Arches & Canyonlands National Park - A Weekend in Southeast Utah

Well for starters, Salt Lake City (SLC) was the cheapest to fly in and out of, for all three of us since we live in 3 different cities across the US. Second, Utah is one of the few states that I keep wanting to go back to for my love of National Parks! I’ve been to 15+ parks and my favorites are in Utah.

• Salt Lake City (SLC) is the main/international airport that has 100s of direct flights within US and a few international as well including London, Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Utah is also a popular road trip destination if you live in California or Nevada.
• Utah is HUGE. Not Texas huge, but still huge. If you are planning a weekend getaway, like us, it’s best to pick one side of Utah and explore nearby.
• If you are flying in, getting a rental car from SLC airport is advisable and it’s pretty cheap. All major and affordable rental car companies operate out of SLC.
• The closest city to both Arches & Canyonlands is Moab. You will find plenty of budget, as well as 1-2 luxury hotels. We stayed at the Hyatt Place in Moab since it was conveniently located, just 15 min from Arches.

Ok this is a tricky one. Since Utah is pretty much all desert, the best time to visit the national parks is technically only April, May, September and October with weather ranging between 60-80 degrees F. Summer is extremely hot and winters are quite cold, with a lot of snow. Most of the hiking trails are open year round but popular trails get slippery pretty fast. We visited in last week of August so were lucky to catch a mix of pleasant and hot weather.

• Early morning wake up call at 4:45 am
• Drive to Delicate Arch trailhead. Parking is located on Delicate Arch Road. It’s a 3-mile out and back hike.
• Best time to hike is in spring and fall when the temperatures are cooler, or during sunrise and before sunset, primarily because it’s a bald hike, there is no shade along this trail. so be sure to bring some water and a hat.

• Even though we did a sunrise hike, by the time we came back down, the sun was out and it was hot. We head back to grab breakfast/lunch and then back to hotel to shower and change.
• Next we drove the Arches Scenic Drive and made a pitstop at these stunning arches: Balanced Rock, Devil’s Garden (short hike to Landscape Arch, Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch ), Double Arch and Windows Loop

• This was our last full day in Moab, so we decided to spend our evening and night at a glamping experience with Under Canvas, which was just 7 miles from Moab
• Under Canvas has multiple locations throughout Utah and it has also been recognized by Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler as one of the top resorts in the US.
• We paid $484/night incl. taxes for a King Bed tent with a private bathroom. They have cheaper options as well if you are ok with a communal bathroom and smaller bed.
• The experience was definitely one of a kind. Similar to camping, there were no power outlets in the tent and no wifi either, so you really get a chance to disconnect and relax.
• They have battery operated fans & lanterns with USB plugs to charge phones. There is no AC so make sure you are up for this, specially in warmer months. For winter, they have a fireplace in the tents so heating is not an issue.
• The only bad thing was the extreme weather in the middle of night around 3 am. Since it’s a desert, the nights can be extremely windy. This is exactly what happened and our whole tent was shaking for 30 mins lol.
• If you like adventure, this is the perfect mix. However if you are traveling solo and are worried about getting scared, make sure to check with the locals about the weather conditions before booking.