taste of what Moab mountain biking is all about. It is approximately 1 mile outside the boundary of Canyonlands National Park but has sweeping views of much of the White Rim Trail area. Towering 2,000 feet above the Colorado River, the park provides a breathtaking panorama with sculpted pinnacles and buttes. This super fun introduction to singletrack has rolling terrain, mixed with some short climbs and lots of fun sections to cruise on. Some previous mountain bike experience is highly recommended.

Photo credit:  Franklin Seal, Rim Tours Mountain Bike Adventures

#3 Ziplining

Experience the ultimate ziplining adventure! This course is the longest land-to-land zip line in the United States!  Raven's Rim Zipline Adventure takes you nearly 1000 feet above Moab’s valley floor up to Raven’s Rim. Then, you will get your adrenaline pumping with 6 epic zip lines. You will also walk along the red rock fins, traverse a 100-foot suspension bridge, and take in Moab’s unique desert landscape. There are also two ways to upgrade your zip line adventure, with a Sunset Tour and the Dino Discovery tour. The Sunset Adventure tour is Adults-Only because it includes your choice of beverages to toast while catching an exclusive view of the desert sunset from on top of Raven's Rim! Or, you can go back in time to the age of the dinosaurs with the Dino Discovery zip line adventure! Along the way, you will see authentic dinosaur tracks and rare geological features.

#4 Canyoneering

Canyoneering takes you into the slot canyons using a variety of techniques such as climbing, scrambling, and rappelling. The canyons are cut into the bedrock stone, forming narrow gorges with numerous drops, beautifully sculpted walls, and sometimes spectacular waterfalls and pools. Get up close and personal with the canyons on an exciting canyoneering tour.

Entrajo Canyon

Entrajo Canyon is a playful canyon that is great for beginners and experienced canyoneers alike! This 2-mile loop hike offers amazing scenery, fun challenges and problem-solving, a couple of rappels and an exciting romp through pools of water. The patient and experienced guides will teach you the techniques required to make your way through this classic desert slot canyon while teaching you about the surrounding environment and ensuring that you have a safe and enjoyable tour through the canyon.

Granary Canyon

Very few day hikes contain as many exquisite natural arches as the journey through Granary Canyon. And what a journey it is! Six fantastic rappels and a lot of tricky scrambling are encountered within the depths of this remote canyon, which houses at least seven major arches and scores of smaller ones. Throughout this one-way hike, you will descend over 2,000 feet! And despite the day's numerous rappels, this hike is within reason for adventurous first-time rappellers. Are you ready?

Medieval Chamber

The Medieval Chamber is a very pleasant adventure into one of the area's finest canyons. The lower canyon is lush, with a clear running stream and a massive natural arch. The canyon's upper reaches are bounded by an awesome array of petrified sand dunes.  Situated halfway along the canyon's journey to the Colorado River lie two of the most spectacular rappels found anywhere on Mother Earth. This trip is great for beginners who want a taste for our Moab canyon tours that will leave them begging for more! You can turn this trip into a full day by adding on a half-day of packrafting on the Colorado River!​

#4 Packrafting

As you can imagine, there are many wonderful canyons out there situated far from the convenience of a road. Some of these canyons descend into larger canyons that contain rivers, large creeks or some other body of water. Often these waterways require the use of a boat to traverse. Packrafts are the perfect way to explore these beautiful waters! Packrafts are a lightweight, one-person inflatable boat that can be rolled up and packed into a backpack. A Half-Day Packrafting trip allows you to steer away from standard "put-ins" and cherry-pick sections of the river that best suit your floating desires! Whether you have zero boating experience or are a whitewater aficionado, you're sure to have a blast in these versatile boats. From relaxing flat-water to Class I, II and (sometimes) III rapids, the guides can cater to your idea of fun with these super fun boats on the Colorado River!

#5 Rockaneering

Rockaneering combines all the best elements of rock climbing, canyoneering, and mountaineering. These exciting adventures are geared towards small groups and families who want a fun-filled, engaging, educational, and extremely rewarding adventure. The rock features become your playground as you climb, scramble, and rappel through the slot canyons.

Half-Day Beginners Tour for Families

This unique Half-Day Rockaneering Adventure is especially for active families who want a fun introduction to roped-rock climbing and rappelling. These skills are easy for people of any age to embrace, providing one starts on very easy terrain and increases the challenges only when everyone has had the same level of success. Your guide will set the pace and tone of the trip so that the parents can relinquish some of their responsibilities and enjoy the activity. Then, your guide will give the kids some of the responsibility for team safety and hold them accountable for the safety of themselves and the other members. All of the participants are charged with reaching a common goal and have equal say in how the goal is reached. Your guide will ensure that every member of the family will have a fun, no-pressure experience.

Full-Day Intermediate Tour

The Full-Day Intermediate Rockaneering Trip requires more stamina than the Half-Day Trip, but it is still suitable for all skill levels who are used to the activity and will enjoy the exertion of scrambling, stemming, climbing, and hiking as well as the rope work of canyoneering. This trip is a few short miles from Moab and has a series of very large rock features that create an awesome vertical playground. Careful route-finding unlocks access to the fun and mysteries of the rocks and rim-top views are amazing!  Many sections you will travel through are exciting with short stretches of exposed climbing, but the highest and most exposed challenges are optional, allowing you to tackle them only if you feel prepared.

#7 Paddleboarding

Paddleboarding is such a scenic, relaxing, and rewarding way to experience the canyons in Moab. You will paddle past towering sandstone cliffs, see unique wildlife, and check out the amazing geological features. You will have time to paddle, swim, or just lie on your back in the sun as you drift down the river. The guides at Ravens Rim will fit you with the gear and will teach you how to paddleboard so you feel comfortable on the river. Paddleboarding is the perfect activity to add to your Moab vacation. You will leave feeling so refreshed and recharged.

#8 Rock Climbing

Come check out what makes Moab rock climbing so unique! There are a variety of climbing routes for all levels of experience. If you’ve never climbed before, or have limited experience, this Half-Day Moab Cragging Trip is a fun introduction to desert rock climbing. You will learn the essentials and have ample time to ascend the walls and get a feel for the local rock.

#9 Tower Climbing at Ancient Art

This is the perfect desert spire for a first foray into the magical sandstone towers of the Colorado Plateau for people who enjoy the challenge of being in a high and airy place and can climb at a 5.8+ sporting level. Immortalized by the 2012 Citi Bank “Rock” TV commercial, Ancient Art has become the “must-do” desert tower for its improbable looking summit that resembles a feature straight out of the mind of Dr. Seuss! A truly phenomenal tower that boasts one of the tiniest and most gravity-defying summits imaginable! Unique for a desert tower since it is mostly straight-forward face-climbing.

Ancient Art Climbing Tour

Despite its crazy look, this tower is a great introduction to multi-pitch climbing and the perfect desert spire for your first foray into the magical sandstone towers of the Colorado Plateau. Don’t let the 5.10 rating fool you, most of the climbing is no harder than 5.8 since the harder moves can be bypassed with a bit of direct aid. Concluding the ascent is a spectacular 200-foot, rope-stretching rappel! Amazing as the tower is, there is more to Ancient Art than the climb. The short approach hike through a fantasyland of rocks, hoodoos and giant monoliths presents world-class photo opportunities with amazing vistas of the other Fisher Towers – so be sure to bring your camera. Book your trip to experience the incredible Ancient Art Climbing Tour.

#10 Hiking

With the growing popularity of this area, many of the hiking trails have become as busy as city streets. Although it’s wonderful that so many people appreciate the beauty of the canyons, it is really no way to experience the soul-stirring power of a vast landscape. Hiking tours will take you away from the main tourist attractions and will reveal to you the secrets of the area. The Fisher Towers trail is casual as winds its way beneath the majestic rock and mud formations – a wonderful Half-Day Guided Tour for anyone who can hike 4.5 miles on an easy trail. Steady elevation gain promises a magnificent view-point of the entire Fisher Valley, the Colorado River, and the Fisher Towers. Afternoon sunsets here are ethereal!

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