Wife and I have some flight coupons and hotel awards to burn by mid Aug. Thinking of flying into SLC for a couple of city nights and then driving over to Moab for 3 or 4 nights. Wife enjoys driving trips, beautiful scenery, nice lodging, good food/wine, and light hiking. I might duck away for a day of mountain biking. Appreciate recos on ideal time between now and August, places to see, cool hikes, special lodging or restaurants, etc.

For Moab I would go in April or May. After that it gets really hot. There aren't luxury hotels there so spend your money on that in SLC.

Hot, hot, hot

For nicer lodging and food/drink you may look at visiting the area around Zion Natl. Park. Springdale and St. George offer up some really nice hotels that may suit your traveling style a little better. There is no shortage of beautiful scenery in that part of the state either.

Fairview said:

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For Moab I would go in April or May. After that it gets really hot. There aren't luxury hotels there so spend your money on that in SLC.

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What other months year round would you go?

March - May and September and October are the nicest. March is early and you could get snowed on (happened last year to a friend) but it's usually short lived.

You can go in the summer it will just be hot. If you are planning on off-roading in an enclosed Jeep with AC it's fine and cheaper than the other times. If you are going for mountain biking or hiking it could get brutal fast.

Go to Moab in the spring. April is my favorite time. Get a place off of vrbo. If you bike, I'd look at slickrock, porcupine rim or amasa back trail. Rent your bike at chili pepper bike rentals. Reserve them weeks in advance. For hikes, delacate arch is cool, (its the arch in some of the Utah license plates). I also like corona arch too. Powerhouse lane is kinda cool too.


Get a burger at milts.

We were just in Moab earlier this week in our travel trailer....temps were highs in the upper-60s/low-70s. Another suggestion for sleep would be a cabin rental at an RV Resort.

We enjoyed Arches more than Canyonlands

We hiked Delicate Arch for sunset, which was a bit crowded, but the view was amazing.

There are tons of adventure providers for all sorts of different activities....if you're a mtn biker, Moab is going to be your mecca

We also did Zion - it was the best of the three parks....wish we didn't have the kids so we could have done some real hikes (although the Narrows were closed due to the speed of the river).....also recommend Amigos for Mexican food - it was the best we had on our trip

Just got back ourselves. 3,217 miles including 2 nights in Moab. Really enjoyed Arches and Cayonlands. Moab is a cute town. Summer would be brutal. Even in high 60's/low 70's the sun feels so intense. I can't imagine managing hydration when it's really hot.

If you are flying into SLC in mid-August and are looking for all of those things (nice place to stay, food/wine, light hiking, and mountain biking), I would head to Park City instead.

I love trips to Moab, however as above in other posts, it is extremely hot in mid-August. It is possible to get out and hike/bike, however this would have to be done very early in the morning. Most of the mountain bike trails and hiking trails there are very exposed with little shade. Moab is best in April/May and September/October/early November.

Park City is great in August. It is a perfect time of year for hiking/mountain biking there. The temperatures will be much cooler and is very pleasant that time of year. There are great places to stay there for a getaway weekend.

Nice