Moab is one of my favorite road trips from Denver – the drive is only 5 hours and the hiking, biking & off-roading trails are seemingly endless. This was my fifth trip to Moab and I was still amazed at the beauty and found new trails to explore. I knew it would be tough to top last year’s Moab Road Trip, but this trip still felt just as magical.
Here’s Was Our Itinerary:
Day One:
– Drive to Moab from Denver
– Hike Corona Arch
– Dinner at Thai Bella Moab
– Camp at Gold Bar Campground
Day Two:
– Breakfast at Red Rock Bakery & Cafe
– Hike Hidden Valley Trail
– Hike & lounge in the river at Mill Creek Canyon
– Explore Downtown
Day Three:
– Breakfast at Love Muffin Cafe
– Hike Grandstaff Trail
– Drive Back to Denver
I had been going a little stir crazy in Colorado the last month or so – I hadn’t been out of state since December and the weird in between ski season & muddy trails before hiking season was in full swing had me itching to get out of town. It also had to be on a budget so I wrangled up a couple of friends for a camping trip in Moab.
I’m not the biggest camper, in fact my parents laughed for a solid two minutes when I told them I’d be the one setting up the tent with my friend who hadn’t been camping since she was 7 years old. But we were both surprised when it only took us about 10 minutes to get the (borrowed) tent set up!
Camping in Moab is a bit of a free-for-all when it comes to the BLM sites, one trip I spent four hours driving around looking for an open site. We got to Moab around 2:30pm and headed straight to the campground I have always wanted to stay at, Gold Bar Campground which is just below the Corona Arch Trailhead. We lucked out and got the last spot available! After getting the tent set up we walked across the street to hike Corona Arch, one of my all-time favorites. We had the arch to ourself for most of the time while we hung out enjoying a beer before heading into town for dinner. By the way, best Thai Food I’ve ever had was at Thai Bella!
This campground was right on the river and we spent both nights sitting on the rocks watching the sun go down behind the red rocks.
This trip included two new hikes: Hidden Valley Trail & Grandstaff Trail. Both were absolutely incredible!
Hidden Vally Trail is so perfectly named because after a quick little steep section, it’s literally a valley hidden in between the rocks. The petroglyphs at the end were a special treat and the views were some of the best I’ve seen in Moab.
Grandstaff Trail brings you through streams and river crossings to a famously unphotogenic arch, Morning Glory Arch! I loved that it’s hard to capture because it makes it all the more impressive in person.
I’ve hiked Mill Creek Canyon before in the rain so when I saw that it was going to be near 90 degrees on Saturday I knew that would be the perfect time to go back. We threw on our bathing suits so we could soak in the frigid waters – which was perfect! We climbed up the waterfall to get to the top (or rather, a very kind and strong stranger pulled us up) but there’s a much easier way to the top if you take a trail on the left before the falls. The falls were super crowded so we found a quiet bank on the way back to lay out in the sunshine.
I couldn’t love this tiny little desert town any more and I’m already planning my next trip back. Every time I’m here I feel like there’s so much more I need to see and explore.
