While Arches National Park was only 10 minutes from our hotel in Moab, Canyonlands National Park was also fairly close.
At only 30 minutes away it worked out well to continue to base camp at the hotel while we checked out park number six on our list. We were just a little under the weather so it was nice to have a warm indoor retreat in between explorations. We ended up staying at the Aarchway Inn in Moab for a very friendly price of $52 per night. Four glorious nights we enjoyed daily hot showers, big comfortable beds (we all had our own!), clean laundry, free breakfasts and all the other amenities of a nice clean hotel room that you don't get when you're camping.
We heard that Canyonlands was an underrated park and knew we should check it out, but we had no idea how absolutely amazing it would be.
This Utah National Park blew us all away and despite the crazy strong wind that day (no pun intended), ended up being our favorite thus far. Why you ask? Well, I’d love to tell you!
The first trail we decided to take was the Aztec Butte. This one trail offered so much diversity. It started out like many others until we made it to the base of the butte where the trail appeared to stop. That’s when we realized the trail, now marked by stacked up stones called cairns, continued on up the steep slope of the rock face. Sweet! We were excited for the challenge so up we went keeping the kids in between Kevin and I just in case one of them started sliding down or blowing away. We made it through the climb with surprisingly few heart attack moments.
Almost to the top we came across two small Puebloan granaries.
It was impressive how well preserved they were. A few more steps and we were at the top surrounded by panoramic views that extended for miles. We stopped for some pictures and then went #trekking on our way. There was a small bit of trail left to hike across the top of the butte and then it was time to figure out how to get back down. We managed just fine with some zigzags and butt slides (not to be confused with butte slides, ba-dum-dum). The challenge of this hike was so #fun and #rewarding that we couldn’t stop there.
The next hike we took was to the Mesa Arch. A short simple half mile loop brings you to this well known landmark.
What we didn’t realize is that the arch sits right on the edge of a cliff. When we got there and looked through the arch we were greeted with the most unexpected breathtaking view of huge canyons, rock spires and the La Sal Mountains. What?! Canyonlands National Park was full of surprises. We have had some epic experiences so far on our little National Parks tour, but our experience here was beyond anything we could have ever hoped for. #BeautifulDestinations
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