Explore the best of Arches and Canyonlands on your own terms with our flexible 3-5 day itinerary that includes a plan for both hikers and non-hikers. Plus the days can be done in any order to best suit your travel style.
You can’t fail with our easy-to-follow instructions. We include destinations, arrival times, and many maps to keep you on course.
Know when and how to book your timed entry reservations, how much time it takes to do popular activities, how to beat the crowds, and even the best spots to eat and stay.
View the best arches - sometimes called windows - in Arches and Canyonlands and know which ones to skip.
See the best views in rugged Canyonlands National Park and see why it is one of the most underrated parks.
See where many movies were filmed and learn why John Wayne loved Moab.
You can easily turn your visit to Arches and Canyonlands into an Epic Utah Mighty 5 Road Trip! In just 5-8 days, you can experience playful Arches and Canyonlands, charming Capitol Reef, the awesome hoo-doos of Bryce,and majestic Zion National Park. These guides include transition days between the parks with lots of things to do along the way including great cities like St. George (Zion guide) and amazing state parks like Kodachrome, Goblin Valley, Devil’s Garden, and Snow Canyon… just to name a few!
You can even visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon if you have an extra day!
In just 9-14 days, you can experience the playful Arches and Canyonlands National Parks of Utah AND the majestic drives and hikes of Rocky Mountain National Park of Colorado.
If you travel using our guides and don’t love them so much that you would tell your best friend about us, we’ll give you your money back. Read more.
97% of our customers say our guide made trip planning easier, and they’d recommend it to friends.
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Hey, We’re Matt and Cheryl and we are on a mission to help people have amazing vacations. Not only do we write easy-to-follow itineraries, but we love to share interesting stories in our audio guides about all of our favorite places!
We live in Utah, just four hours away from awesome national parks like Zion and Yellowstone, and have spent our lives exploring the West and the Rocky Mountains. We often travel with both sets of our retired parents (they like each other!) and our four teenagers (who like to travel…sometimes).
We met in a history of Utah class at Weber State University and tied the knot 22 years ago. Matt worked for Social Security and taught adjunct history classes at our alma mater. Cheryl taught special education for 28 years and continues to volunteer by teaching a weekly dance fitness class.
We took a shot at our dream in 2020 and started making YouTube videos about the national parks we know so well. We now have over 10,000,000 views and have sold over 12,000 guides. We are delighted to help travelers fulfill dreams of their own!
We love trying out all the activities and working with local experts to give the best, most up-to-date travel advice out there.
At We’re in the Rockies, we believe in preservation and donate 5% of the proceeds of your purchase to Friends of Arches and Canyonlands to ensure access and enjoyment for future generations.
Sure. We believe you need at least one day in Arches and one day in Canyonlands but it’s best to allow two days for each park and an extra day to do some fun recreation on Moab.
But if you have a few extra days, we do recommend visiting all of Utah’s National Parks which can be done in 5-8 days.
No. Many people visit as part of a longer road trip coming from Bryce Canyon or Capitol Reef in Utah or from some of the great Mountain towns in Colorado.
We recommend you stay in Moab or Green River. You can do the days of our guide in any order. It often makes sense to rearrange them to best complement your travel days.
People visit the area year-round but we like to visit.
We particularly like March and November because the heat is under control as well as the crowds.
Summers can get incredibly hot (100 degrees F!)
Avoid Easter, Labor Day, and Memorial Day.
You have a few options
Arches, Canyonlands, and Moab is one of our favorite go-to vacations and we have done practically everything both inside the park and in the surrounding areas.
We travel with both sets of our retired parents and our 4 kids (who are now teens) so we have a pretty good radar on the interests of most types of travelers.
We recommend what we believe are the absolute best spots in the park and give back up options for longer hikes or things that cost.
We give star ratings and approximate prices to help you decide which activities are the best value for you!
We are of the mindset that you have a plan so you can be flexible.
We lay out what we believe are the best activities for your time and money but we all have different preferences.
Because each activity listed has a star rating, approximate time frame, and cost, you’ll easily be able to adjust to best suit your group’s interests.
We surveyed our customers and they reported that our guides saved them 10-20 hours of trip planning research, on average.
Although much of the information included in this guide can be found with significant research, this guide combines what you need to know into one place and it is from a source committed to giving you the best information.
This guide cost us over $4,982 to create when you combine travel expenses, consulting, map creation, and formatting. In addition, we have spent hundreds of hours visiting this park and doing additional research. The audio guide alone was over 60 hours of labor (but of course, a labor of love!)
Many of our travelers enjoy the confirmation that they have already created a good plan and may even find a thing or two to add to it.
Other travelers may find that our plan is similar to what they had already pieced together on their own.
If you’ve already spent hours planning, you may not find maximum value in this guide.
Yes! We travel with our 4 children and both sets of our parents. Although not every activity is for everyone, there are always backup suggestions.
We write these guides so all the work you should need to do is obtain your lodging and reservations. We include maps, the time needed to complete drives and activities, and lodging recommendations (areas to stay-not actual hotels). We put boxes throughout the guide indicating it’s an item that you will need to take care of before you leave. We also give links to websites we think you should check before your leave.
Yes. There is no shuttle system. In Arches, the roads are paved and easily passable in a regular car. In Canyonlands, there are several dirt roads that require higher clearance and 4-wheel drive. However, the drives in this itinerary will be fine in a regular vehicle unless otherwise stated.
Yes. We give approximate time frames that are needed to complete an activity. The schedule is generally not so packed that you have to be a quick traveler. But, if you know you generally need more time, you can make adjustments. If you are quick, there are suggestions for additional activities
This is a digital download so it will be EMAILED to you. That way you can have access immediately and have the option to download it to any device you want.
Many travelers, including us, prefer to print the itinerary and take it with us as we travel.
The itinerary and audio guide are available immediately upon purchase, right on this webpage. You will also receive an email within 30 minutes with download links in case you need to revisit the links and download the items later. If you don’t receive your email, check your junk mail folder. If it’s not there, contact mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com and we’ll be in touch with you within 1 business day. Also, the guides will be available in your account, if you choose to establish one (we highly encourage it).
You need cell reception to download the audio guides. Once they are downloaded, no cell reception is needed.
Most people download the audio guides to their phone before they leave.
Just in case you are wondering, an average audio guide takes 150 MB of storage space.
If you are interested in 5-8 day road trip where you see fantastic red rock formations… yes! It’s a great addition to Arches and Canyonlands.
Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches and Canyonlands are amazing national parks and it’s really cool to see them all in one trip.
We have guides for all of these and offer an automatic discount. 10% off when you purchase 2 guides, 20% off when you purchase 3 or more.
It is also popular to combine these parks with a Red Rock to Rockies road trip that travels through the cool mountain towns of Glenwood Springs, Aspen, Vail, and others to connect to Rocky Mountain National Park. We also have guides for this trip as well.
Guides are automatically updated to the latest version when you create an account.
In addition to that, we also send an email notification out when a guide is updated. Just make sure to stay subscribed to our email list so we can reach you.
Because the download is a PDF file, you can do it on any device: computer, iPhone, Android, tablet, etc.
Stuff like this happens. We get it. When you purchase a guide, you have access to 18 months of free updates.
If you created an account, just log in again and download your guides.
If you didn’t create an account or forgot your password, just email us and we can resend your links.
For step-by-step instructions (including pictures) check out our Help With Downloads page.
If you still need help, reach out to us at mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com We’ll get back to you as soon as possible to help. We’re even happy to jump on a phone call with you if needed.
Arches, Canyonlands, and Moab are all year-round destinations. This guide will work in the winter but keep in mind that this area does get snow making the hikes icy and dangerous.
You may need to make some adjustments and do a bit of extra research to check current trail and road conditions.
This guide is ideal for travel March-November.
Yes!! We update our guides as needed, but write the concepts to intentionally be as timeless as possible. We encourage you to purchase the guide as soon as you know you will be traveling. It will help you determine which areas to stay and how many days to obtain lodging. Upon purchase, you’ll be guided to create an account on our website. If we update the guide, it will automatically show in your account for up to 18 months after purchase.
It is not required but is HIGHLY recommended. We encourage you to create an account when purchasing the guides because you’ll have access to the links at any time.
You will have access to the updated guide through your account (another reason to create an account) for up to 18 months. We generally send an email announcement when we do an update as well.
We put approximate price ranges on all our activities so you know what to expect. The good news is that most things in this guide are free once you pay for entrance into the national park!
We actually offer a hiker and non-hiker plan to visit Arches within this guide. If you don’t hike much, you can probably see this area in 2-3 days.
When the audio guide is available, here’s what you’ll need:
If you need technical support, check out our help with downloads page. If you are still struggling, you can email us at mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com
$49.00
Hi Matt and Cheryl,
We just returned from a Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and all 5 Utah National Parks trip. We used the wonderful work you do to plan most of the trip. We starting watching your videos in the fall of 2020. We had gone to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and the Badlands in August of 2020. We found your videos on YouTube after getting home, but we wanted to see how we did planning that trip compared to how experts like yourselves would have planned it. We then became regular watchers of new videos you produced.
My wife is a special education teacher like Cheryl so we wanted to support a fellow teacher as well.
For this trip, we purchased your Moab guide and found it to be very helpful. You directed us to a couple of hidden gems that we might not have found otherwise. The La Sal mountains scenic drive for us was one of the top things we did in the Moab area. We had lunch at the top and enjoyed a great view. Corona Arch with its fun hike was our favorite arch in the entire Moab area which you helped us find.
We will tell anyone we know heading to Moab to purchase your guide.
We also took your advice about skipping Dead Horse State Park and saving the parking fee. We skipped the slot canyons around Page, AZ on your advice as well.
A big thank you overall!
We are looking forward to your Colorado videos.
Keep up the great work and good luck on your endeavors.
Kind regards,
Craig and Jill Adkins
My wife is the planner. When I saw how detailed your maps were I knew she would love it. If we hadn’t of purchased your plan, we wouldn’t of known about some great driving locations south of Moab. After this trip, I emailed Matt and Cheryl with questions about which national park to visit next. Cheryl took the time to answer the email and gave me several suggestions. Well already planning for our next trip to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons.
Incredible guide. I was able to see all that I wanted as the guide was so detailed
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My family of 5 which is my husband and myself and 3 kids ages 10, 8, and 6 just came back from our trip to the mighty 5 in Utah! We had the most amazing trip. We are from Pa and have never been out west and had no idea where to even begin planing for our trip or how to use our time wisely. I’m so thankful that I stumbled upon Matt and Cheryl’s YouTube videos and these guides! So full of extremely valuable information purposefully written out in an easy to use not overwhelming way and maps and wonderful audio guide stories to play on your way to the park when you’re driving or while driving through the park. The whole family loved learning more about the beautiful places we were visiting. I can’t recommend it enough! It really felt like we were traveling with friends who knew the best hikes and how to get to them, the best places to eat, and told engaging relevant stories along the way.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton. My husband and I wanted to take our whole family (l6 of 17 were able to go) to Yellowstone for our 50th wedding anniversary, but how to coordinate and plan the most efficient way to see everything?? Matt and Cheryl to the rescue! We watched the You Tube videos then bought the Itineraries for both Yellowstone and Grand Teton as well as downloading the audio tours. The audios were especially fun because for weeks ahead of leaving on our trip we could listen to Matt tell fascinating stories about each stop in the parks. We shared these with our family and I’m sure that helped build anticipation. The suggestions about which areas to combine in a day trip and that National Parks are not known for great food options were helpful. We flew into Jackson airport which is right in Grand Teton and very easy to navigate. It was a wonderful trip and gift that we were thrilled to share with our children and grandchildren and Matt and Cheryl were “with us” all the way! They’re the best!! This year my husband and I are heading back to Grand Teton by ourselves and I’m reviewing the GT itinerary and audio.
We just returned from a fun trip to Moab, Four Corners, Mesa Verde, the “Million Dollar Highway”, Black Canyon and Great Sand Dunes. For this trip, I purchased your Moab guide and found it to be extremely valuable and very helpful for us first timers to Arches and Canyonlands. We loved how detailed the guide was as well as the maps. We are in our 70’s and out of shape, so the information provided in the guide helped us to be able to find the short hikes, which we might have otherwise missed. I liked how you mentioned the time it took for the different viewpoints or driving areas or places to see, etc. I liked the different itineraries in the guide for 1-2 days or 3-5 days, the hiker plans, etc. We only had 1-1/2 days in Moab, so that information was very helpful. I also liked all the information on what to see and do around the area besides the parks. We were able to see what we wanted thanks to your wonderful guide. Thank you so much for such valuable and helpful information! I will certainly let anyone I know about your guides! I am a regular watcher/subscriber to your videos and thoroughly enjoy them. The information in your guides and videos is invaluable!
We have just returned from our tour of the Arizona and Utah. I would like to thank you both personally for your excellent guides (we bought the ones for Zion, Bryce, Moab (Arches) and Grand Canyon). They were superbly edited and a great help to planning our hikes and excursions.
The audio files accompanying the guide also proved a great help and are well worth listening to on the journey to the parks. Very informative and entertaining.
Hi Matt and Cheryl,
We just returned from a Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and all 5 Utah National Parks trip. We used the wonderful work you do to plan most of the trip. We starting watching your videos in the fall of 2020. We had gone to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and the Badlands in August of 2020. We found your videos on YouTube after getting home, but we wanted to see how we did planning that trip compared to how experts like yourselves would have planned it. We then became regular watchers of new videos you produced.
My wife is a special education teacher like Cheryl so we wanted to support a fellow teacher as well.
For this trip, we purchased your Moab guide and found it to be very helpful. You directed us to a couple of hidden gems that we might not have found otherwise. The La Sal mountains scenic drive for us was one of the top things we did in the Moab area. We had lunch at the top and enjoyed a great view. Corona Arch with its fun hike was our favorite arch in the entire Moab area which you helped us find.
We will tell anyone we know heading to Moab to purchase your guide.
We also took your advice about skipping Dead Horse State Park and saving the parking fee. We skipped the slot canyons around Page, AZ on your advice as well.
A big thank you overall!
We are looking forward to your Colorado videos.
Keep up the great work and good luck on your endeavors.
Kind regards,
Craig and Jill Adkins