Five Must Do Trips when Visitng Moab, Utah

Moab Utah is an adventurer's paradise, its what you notice when you drive down the main street and everyone is driving a jeep with a kayak on the roof or mountain bikes on the back bumper. Here are the five best adventures available to travelers visiting Moab. This list is in no way exhaustive, but it will give an overview of what is available in and around town for those wanting more than the Cliff's Notes version.

• Arches National Park. This is where Edward Abbey stayed for three seasons in the 1950's. It was what inspired him to write Desert Solitaire, a moving tribute to the red rock country of the desert southwest. The park is fully civilized now, with paved roads and wheel chair accessible trails. And if you never leave the pavement, as much as this would horrify the ghost of Abbey, the park is stunning. With the largest collection of sandstone arches in the world (over 2000), and beautiful rock formations stretching from horizon to horizon, the park is breathtaking. If you prefer to move away from the crowds (it is crowded in the summer) there are countless trails that will take you far into the back country. Even if you disdain crowded public parks, Arches is well worth a day.

• Canyonlands National Park is 527 square miles and divided into three districts. These districts are inaccessible from one another due to the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers which have carved vast canyons out of thousands of feet of sandstone. The Islands in the Sky District which is closest to Moab sees the most visitors and is visually stunning. Edward Abbey described the Canyonlands as "the most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth - there is nothing else like it anywhere." Being so enormous the park can easily absorb the 400,000 plus visitors it sees annually, and still provide those visitors the feeling that they are essentially alone in an vast wilderness of red rock.

• Slick Rock Trail is what put Moab on the map for mountain bikers. The park is on the outskirts of town and is a must do for anyone with even rudimentary cycling skills. With the slick rock trail you get the opportunity to ride pure swells of red sandstone, riding across ridges and down insanely steep pitches. The rock is called slick not because it is slick for bikes, it is actually quite grippy, but because it is a nightmare of slipping for horses. Not only is the trail rewarding and fun, but the views are stunning, at times overlooking the Colorado River. The trail is considered technical, but honestly if you can ride a bike, there is enough riding between the short hike a bike sections to make it worth your while. If a different kind of trail bike is more to your liking, the Slickrock trail is open to dirt bikes as well. Many of the adventure outfitters in Moab can also take you out on the slick rock in Jeeps or Hummers.

• River rafting. The Colorado River runs just north of town, out of one canyon and into the next. The river rafting and kayaking opportunities in Moab are endless. There are guided one day trips down the Castle Valley section of the Colorado that offers beginner rafters a taste of the Colorado in relatively calm waters with class I and II rapids. This trip can be done as a single all day trip with lunch, or half day trips, depending on time allowed. This section of the river is unregulated and so there are many companies floating it , which means that last minute plans can often be accommodated. And if you have your own craft, all you need is a ride back to your car. Westwater Canyon is another one day trip originating in Moab. This section of the river has rapids up to class IV, so it is a little more serious piece of water. This section of the river is permitted and so if you do not wish to do it on a guided tour, you will have to apply for a permit. For those content with group outings, Westwater does take a bit more planning,and is unlikely to be able to accommodate spur of the moment planning. Longer trips are available in Cataract Canyon through Canyonlands.

• Rock climbing, helicopter trips over Canyonlands and Arches, four wheeling in a rented Jeep: try something new. There are countless miles to hike or bike or jeep. The adventure centers can take you horseback riding, teach you to rock climb and canyoneer, or take you across the slick rock in a hummer. Enjoy the town, enjoy the vibe, and have an adventure. There are miles of paved roads along the Colorado River, leading through steep sandstone cliffs and out towards the Colorado border, where there are grasslands and pronghorn antelope. South of town there is Inscription Rock, a rock panel covered with thousands of pictographs, and the Needles Section of Canyonlands. You can drive out of the desert and into the pines. A world of adventure awaits you, enjoy.