Moab

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Years ago I visited Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks in Utah, and I knew that one day I had to make my way to the Moab area of the state to see Arches and Canyonlands National Parks as well as Monument Valley in the Navajo Nation at the Utah-Arizona border.

This trip was a dream.

I went during the last week of October, which meant cool weather and the end of tarantula season.

Yes, the tarantulas in Utah have a season. No one told me this before my trip to Zion, so I learned by surprise. That year, the tarantulas were all over the place, including at my campsite.

I didn’t see any spiders during this visit, thankfully, but, the 2025 government shutdown was underway.

The state of Utah put funds toward keeping services open at its national parks, and I share a little more on my experience with the shutdown below.

Hotel

Voco Moab

I stayed at Voco Moab, which is a fairly new hotel. It is located just south of town, with an easy driving distance to Arches NP and the different entrances to Canyonlands NP.

The hotel had plenty of parking and a laundry room, which I appreciated after several days in the desert dirt. The room itself was nice, and it had tons of places to hang clothes and spread out all my hiking and camera gear.

Meals

I’ve mentioned before that with a food allergy (gluten for me), I typically drop into a grocery store when I arrive to a new place and stock up. I went to City Market when I got to town and picked up water, fruit and other snacks to have in my room and on my hikes.

There are several restaurants with gluten-free options in Moab. While I was researching restaurants, I also saw a lot of vegetarian and vegan options on menus.

My two favorite meals were the pulled pork green chile stew at Trailhouse Public Eatery and the chorizo scramble at Jailhouse Cafe. I was so excited about the breakfast scramble that I forgot to take a photo before digging in.

Arches National Park

While the government shutdown was underway during my trip, the national parks were still issuing and checking permits where those were required.

I got a permit for the Fiery Furnace hike on Recreation.gov before I went, and the hike was a 20/10 experience. I loved every minute of it. If you decide to do this hike, you can go by yourself or in a group, or you can sign up for a ranger-led hike during the seasons the park offers those. You’ll need to drop by the visitor’s center to fill out paperwork and to go to a safety briefing before getting on the trail.

After getting back to my car from the Fiery Furnace, I drove through the park and saw that the trailhead for Sand Dune and Broken Arches was pretty empty. I decided to check out both of those, and they were fantastic short hikes. There was a volunteer offering a geology talk to anyone interested in learning about the features in the area.

About the shutdown: The rangers at the visitor center said they were happy that people could still access the park, but did ask that we do our part to help while there were fewer employees than normal. They asked that visitors keep an eye out for any trouble, like vandalism, and report that to a ranger asap. They also asked that we leave no trace and to pick up any litter we see if someone else left something behind.

Canyonlands National Park

I went to the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands to watch the sunrise and do a few short hikes. The trailhead to see the sunrise at Mesa Arch was completely packed an hour before sunrise, so I went to Buck Canyon Overlook, where I had the whole place to myself.

Other than the morning crowd at Mesa Arch, there were very few people in the park at that hour.

My first hike was to Grand View Point Overlook, where I again had the place to myself aside from a few ravens following me for a bit.

The trail to the overlook was very fun. It had amazing views across the park landscapes and a few spots where you could see the sunrise glow coming in through the rocks.

I’ve mentioned before that as soon you arrive to some locations, you just know you have to come back again. I am already looking forward to going back to Canyonlands.

Newspaper Rock

Newspaper Rock State Historical Monument, Utah

Newspaper Rock is a stop on the way to the Needles area of Canyonlands National Park, and it is 100% worth your time.

There is a paved parking lot with a vault toilet, and the trail is only a few feet of gravel.

The petroglyphs here were etched through 1300 AD and it is amazing to be able to stand so close to the rock and look at them.

Monument Valley

I left Moab at about 5:30 a.m. to make it to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park for sunrise.

My first stop was Forrest Gump Point just north of the park. I love the movie and have always wanted to stop at this viewpoint to take a photo.

If you want to take photos here, get there early. There were only a few other cars stopped in the area at sunrise. By the time I left the park around noon, there were tons of vehicles stopped along the road, including tour groups, and it would make getting a more solitary photo pretty difficult.

The park entrance is only a few minutes away. There is an $8 entrance fee, payable by card only. After you go into the park, there is a visitor center, a hotel and a beautiful scenic drive.

I read a ton about the drive before I went and I saw recommendations to rent a high clearance SUV with four wheel drive, which I did. The bumpiest and steepest part of the drive is the first few turns onto the road from the visitor center parking lot. After that, the road is mostly sand or gravel, with a few rough areas and a few spots having deep holes to watch for.

The weather was dry while I was there, which made it an easy drive. If there had been recent rains, I could see this being a lot more difficult. If you are planning to go, keep an eye on the weather but know that I saw a Mustang and a Prius out there during my visit, so don’t worry too much if it looks like the road will be dry.

On my way back to Moab, I stopped at Cow Canyon Coffee in Bluff, Utah. They have gluten free items that change day to day. I got a s’mores cookie and an iced coffee for the road.