DAY THREE
What to do?
It’s time to hit the open road! Drive 3-1/2 hours from Salt Lake City to Moab. Briefly stop at the Arches National Park visitor center to pick up your child’s Junior Ranger book and loaner Red Rock Explorer backpack. Also, watch the park movie so that you’re primed for your visit the following day.
KidTripster Tip: Make sure to do the Junior Ranger program (designed for ages 5 to 13, but everyone can participate) at each of the national parks and monuments that you visit. By the end of your trip, your child will have an impressive collection of Junior Ranger badges and patches. Best of all, everyone will be a lot more educated on the sights that you’ve seen.
KidTripster Tip: Since you’ll be visiting several national parks on this trip, invest in the Annual National Park and Federal Lands Pass. Purchase at the entrance gate. Cost: $80.
Where to stay?
In Moab, I like the convenience and amenities at Moab Valley RV Resort and Campground. Located about three miles from the entrance to Arches, the park offers tent sites, cabins, cottages, and full hook-up RV sites with cable. There’s a playground, putting green, life-sized chess set, and horseshoe pits. But the real selling point is the pool. After a day of hiking, you’ll need it!
Where to eat?
Moab Adventure Center offers both dinner and a show! First, you’ll sit down to a cowboy-style dinner. Honestly, I’d never seen my kids pack away so much food: BBQ, baked beans, and corn on the cob. What’s not to love? Then you board the Moab Queen II and head up the Colorado River with your guide for a two-hour cruise. At the turnaround point, the real magic begins. Set to music and stories from the area’s cowboy and Native American past, you float by the canyon walls as they’re being illuminated by 40,000 watts of light. It’s truly a unique way to experience the landscape. Cost: Youth (4-12) $59; Adult $69.
DAY FOUR
What to do?
Arches National Park is one of the most stunning spots in the national park system. The park boasts over 2,000 natural stone arches, in addition to hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive fins, and giant balanced rocks. Your family will need to work to make it to the park’s most spectacular prize – Delicate Arch – but it’s worth it!
Start your hike to Delicate Arch early in the morning. This 3-mile hike is strenuous with an initial climb of 480 feet. There’s also a 600-foot rock ledge at the end of this hike where you’ll want to keep a watchful eye on young children. But man, the payoff! It’s truly a memorable sight. The hike will take you about 2-1/2 to 3 hours. On the day that my family did this hike, it was 106°F by the time that we returned to trailhead. I’ve never been so happy to see our RV! We all took cold showers right there in the parking lot before moving on.
KidTripster Tip: Get to the park when it opens (7:30 a.m. in the summer) to avoid the heat of the day and find a parking spot. Be prepared for the relentless sun with sunscreen (reapply!) and a wide-brimmed hat. And bring more water than you think you’ll need; I’d recommend at least 1.5 liters per person.
After some rest and grub, head to the trailhead for Landscape Arch. This flat, 1.6-mile hike is much easier and will take you to the longest arch in the park. Stop to check out Balanced Rock on your way out of the park.
Where to stay?
Return to Moab Valley RV Resort and Campground. Today, you’ll really appreciate the campground’s pool!
DAY FIVE
What to do?
Drive 1-1/2-hours from Moab to the Pothole Point Trailhead inside the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.
Carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries, Canyonlands National Park is an enormous place, divided into four districts: Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the rivers themselves. Because of its vastness, it has a “we’ve got the place to ourselves” sort of feel. On a 30-mile drive to the visitor center, we never passed a single vehicle.
For kids, especially younger children, I think the Needles district – named for its colorful sandstone spires – is most ideal for a half-day visit. Here I’d focus on easy but interesting trails. Start with the .6-mile Pothole Point Trail where little ones can inspect the potholes for signs of life. If you’re hiking during the summer, the holes will be dry, but your kids still will enjoy the challenge of scampering up the giant boulders on this hike.
On the .6-mile Cave Spring Trail, you’ll see the remnants of an old cowboy camp and prehistoric pictographs inside a cave. But again, climbing will be the highlight of this trail. The kids can ascend on two wooden ladders to a slickrock plateau above the alcoves. From here, you’ll have great views of North and South Six-Shooter Peaks and the La Sal and Abajo Mountains.
Where to stay?
Drive about 1-1/2 hours to Devils Canyon Campground on US-191 near Monticello. Situated on national forest land, this campground is quiet and rustic; picnic tables, fire rings, vault toilets, and drinking water (no showers) are available. There are no hookups for RVs. It’s a good, inexpensive spot for a one-night stop.
KidTripster Tip: Need a laundromat? You’ll find one in Monticello.
