Moab, Who knows it well?

[pmclaine]

Thinking about next April school vacation.

4 from Boston, 2 adults, 2 kids.

Looking at this place......

Moab Glamping Near Arches National Park | Under Canvas Moab

Experience glamping in Moab with Under Canvas upscale outdoor accommodations and activities. Located 11 minutes from Arches National park and nearby Canyonlands National Park. Book your stay today.

www.undercanvas.com

I like the tent idea but pricing seems high and you still have to add a lot in....like food.

Who has been and what is suggested?

Im looking for horse trail rides for certain.

 

[oneshot86]

that looks real cool

 

[Sean the Nailer]

I clicked on this link, thinking/hoping that we're going to be talking about the Mother Of All Bombs.... but alas...

I hope your trip works out as well as the planning, and that you and your family have an even better time. I have always been of the opinion of truly 'roughing it', and that way (especially with children) they definitely learn what it's all about. As well as what 'luxuries' are all about. The precept of 'luxury' takes on a whole new meaning, when what you need you first need to make/build/assemble.

You don't mention the ages of the children, and just ensure there are many 'involved' activities for them to have a go at. Enjoy.

 

[Bender]

Onion creek!! Easy drive to the top of the world!

 

[Bender]

 

[Drew890]

I’ll tell you to eat at Pasta Jay’s when you’re in town.

 

[blbennett1288]

Dead Horse Park is really good. Tons of trails for hiking/biking/ATVs

 

[Snipe260]

Shit, thought you were referring to the bomb!

 

[Huskydriver]

Will be SLAMMED I'm April. I personally love Moab from Nov-March.

Eat at the Sunset Cafe say hi to John the owner... Great guy.

Eat at Milts

Eat at the Moab Cafe.

Great times.

 

[Blue Sky Country]

Shit, thought you were referring to the bomb!

Same here...

Came in to see HD test videos. BTW there is a really good barrage rocket one in the Motivational thread if ya' want to see HD kabooms.

@Bender Awesome scenery. There is nothing in the western part of the country that does not radiate grandeur, history, and beauty...

 

[Maggot]

Jeez you might as well stay at the Ritz Carlton.

Do your kids a favor and hike the north rim of the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River and back. Carry your gear and food on your back. Camp at the bottom and swim in the river. I did it circa 1972 and its im my memory like last week. Second only to climbing the Great Pyramid of Giza which you cant do anymore. Your kids will never forget it. If you want a bit of comfort stay at the lodge on the rim when you get back.

 

[chevy_man]

I'd rent a Jeep and cruise some trails.

But that's because me and horses don't get along, them having a mind of their own and trying to turn around mid cliff-side trail and all.


There's plenty of trails to drive and hikes from your normal rental SUV. There are places that have slightly lifted Jeeps with lockers for rent if you want to get farther away.

It's desert. Be prepared with food and water, and appropriate clothing.

 

[pmclaine]

The "glamping" option seems cool until I consider for that price I get a shared head with the kids, no AC if its hot, no kitchen to try and save some cash making bfast and lunches. Assuming each "tent" has a campfire, perhaps they are set up for cooking bacon and eggs? No tent fridges though.

Ideally we dont spend much time where we stay and we are at a park or seeing something for the better part of the day.

Appreciate the replies, will be checking out vids and sharing with fams.

 

[rjacobs]

Just got back from Moab. We stayed at one of the Kokepelli properties(I think they have 3). Reasonable price, but not as nice as the pictures suggest, but im like you, its a place to sleep and shower and for that it was adequate. We were 1.5 blocks from the visitor center in the center of downtown.

We did a UTV tour which was fun, but not cheap($400 for 3 hours).

We did the Canyonlands by Night boat tour which was very enjoyable(as long as you tune out their audio narration of the trip back down river, it was weird)...

We were wiped from hiking for almost 7 days previous to our arrival so we didnt hike hardly anything around there. We went to Arches twice. first for sunset at double arch, second to hike a 5.5 mile trail at Devils Garden to see I think 8 arches. We hiked about 1 mile and turned around as we were wiped and it was stupid hot. We did the overlooks at Canyonlands, but would like to hike some stuff there at some point. Dead Horse Point was a waste, for us, since we werent in the mood to hike anymore and the view from the lookout pales in comparison to Canyonlands.

All the food we had in Moab was pretty good, no complaints there.

I will go back to Moab for sure, but it will be with my own Jeep or SxS and not a rental.

 

[atomic41]

The "glamping" option seems cool until I consider for that price I get a shared head with the kids, no AC if its hot, no kitchen to try and save some cash making bfast and lunches. Assuming each "tent" has a campfire, perhaps they are set up for cooking bacon and eggs? No tent fridges though.

Ideally we dont spend much time where we stay and we are at a park or seeing something for the better part of the day.

Appreciate the replies, will be checking out vids and sharing with fams.

-There are tons of hotels there that will solve those issues you just mentioned and several are brand new nice ones which will help you keep the wife happy.

-Go into Arches and Canyonlands when the gate opens in the morning because you want to beat the bus loads of zombie hordes that will piss you off.

-Take the family to the Moab Rock Shop and the whole family will find some cool souvenirs.

-Buy this book, rent a side by side, jeep, or humvee and take them on trails. When you get closer and if you plan to do the trails let me know and I'll tell you how to get to some cool caves that Mtn Lions live in. The kids will think it's cool and you can walk around and find their tracks real easy. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/gu...vJmVvWggpbFMFfmjuH4W9t1HrvIOrSoQaAju6EALw_wcB

 

[EchoDeltaSierra]

Moab Sep 2019

What: MOAB RUN! When: September 20-29, 2019 Come for as little or as much as you can. Where: Moab, UT Comms: HAM - RS2 (146.580) CB - Channel 5...

www.tacomaworld.com

An interesting thread on another forum I lurk about.

 

[Mark Coffey]

We took a family UTV and ATV vacation to Moab a few years ago. It was great! Went to Arches and Canyon Land Park’s. We went white water rafting too. But, the best part of the trip was taking a Hot Air Ballon tour!!!

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Jeez you might as well stay at the Ritz Carlton.

Do your kids a favor and hike the north rim of the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River and back. Carry your gear and food on your back. Camp at the bottom and swim in the river. I did it circa 1972 and its im my memory like last week. Second only to climbing the Great Pyramid of Giza which you cant do anymore. Your kids will never forget it. If you want a bit of comfort stay at the lodge on the rim when you get back.

Did a lot of this in my youth (I.e under 60) and being involved in Scouting Leadership until I was 65 helped me a lot. Uncle AO put an end to that with Ischemic Heart Disease. Hit me flat out and I never saw anything coming from that direction. Nowadays, I couldn't do that if I tried, and honestly, I'm not trying anymore.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

The week leading up to Easter, April 12th, will be extremely busy/crowded w/ the Easter Jeep Safari. Likely pretty busy he week before and after too. Try and avoid it unless you're going for the Easter Jeep Safari.

There' many options for sleeping from under the stars to full on luxury Not so much of the latter, but it's available.

Not sure about horse rides but either rent a UTV or a Jeep or go on a guided jeep tour. Hell's Revenge, Poison Spider, and Fins n' Things are all close and not too extreme but still an E ticket ride. Arches and Canyonlands since you're there. Hole in the Rock. I'd suggest taking the alternate route down from Canyon Lands, the dirt shelf road, as it's spectacular and will take you by the potash/salt mines where they fill shallow ponds full of salt water from the mines to evaporate. They are intense blue and stand out in the dessert. It will also take you out on Potash road and you can check out the petroglyphs in the canyon along the river.

There's some decent food already mentioned. To subjective to recommend. Although the shaved ice truck was awesome the last time I was there.

You'll get the full desert South West experience. It is truly in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

This is the alternate route out of Canyon lands. You start on the left and end up at the bottom in the middle. You drive every part of every road you see in this pic.

It's not hard, just a butt clincher.

 

[QuickNDirty]

MOAB is on the list for once I've got front/rear lockers and a winch on the XJ.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

Hell's Revenge.

Maybe one of the tour guides will take you in and out of one of the hot tubs.

Or up Escalator.

No matter what, you'll have fun.

 

[hermosabeach]

 

[pmclaine]

Getting some more info from the PL about itinerary she is proposing....

I guess we would do the tent one or two nights only. That would be much better. I dont mind roughing it but there is only so much inside one tent closeness the four of us can take. I mean we like each other and all but......its supposed to be vacation.

 

[thejeep]

You could also fly into grand junction.

 

[golden_311]

Having done those trails a few times, this cracks me up. Should have traded in the expensive off road vehicles for a crown vic...

 

[Jefe's Dope]

He did weld the diff. Lincoln locker.

 

[pmclaine]

You could also fly into grand junction.

I'll see if that's an option for us and save 3 hrs of car time.

Never minded driving through unknown country though.

 

[rjacobs]

May I suggest a slightly different route between Moab and Bryce instead of boring ass I70.

From Moab go up to I70 west for like 20 miles and get off on 24 and go south and take it into Torrey, UT. You can stop off at Goblin Valley for a quick up close and personal of the Hoodoo's. This will also take you through Capitol Reef National Park(stop in Fruita, past the Capitol Reef visitor center and get a fruit pie). In Torrey pickup 12 south which will run you through Boulder, UT to Escalante, UT and then into Bryce. Very beautiful drive and takes you up over Boulder Mountain(highest part of the road is 9625ft). In Boulder eat at the Hells Backbone Grill, excellent restaurant although a bunch of hippy lesbian chicks working there so with that goes all of the equality B.S. posted about, but just keep your mouth shut about the 44mag wheel gun on your hip and pay for lunch with your NRA card...

If you have more than 1 day planned at Bryce, its to much. 2 full days in Zion is enough also IMO.

 

[hermosabeach]

Hiking the Virgin river is fun... There is a real issue with Flash flood taking the river from a 1-3' deep stream to a raging river-

We hiked it years ago... to do it over, I would bring intertubes and float back down after hiking up the thing....

we hit a few spots that were 5 feet deep so you do ge soaked- bring something to keep any electronics dry... and anything that can rust....

 

[rjacobs]

Hiking the Virgin river is fun... There is a real issue with Flash flood taking the river from a 1-3' deep stream to a raging river-

We hiked it years ago... to do it over, I would bring intertubes and float back down after hiking up the thing....

we hit a few spots that were 5 feet deep so you do ge soaked- bring something to keep any electronics dry... and anything that can rust....

In the spring thats definitely an issue and in April they may not be able to hike it at all anyway. If its flowing more than 150cfs the hike is closed. I think it was at 45cfs when my wife and I hike it 2 weeks ago. 2 weeks ago there would have been no way to "float" it back down as most of it was barley knee high with only 2 sections that barely touched my upper thigh(im only 5'9" on a good day) and I was able to roll my shorts up and not get my shorts wet at all. There was one section leading into "Wall Street" that had a deep pool that my 6' walking stick went completely under and I would have had to swim, I wasnt doing that.

Entrance to Wall Street

 

[pmclaine]

Looks like a night at the Marriot in Grand Junction - we fly in late so we will save the rental for that day and leave the next.

3 nights "Under Canvas" in MOAB

3 nights at a hotel between Bryce and Zion so we can split our travels in both places

Couple nights in Vegas before heading home.

Thinking Ill be getting some new boots and a good hat while Im out there.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Getting some more info from the PL about itinerary she is proposing....

View attachment 7153622

I guess we would do the tent one or two nights only. That would be much better. I dont mind roughing it but there is only so much inside one tent closeness the four of us can take. I mean we like each other and all but......its supposed to be vacation.

If you are going to tent, I suggest Wind Whistle campground at the Needles Overlook. It is one of our favorites. Probably have the whole campground to yourself.

 

[pmclaine]

If you are going to tent, I suggest Wind Whistle campground at the Needles Overlook. It is one of our favorites. Probably have the whole campground to yourself.

"Under Canvas" is tenting in name only.

Its actually a hotel just that the rooms are big cabin wall tents.

They call it "Glamping".

We don't do any camp site work other than moving our shit into the big tent.

 

[XLR308]

"Under Canvas" is tenting in name only.

Its actually a hotel just that the rooms are big cabin wall tents.

They call it "Glamping".

We don't do any camp site work other than moving our shit into the big tent.

Camping without all of the prep, packing, set up, break down and clean up afterwards ?
Well that doesn't suck ???

 

[rjacobs]

3 nights at a hotel between Bryce and Zion so we can split our travels in both places

There aint diddly dick in between Bryce and Zion...

And getting into Zion from the north entrance, while absolutely beautiful(especially compared to the south entrance), takes an hour to go like 16 miles plus your time at the entrance gate...plus your driving time from wherever you stay in between Bryce and Zion... I would only want to go in the north entrance once...

Head to Bryce from Moab(5 hours give or take if you run the route through Capitol Reef(moab to I70 to 24 south to Torrey then pickup 12 to Bryce)) and if you leave by 8, you will arrive at Bryce by 2(with an hour set aside for lunch) which gives you time to hike the Figure 8 or Navajo/Queens Garden or hit the overlooks and GTFO... Stay in Bryce at Ruby's and bounce to Zion the next day. OR if you want to take your time getting from Moab to Bryce(and stop at Goblin Valley, Capitol Reef(get a pie), and a few overlooks while going over Boulder Mountain towards Bryce), still stay in Bryce at Ruby's, get up and do your hiking/overlooking the next day in the morning then head the 2 hours to Zion that afternoon. I guess what I am saying is 1/2 a day or maybe slightly more at Bryce is plenty unless you are going to do the 8 mile Fairyland Loop trail(which sucked compared to the Figure 8 or Navajo Queens garden trails which can be done in 2 to 3 hours)... I would plan to spend more time at Zion vs. trying to stay in between and shuttling in between, which isnt worth it. You will be done with Bryce in half a day or so and then be pissed you are driving like 1.5 hours to get into Zion and battling that traffic into the gate for the other full 2 days...

Again just my opinion after having just been out there 2 weeks ago.

 

[pmclaine]

There aint diddly dick in between Bryce and Zion...

And getting into Zion from the north entrance, while absolutely beautiful(especially compared to the south entrance), takes an hour to go like 16 miles plus your time at the entrance gate...plus your driving time from wherever you stay in between Bryce and Zion... I would only want to go in the north entrance once...

Head to Bryce from Moab(5 hours give or take if you run the route through Capitol Reef(moab to I70 to 24 south to Torrey then pickup 12 to Bryce)) and if you leave by 8, you will arrive at Bryce by 2(with an hour set aside for lunch) which gives you time to hike the Figure 8 or Navajo/Queens Garden or hit the overlooks and GTFO... Stay in Bryce at Ruby's and bounce to Zion the next day. OR if you want to take your time getting from Moab to Bryce(and stop at Goblin Valley, Capitol Reef(get a pie), and a few overlooks while going over Boulder Mountain towards Bryce), still stay in Bryce at Ruby's, get up and do your hiking/overlooking the next day in the morning then head the 2 hours to Zion that afternoon. I guess what I am saying is 1/2 a day or maybe slightly more at Bryce is plenty unless you are going to do the 8 mile Fairyland Loop trail(which sucked compared to the Figure 8 or Navajo Queens garden trails which can be done in 2 to 3 hours)... I would plan to spend more time at Zion vs. trying to stay in between and shuttling in between, which isnt worth it. You will be done with Bryce in half a day or so and then be pissed you are driving like 1.5 hours to get into Zion and battling that traffic into the gate for the other full 2 days...

Again just my opinion after having just been out there 2 weeks ago.

Vacation6 will be made aware of thise points.

Good stuff.

 

[pmclaine]

Any good, deep, cold, river swims out that way?

One of the Yellowstone highlights for the kids was a river swim in a deep canyon they could jump from the rocks into pools and get pulled downstream.

 

[pmclaine]

Looks like this will be the accommodations for the Bryce/Zion part of the trip...

Zion National Park Lodging Available | Desert Pearl Inn

Are you looking for the best hotels around Zion National Park? Contact Desert Pearl Inn today to book a room for your next vacation."

www.desertpearl.com

Not too shabby.

 

[rjacobs]

Looks like this will be the accommodations for the Bryce/Zion part of the trip...

Zion National Park Lodging Available | Desert Pearl Inn

Are you looking for the best hotels around Zion National Park? Contact Desert Pearl Inn today to book a room for your next vacation."

www.desertpearl.com

Not too shabby.

Nice. The grocery store in Springdale is ludicrously expensive if you need those sorts of things. There is a Walmart in Hurricane like 20 minutes drive away. Definitely worth the drive money wise. Otherwise get groceries and what not in Moab as Bryce is pretty bare also. Escalante has a decent grocery store though.

 

[pmclaine]

Nice. The grocery store in Springdale is ludicrously expensive if you need those sorts of things. There is a Walmart in Hurricane like 20 minutes drive away. Definitely worth the drive money wise. Otherwise get groceries and what not in Moab as Bryce is pretty bare also. Escalante has a decent grocery store though.

Food is always a big hit when vacationing.

If we can get a few breakfasts or some mac and cheese meals cooked in our accomodations we will be doing okay. One BBQ grill dinner equates to a $150 savings typically.

but hey its vacation....I am looking forward to a good drink and steak or two out in town.

 

[rjacobs]

yes restaurants in those area's are high IMO.

Although to be fair, we didnt have a bad meal while we were out there... service was a bit lacking for the price paid, but the food was generally really good.

But like you said if you can sneak a few meals, especially lunch and maybe breakfast in, then go out to eat for dinner, you can save a ton of money.