If you are an outdoor active person Moab may just be the place for you! After just over a week here I have had the opportunity to break out just about every toy that I brought along on this journey. The area is filled with National Parks, State Parks and open space as far as you can see with many varied opportunities for outdoor recreation.
Nearby Kens Lake is a small but beautiful man-made lake with some hiking trails and a good place for stand up paddling.
After a hike around the lake and the nearby area inflated the paddle board and struck out on the lake. There were very few people on the lake and on the trails making for a enjoyable day.
Dead Horse Point is arguably one of the most beautiful State Parks in Utah. Right next door to Canyonlands National Park the views are incredible and there are a number of hiking trails and some reportedly great mountain biking trails (hopefully will get out on these before I head out).
Even better is that dogs are allowed (on a leash) on all the trails in the park.
Cory and I hiked both the east and west rim trails making a 4 mile loop from the visitor center along the canyon rim with views of the Colorado River 200′ below.
Moab is most famous for its world class mountain biking trails.
A beginning mountain biker can also find some good trails that get you out into some areas with fantastic scenery. My first foray into Moab mountain biking was on the Bar M loop trail just north of town. A good test for this beginner and a good way to get the bike warmed up.
Although not as popular here there are also a few road bike paths and a number of roads in the area where you can ride (as long as you don’t mind fighting the traffic on the roads).
The nicest road bike trail runs along the Colorado River through red canyons. Although short it is a beautiful ride.
Off-roading is yet another popular sport here in Moab. Moab is one place where I would have loved to have my dirt bike along on the journey. The geologic history of the area is a geologist’s and paleontologist’s dream and off-roading gives access to some great sites. The record of dinosaurs and other ancient animals in the Moab area is one of the best in the country.
There are numerous places where you can see evidence of the dinosaurs that roamed the area 112 million years ago. These tracks at the Bull Canyon Overlook northeast of Moab feature the tracks of at least one theropod (a meat eating dinosaur). This unique area shows stride lengths indicating one of more dinosaurs moving at different speeds.
More on the outdoor activities in my next post. Suffice it to say, Moab is now on my short list of places I may want to settle down someday – when I am done on the road of course!
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