By Thanksgiving of 2020, I knew I had identified a serious need for an outdoor adventure to fill the soul. After 4 months of hybrid teaching (half on Zoom, half in person), it became time for a break. Luckily, two of my good friends from college moved to Salt Lake City recently. What better impetus to plan a trip out and do some sight-seeing?

Day #1: Park City/Salt Lake City

Brunch at The Bridge: 

On the day of my arrival, we decided to head to Park City and explore since I had never been before. We stopped at The Bridge, a perfect breakfast/brunch spot that looks out onto the mountains. The Bridge’s eggs breakfast came with superbly crisp potatoes that added to all the other amazing items on the plate. Paired with hot chocolate and a great ambience from the view, this restaurant is a fantastic and affordable spot in Park City. 

Explore downtown Park City:

After breakfast, we strolled down the main street of Park City. I love this area – there are tons of cute shops that have beautiful art, fur coats and outerwear for sale. I recommend parking on Park Ave near 9th street as there are some free spots. Although if Park City happens to be your main destination and vacation spot instead of SLC (perhaps during ski season), the town is very accessible on-foot.

Salt Lake Overlook via Desolation Trail:

On our way back to Salt Lake, we met up with one of our other local college friends to go for a hike. The Desolation Trail is located in Mill Creek Canyon. This particular hike is 5.2 miles out and back in distance, with an elevation gain of over 1300 feet. It is a very tough trail, but has lots of great switchbacks that culminate in the ultimate reward of an excellent view of Salt Lake City. Taking about two and a half hours to complete (potentially faster or slower depending on your pace), Desolation happens to be dog friendly should one of your companions be a pooch!

Dinner at Little Saigon:

After we completed our hike, we were in the mood for some delicious pho. As such we ended up at a restaurant called Little Saigon. I always love a combination pho and it hit the spot after a long day of adventures. So this was a welcome meal after burning so many calories.

Day #2: Salt Lake City/Travel Day

Gloria Falls:

In the morning, my friend and I decided to head to another beautiful Salt Lake canyon to chase a waterfall. This canyon received a lot more snowfall than the other one. Make sure you observe weather conditions ahead of time and are properly prepared to deal with them. UDOT is a great resource, providing information both on their website and Twitter. Hiking spikes for your boots are a great addition for this trail if you have them. Gloria Falls is 2.2 miles out and back and rated as easy. I would bump it up to moderate due to snow coverage. Make sure you have AllTrails pulled up on your map as well. With  the snow it can be hard to see the trailhead continue! 

Prepare/Drive to Moab:

After our morning hike, it was time to get ready for the next part of my trip. I decided to grab groceries in Salt Lake City knowing that it would be cheaper and easier to access than in Moab. I chose to stick to non-perishable items or things that can be cooked in a microwave in my motel room for the rest of the week. 

Day #3: Arches National Park

On my first day in Moab I decided to head to Arches National Park! I got up very early and arrived at the park prior to 6:30 AM. This allowed me to not have to pay the daily fee, but if you arrive after 8:00 AM it will be $35 per car. I recommend getting to Arches as early as possible because it can get very crowded at popular locations like Delicate Arch.

Devil’s Garden Trail: 

Devil’s Garden trail offers stunning views of the park, including 7 different unique arches along the way. Be warned that this hike is very challenging and long. Devil’s Garden is rated hard and measures 7.9 miles total for the loop. I started the trail before sunrise which allowed for some amazing views of the sunrise at Partition Arch. I hiked the trail counter clockwise, which I recommend, but do be cautioned that after the Landscape Arch you will walk straight up a huge rock that can be fairly taxingl. Devil’s Garden took me three and a half hours in total to complete.

Delicate Arch Trail:

After Devil’s Garden, I headed out to the famous Delicate Arch trailhead. I arrived around 11:00 AM and was able to find a parking spot pretty easily. I think this trail is more difficult than Devil’s Garden due to the elevation gain over a short distance. My legs were dead by the end of it but the views were worth the trip. Pack your lunch on this trail as there are perfect sitting spots at the top of the trail! Delicate Arch is 3.2 miles out and back and is rated as moderate. Overall, Delicate Arch took me a little over an hour to complete.

Windows Loop and Turret Arch Trail:

To end my day at Arches, I hopped over to an easy and approachable trail. I will be honest that my legs were so tired that I considered skipping this trail, but I am glad I did it at the end of the day. Widows Loop and Turret Arch Trail is the perfect trail for beginners or families with small children. If you do the full trail, it is a 1.2 mile loop and ranked as easy. Deciding to cut the loop even shorter by seeing the three arches, I then headed back. At this trail I do love that you can climb over and go through the arches for this particular section of the park

My full day at Arches was complete before 2:00 PM, which I loved because I beat all the crowds for the day. Heading back towards Moab I treated myself to some ice cream and a gatorade as a reward for the hiking I completed. I spent the rest of the night in my motel watching tv and movies preparing to go to bed early and get up early again.

Day #4: Canyonlands National Park

Similar to my day in Arches, I got up very early and was in Canyonlands before 7:00 AM. I felt like I was the only person at the park for a long time, which made the experience surreal. One thing to note about Canyonlands National Park is that there are two main areas, Island in the Sky and the Needles. The Island in the Sky section is closer to Moab and more accessible by car, whereas the Needles requires more hiking to get to the bigger sections. Note that if you are someone who has an off-roading vehicle, there are tons of trails you can do as well but make sure you apply for appropriate permits beforehand.

Grandview Point Trail:

I started out my day heading as far as possible into the park. Grandview Point Trail was the absolute perfect spot to see the sun rise over the canyon. Grandview Point Trail is 1.8 miles out and back and rated as easy. It took me about 40 minutes to complete. Make sure you pack appropriate clothing as I found this trail to be very cold and windy in the morning.

Mesa Arch Trail:

I discovered that everyone who comes to the park early heads to Mesa Arch immediately in the morning for the view of the sunrise that cascades through the arch. Mesa Arch is stunning, but because it is a popular spot it is quite difficult to enjoy the beauty without many of the people around. Mesa Arch Trail is a 0.7 mile loop and rated as easy. It took me around 20 minutes to complete.

Neck Spring Trail:

At this point in the day I had checked off the two trails on my list but I still craved more hiking. I stumbled up the Neck Spring trailhead where there is a pretty overlook. I had the whole trail to myself and saw some unbelievable canyon views that you can’t get normally get.  The Neck Spring Trail is a 5.3 mile loop and is ranked as moderate. Make sure you have the AllTrails map saved ahead of time as some parts of this trail are hard to follow, especially when you begin to go vertically up large rock sections. Thankfully many other hikers have tried to stack rocks to help indicate where the trail is along the way. Neck Spring took me a little under 3 hours to finish this trail and it was a fantastic way to end my day at the Canyonlands.

Day #5: Free Moab Hikes

Per the theme of my trip being super jet lagged and getting up early to beat the crowds, I arrived at my last trail of the trip before 7:00 AM as well.

Corona and Bowtie Arch:

I heard about Corona and Bowtie Arch from some friends. Their recommendation was on point because it is one of my favorite trails of the trip. Corona and Bowtie Arch have some of the coolest landscapes I have ever seen. Case in point, I may have said “wow” to myself well over 35 times. This hike is 2.4 miles out and back and ranked as moderate. I added on Pinto Arch which is right off the main trail. That brought the total distance up to 3.1 miles. Fair warning for those who are not avid hikers, there are some additional parts of this trail that require extra commitment, like narrow walkways and metal ladders to climb up. The best part about this trail is that it is free!

Extra Trails:

There are so many great trails near the Moab area and sadly I just did not have enough time to get to all of them during my short trip! Here are some other trails I had on my list and have heard great things about – if you make out to Moab and get to try these out, let me know what you think of them!

–Grandstaff Canyon Trail– free

–Jeep Arch– free

–Dead Horse Point State Park – $20 (hard for me to justify as a solo traveler)

Budget:

-packed all my own food for breakfasts, lunches and dinners while in Moab to minimize food expenses

-only bought light snacks at gas stations