The Grand Circle Part IV - Moab
- David Maiwald
- Feb 6
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 18
Part IV of the Grand Circle Series - Southern Utah
In this article:
Arches National Park
Moab in southeastern Utah is the gateway to two of my personal all-time favorites of the NPS. Just a short drive up north from Moab lies the entrance to Arches National Park. As the name suggests this park offers one of the densest concentrations of natural arches in various shapes and sizes. Arches has become increasingly popular over the years which has led to the implementation of a vehicle permit system to control the number of people visiting the park. This means that everyone entering the park has to show either a vehicle permit or a campground reservation at Devils Garden Campground. Both reservations can be purchased online. However, campground reservations at Devil’s Garden Campground - the only campground inside Arches National Park - are extremely popular and therefore hard to get. Inside the park an entirely different world full of towering rock pillars and natural arches awaits. This desert landscape makes for an otherworldly scenery which cannot be found anywhere else on this planet! And because that Arches is one of the busiest parks in Utah, meaning large crowds especially at the most popular spots. However, there also are lots of sections inside this park that offer some peace and quiet in the middle of a stunning desert scenery.
I myself have visited this park in the early summer of 2022, in the late summer of 2023, and again in the fall of 2024. While I have only spent one full day driving from one busy hotspot along the paved park road to the next when I first visited, I used the other two visits to venture a little further into the less crowded sections of the park. There is a paved main road that leads in and out of the park, runs for roughly 20 miles one way, and is an attraction in itself with countless scenic overlooks right along the way. Most of the park’s busiest hotspots are located more or less in the vicinity of this main road and therefore offer convenient ways to experience some impressive desert landmarks - albeit with those large crowds. The first great viewpoint comes after 3 miles with spectacular views of the La Sal Mountains and the Courthouse Towers. After another 6 miles Balanced Rock, Double Arch, Turret Arch, and the Windows await. The next hotspot is Delicate Arch which includes a fairly easy and extremely busy 3 mile out-and-back hike. Last but not least the Devil's Garden area is situated at the far end of the park’s main road. Here the section in between the trailhead and Landscape Arch is very busy. While there are lots of other visitors at these hotspots, they are well worth the hassle as they are so popular for a reason.
My personal highlights, however, were those moments where I was all alone inside this beautiful park. The first adventure took me along the unpaved Salt Valley Road all the way to the Tower Arch Trailhead roughly 8 miles from the park’s main road. When I arrived at the trailhead there was only one other car parked and nobody else around. This immediately felt worlds apart from driving down the busy main road roughly half an hour ago. There was no sound except for the occasional breeze blowing through the bushes next to the parking lot. It was a hot afternoon, so I packed plenty of water and started my way up the steep cliff. Along the three mile out-and-back hike I passed the Marching Men formation, beautiful sand dunes, wind-swept Juniper Trees and just two other hikers. Tower Arch was the perfect spot to take a break, hidden in a narrow and remote valley far away from everything - a place I didn't really want to leave.
Just a few miles from the intersection with Salt Valley Road lies the busy trailhead of the Devil’s Garden Trail. During my last visit I hiked the entire trail all the way to the Dark Angel formation at the far end. Once I passed by Landscape Arch and made my way up to Wall and Navajo Arch, the crowds immediately got fewer and fewer with every step. The final stretch towards Dark Angel was the most scenic and at the same time the least crowded. Here I once again enjoyed some truly pristine desert solitude as I marveled at the beautiful Double O Arch - in my opinion one of the absolute highlights of the park. My way back towards Landscape Arch led me down the Primitive Loop which was filled with scenic views and lots of privacy. While this trail was a bit difficult due to the climbing sections and the little to no shade along the way as well as the sections along the Primitive Loop which were hard to find at times, this hike was extremely rewarding and well worth the roughly 2.5 hours. Next to the trailhead was Devils Garden Campground where I was fortunate enough to stay for a night after I returned from my Devil’s Garden hike. That evening I went to bed early and set my alarm clock for 5 in the morning in order to be able to make it to the Delicate Arch in time for the sunrise. And that is what I did - I had beat the crowds and made it up there just before the sun was about to rise when suddenly a thunderstorm appeared out west. That’s when I found a shelter inside one of the nearby arches and watched as the storm passed by. After the brief but heavy rain I returned to the Delicate Arch - I did not get to watch the sun rise over the arch, but I still got to experience this hotspot all by myself for a short while.
Quick facts about Arches National Park:
main roads: Arches Scenic Drive / Salt Valley Road (unpaved)
highlights: Delicate Arch / Devil’s Garden / The Windows
best hikes: Tower Arch Trail / Devils Garden Primitive Loop
good to know: vehicle permit needed to enter the park
Canyonlands National Park & the Blue Mountains
My personal favorite of all of the U.S. National Parks is Canyonlands National Park. As Edward Abbey has put it, this is the “most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth - there is nothing else like it anywhere”. And that is just the way to describe it. Since I have written a separate piece on Canyonlands National Park I will not go into too much detail here. All I have to say is that this is the perfect place to get away from it all - one of the most remote, dramatic, and beautiful backcountry offering countless canoeing, hiking, biking, and four-wheel driving opportunities. The combination of dramatic rock formations, buttes, and mesas rising from an endless maze of canyons as far as the eye can see and all of it set in the middle of one of the most inaccessible regions of the U.S. makes this an incredibly adventurous playground for outdoor enthusiasts.
Bordering this vast and harsh desert country, the Blue Mountains rise like an island from the barren wasteland which surrounds it on all sides. Like a mirage its lush and dense forests and pristine mountain streams are just minutes from the canyons below. I myself passed through this mountain range in the early summer of 2022 and in the fall of 2024. During my most recent visit I made my way up the northern face of the Blue Mountains from the Needles District of the Canyonlands and witnessed the complete transformation of the surrounding scenery within just 10 miles or less than 20 minutes. This route led me past the Needles District View Area - a spectacular viewpoint overlooking the entire Canyonlands basin all the way to the La Sal Mountains as well as Arches National Park some 60 miles up north. Here I also set up camp at the Dalton Spring Campground on the eastern slope of the mountains, with deer frequently passing through. All in all I found these mountains to be an awe inspiring detour, which highlights the great variety of landscapes which can be found in southern Utah.
Quick facts about Canyonlands & the Blue Mountains:
main roads: Canyonlands: Grand View Point Road & Needles Park Road / Blue Mountains: North Creek Road
campsites: Canyonlands: The Needles Campground & Willow Flat Campground / Blue Mountains: Dalton Spring Campground
good to know: consider long distances & travel times for Canyonlands area
Valley of the Gods
In the far southeastern corner of Utah right along the northern border of the Navajo Nation, the Valley of the Gods marks an area within the drainage basin of the San Juan River that is no less dramatic and imposing than its southern neighbor - the Monument Valley. However, except for one partially very rough and ungraded dirt road this valley offers no infrastructure at all. A truly pristine desert wilderness only suitable for high-clearance vehicles. However, for those looking to escape the crowds, this is the perfect place to spend a night in a valley where time stands still.
At least that’s how I experienced it when I first stopped here next to the dirt road in order to scout ahead for the best spot to boondock for the night. I had just come from up north and passed through the small desert settlement of Bluff - the closest “town” roughly 20 miles from the valley and filled to the brim with historic places from the first Mormon settlers in the area. It was the late August of 2022 - one of my first visits to southern Utah - and the air was hot and heavy with humidity. While highway 163 passes right by the southern edge of the valley there was no trace of the busy traffic route as soon as I drove down the dirt road towards the towering buttes.
After a couple of minutes the highway was no longer visible and when I first stopped, turned off the engine, and stepped out of the car the eerie silence was overwhelming. This was something I haven’t experienced before - being outside and hearing no sound at all. While it took some getting used to I decided to keep going until I found the right spot to set up camp for one night. There were several marked but undeveloped campsites near the road and I could see a handful of campers scattered throughout the valley.
That night a light drizzle helped me fall asleep - creating some white noise in the middle of the pitch black of this valley. An experience that stuck with me and which I could not get enough of eversince. The next morning everything was back to normal with the eerie silence and the heavy humidity. However, the bright colors of the sandstone rock formations in the light of the rising sun made for a memorable and rewarding experience.
Quick facts about the Valley of the Gods:
main roads: Valley of the Gods Loop Road (unpaved & partially rough)
campsites: marked, undeveloped campsites along loop road
accessibility: entrance right along Highway 163 / interior of the valley very remote
good to know: all campsites first come first serve & free of charge
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