Have you been to Moab?

[MJC62]

We are planning a trip to Utah in September including a stop in Moab. We are looking for recommendations on RV Parks in the area. Also, recommendations on what attractions are suitable for Seniors. Finally, those of you who visited Moab, how long for our stop would you suggest we pencil in our itinerary for our visit. We are retirees so a firm timetable isn't an issue.
Tx
Mark

[HMCSW]

Originally Posted by MJC62

We are planning a trip to Utah in September including a stop in Moab. We are looking for recommendations on RV Parks in the area. Also, recommendations on what attractions are suitable for Seniors. Finally, those of you who visited Moab, how long for our stop would you suggest we pencil in our itinerary for our visit. We are retirees so a firm timetable isn't an issue.
Tx
Mark

The KOA in Moab is a great spot. We stay a week I am 70. There are a thousand places to walk ride, and drive. Canyonlands and Arches are the parks with the most visitors and worth exploring as much as comfortable. There are many Jeep trail from easy to insane. Deadhorse State Park is a don't miss as well. Might be able to get an RV spot there. Utah is an amazing place. Bryce on the other side turns 100 this year. I am fortunate to live in Washington so only a couple long days to get to Utah. Actually going to Moab in June for a week then up to Yellowstone for a week. Enjoy your planning. Plenty to read on the park websites and the rangers will answer questions if you call as well.

[happy]

fella drives up and says we have 1 hour to spend in Moab area what should we do? Answer: if you have just 1 hour to spend in Moab, I'd recommend you sit down and cry.


As mentioned Arches and Canyon Lands National Park. They are beautiful. Your post shows you have a tow that looks possibly 4x4?? Maybe easy "jeep roads" such as Gemini Bridges? There are 1,000 miles of trails around Moab and people from around the world come to drive them. You can get into trouble fast if you just take off, so read up if you like 4x4. You can drive all day and be safe if you plan. Especially within the National parks. Places such as Teec Nos Pos in NE Arizona hold interest for our family. One of the last true trading posts.

[lwmcguire]

Originally Posted by HMCSW

The KOA in Moab is a great spot. We stay a week I am 70. There are a thousand places to walk ride, and drive. Canyonlands and Arches are the parks with the most visitors and worth exploring as much as comfortable. There are many Jeep trail from easy to insane. Deadhorse State Park is a don't miss as well. Might be able to get an RV spot there. Utah is an amazing place. Bryce on the other side turns 100 this year. I am fortunate to live in Washington so only a couple long days to get to Utah. Actually going to Moab in June for a week then up to Yellowstone for a week. Enjoy your planning. Plenty to read on the park websites and the rangers will answer questions if you call as well.

Agree with your comments

There is an easy interesting road to drive through the mountain side. We enjoyed that for a break from the parks. Three full days and one arrival and one departure was adequate. Nice cafes down town and a few dog friendly.

[MJC62]

Thanks

[mgunnin]

Please understand I am a person that likes and uses KOA a lot. BUT:
I had reservations for this coming June at Moab KOA for 4 days at $150.00 per night.
I just found Sun Outdoors Moab Downtown for a $360.00 plus savings.
I looked up the locations with satellite view. They are four miles apart and KOA does not have any trees, which isn't unusual for out West, but the other has some trees. Sun Outdoors has pull-thru site if that is important.

[twovillagers]

Originally Posted by MJC62

We are planning a trip to Utah in September including a stop in Moab. We are looking for recommendations on RV Parks in the area. Also, recommendations on what attractions are suitable for Seniors. Finally, those of you who visited Moab, how long for our stop would you suggest we pencil in our itinerary for our visit. We are retirees so a firm timetable isn't an issue.
Tx
Mark

We really enjoyed the Canyonlands by Night and Day evening light and sound cruise on the Colorado River. It was a great experience. A buffet dinner is included.

I would recommend 4 or 5 nights, depending on how much you want to do. Late September is a great time to go as the heat should moderate by then. It is a beautiful area.

[ducksface]

A campground with this view is about 5 miles south of Moab. You can see the falls from the hiway about a mile off the road where the rv park is.
I don't remember the name.
'Moab waterfall' should pull up a map.
Three days is PLENTY.
And
One trip there we rented a room in a craptastic motel and then parked the RV in their parking lot. Cheap, easy, no crowd.

[Rhamilton001]

Stayed at slick rock cg. Very neat and well kept. Some shade. Gravel but level sites
Suggest you go to the arches as early as you can as the park gets crowded and they will stop entry. Just North of Moab.

[ducksface]

I'm going say, finalized by the above statement about crowds and initialized by the op mentioning age;
Buy the pink jeep(or whatever they are now) tours.
Buy all of them. This is probably your last trip to Moab and an aimless(no matter how well planned) wandering through the the five+ parks will be nowhere near as memorable as the expertly guided, front of the line, less seen, scenes.

Park the RV, park the towed, hire the nice tours, Damn the cost.

[MJC62]

Thank you all for the suggestions! We are leaning on booking at the Spanish Trail RV Park, probably for a week. The suggestion to do tours as opposed to doing all the driving is spot on. We are trying to find the best attractions/tours that cater to folks that are at the age they don't enjoy bouncing down a trail in a UTV.
Restaurant, eatery suggestions are always welcome!

[V&D axis]

We stayed at Portal RV park. Worked out great. Nice amenities and good location. We are in an Axis 24-1 and don’t pull a car. We would get up early go to the farthest trail area we wanted to hike. That time of morning no problem getting in (most times it was before entrance booth was maned) we got to trail head we had no problem with parking the rv that early. Later in the day rv parking fills up. We’d have our coffee, get ready for the day and one morning did sun rise pictures took a nap then started our day. Only thing about going that early is driving up the road going into the park. Husband did not have a problem but scared the heck out of me. We are also retired 70 and 65 but love hiking the area. We were there for 5 days

[lwmcguire]

Originally Posted by mgunnin

Please understand I am a person that likes and uses KOA a lot. BUT:

I had reservations for this coming June at Moab KOA for 4 days at $150.00 per night.

I just found Sun Outdoors Moab Downtown for a $360.00 plus savings.

I looked up the locations with satellite view. They are four miles apart and KOA does not have any trees, which isn't unusual for out West, but the other has some trees. Sun Outdoors has pull-thru site if that is important.

I trimmed several trees there, with park permission, to fit in our site

Shorter rigs will be much easier to navigate. Decent middle of the road campground.

[Pabs4]

Originally Posted by V&D axis

We stayed at Portal RV park. Worked out great. Nice amenities and good location. We are in an Axis 24-1 and don’t pull a car. We would get up early go to the farthest trail area we wanted to hike. That time of morning no problem getting in (most times it was before entrance booth was maned) we got to trail head we had no problem with parking the rv that early. Later in the day rv parking fills up. We’d have our coffee, get ready for the day and one morning did sun rise pictures took a nap then started our day. Only thing about going that early is driving up the road going into the park. Husband did not have a problem but scared the heck out of me. We are also retired 70 and 65 but love hiking the area. We were there for 5 days

We also stayed at Portal. We just left yesterday. It was in a great location! It’s a beautiful and clean park. Be aware that Arches is using a timed entry. You must make reservations online. My husband read if you arrive before 7am you can get in without a reservation. We also have the Senior Lifetime Pass. We got in with no issue. You can see several of the sites from the road as well as from the pullouts they have. Many of them you won’t be able to see without hiking a bit. The Windows section was a fairly easy path in the beginning. Make certain to drive down Hwy 279. It is across the highway from and near the entrance to Arches. They have petroglyphs right on the side of the road with pullouts for you to park. They also have dinosaur tracks, but that trail was a lot of climbing. We chose to pass on that. You will also see rock climbers. The closest Canyonlands district is Island in the Sky. The Needles District is also accessible south of Moab. You can see Wilson’s Arch from Hwy 191. We had dinner our first night at Desert Bistro. It was expensive, but the food was good. We had lunch on our last day at Gloria’s. The food and service were both good there. Have a great time!

[Chateau_Nomad]

Note the being a "senior" isn't necessarily a qualification of physical fitness or ability. I'm 68 and although not a spring chicken (and after two open heart surgeries - one for valve replacement) I can usually do a five+ mile hike over moderate terrain.

We take our dogs to run at a 110 acre field and somewhat hilly wooded area three or more times a week. We often see a 75 year old lady who RUNS at least 2 laps through the wooded trails and perimeter... EVERY OTHER DAY!

Granted that's not the norm, but all I'm saying is age should not be a limiting factor. In our upper 60s, I'm sure we're in better shape than many 30+ year olds who eat a constant fast-food diet!