Top Things to Do in Moab, Utah

Captivating trails lure gung ho hikers and cyclists to Moab, a southern Utah town of 8,611 some 100 miles from the nearest city. But even the most easygoing travelers find plenty of reasons to linger in this gateway to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. 

Travelers gape at sights along Dead Horse Mesa Scenic Byway, which winds 35 miles to Dead Horse Point State Park and its famed Colorado River overlook southwest of Moab. Cyclists choose among mountain bike tracks that range from gentle to highly technical.

Patrons at Singha Thai Cuisine return for the intense flavors—green curry and ginger tofu—and for cool glasses of sweet, milky Thai iced tea. 

Big and little kids can’t help pawing through the oddities at the Moab Rock Shop. Owner Lin Ottinger has been collecting fossils, rocks, and crystals for more than 80 years. Check out his casts of prehistoric mammal bones and ask him how the dinosaur Iguanodon ottingeri got its name.

After rambling to spots called Devils Garden and Delicate Arch, you can order seafood rolls named after these and other local sites at Sabaku Sushi, the first raw bar here. Also on the menu is locally raised elk served as tataki, a platter of seared and sliced meat.

At the Love Muffin Café—where local and fresh are trademark boasts—patrons choose among seven kinds of breakfast burritos. Lunch? Try a Vietnamese banh mi.

Savor the evening scene at nine venues on the Moab Art Walk, held on second Saturdays, April to June and September to November. The free Moab Arts Festival was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, but plans to return in 2021 over Memorial Day weekend, May 29 and 30.