Explore USA Today’s most precious scenery in America in 2025
From Joshua Tree National Park in California to Driftwood Beach in Georgia, take a look at America’s most precious scenery in 2025.
- Moab, Utah offers a desert landscape of red rocks like Mars, carved over millions of years.
- Arch and Canyonland National Park are iconic destinations within Moab and showcase unique rock formations.
- Visitors can enjoy a variety of outdoor activities, including hiking, rafting, cycling, off-road jeep and rock climbing.
Experience America is a five-part series that introduces destinations and experiences that have often been overlooked in the backyard.
MOAB, Utah – When you’re hiking Red Rock Dessert in Moab, you just feel like you’re trekking across the surface of Mars.
The delicately balanced rocks appear to be able to fall at any moment, but the rock spires protrude into the sky like natural skyscrapers. The arches bend over the sky like sandstone rainbows. Everything is soaked in warm shades of clay, sandstone and Siena.
As far as we can see, the Colorado Plateau offers visitors an exploratory otherworldly geography carved for millions of years by ancient oceans, structural uplifts and erosion.
The Moab landscape, including the famous Arches National Park and the lesser known Canyonlands National Park, is iconic because it is a home of these rock formations, but witnessing their scales in person is a completely different experience than seeing them in photographs.
“(The scenery) makes you feel incredibly adored and strange. You feel like you’re on another planet, right?” said Michelle Beebe, my guide to the Moab Basecamp tour with the brave travel agency Wildland Trekking. The energy here is spectacular and every time you come back here it’s like something that comes to your body. ”
Surrounded by such impressive nature, it is the perfect escape for travelers to need a break from everyday life, and Moab has a choice of a variety of outdoor adventures.
Choose your adventure
Moab offers easy access to desert exploration near Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, two of Utah’s five mighty national parks. (Others include Zion National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, and Bryce Canyon National Park.)
The arch is more famous among the two parks, with over 2,000 stone arches in the other rock formations that cover the highlights in one but long day. As Utah’s largest national park, Canyonlands National Park is divided into three districts: the Sky Island, Needle and Maze. With each district having such a clear geography, it is worth spending time here to dedicate at least a day.
Travelers can choose from a variety of outdoor activities depending on the adrenaline rush they are looking for. There are hiking on the Colorado River, white water rafting, cycling and off-road jeeping. There, a four-wheeled jeep conquer rocky, steep terrain. Moab is also a paradise for rock climbers, where brave climbers and canyons can rise up the fins and plateaus, allowing you to climb with professional guides from costumes such as the area’s oldest Moab Cliff and Canyon.
Hiker’s heaven
One of the best ways to experience Moab is to be one of many hiking trails. This was my exploration style and several hikes that I have overcome different landscapes while taking in different views. Here are some of my favourites:
- Elephant Hill in the Needle District of Canyonlands National Park: On the longest hike, near six miles of my trip, Elephant Hill went through slot canyons and past mushroom-shaped rocks, and even took a giant rock with the name, shaped like an elephant body. The highlights were layered shades of red, brown and sunburn, reaching the end to overlook seemingly countless rock spires.
- Fisher Towers: At BLM Land, Fisher Towers personally raised me close to three giant towers (the climber’s favorite) on a roughly five miles of trail. This trail was caught up along the canyon and along the ledges, looking up at the tower, I felt incredibly small.
- Delicate Arches of Arches National Park: There is a reason why this is the most famous arch in the park. The 46-foot-high rock structure lies on the edge of the cliff against the Colorado Plateau. The hike is about 3 miles and leaning towards some steep drop-offs and slicklock.
camp
There are plenty of accommodation in downtown Moab, but they claim that camping is one of the best ways to get fully immersed in the desert. I stayed at the Land Management Bureau’s Big Bend Bend Recreation Site. It is set up along the Colorado River and provides easy access to other trails such as Arches National Park and Fisher Towers. However, you can also camp in person at Arches National Park or Canyonlands National Park. You must book the site in advance during the peak season from spring to fall.
How to get there
Canyonlands Regional Airport (CNY) is the closest commercial airport to Moab, about a 20-minute drive to the town centre. Although major airlines do not serve CNY, you can make short flights with the contour airlines of American Airlines’ regional airlines at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and Denver International Airport (DEN).
There is no ride share that works with Moab, so if you need to ride from the airport to the hotel, you will need to book transportation in advance. I took the Moab Express shuttle and it was a simple drop off to Door Door.
Scenes from my time at Moab stand out in my memory, simply because I have never been surrounded by such powerful natural formations or landscapes. I may not yet consider myself a desert rat, but I certainly see the charm.
The reporters of this story received access to the event from a brave trip. USA Today maintains editing control over its content.
