Trip Overview
Departures
Trip Dates + Prices
Duration
7 Days
Activities
Boating/Rafting
Hiking
Physical Rating
Moderate
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Explore Utah’s Stunning National Parks
Join us as we road trip through the iconic National parks of Moab, Utah. Through dramatic desert landscapes, red sandstone spires, hoodoos and impossibly balanced boulders and formations, the Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park create an enormous and often unbelievable open-air gallery.
Road Tripping, Wild Women Style
Adventure and Adrenaline Collide
Explore the parks in the most intimate ways: rappelling into carved canyons, rafting the mighty Colorado and hiking a network of trails that lead to some of the most famed arches and pinnacles. We end each day with a stay in yurts for a “soft camping” kind of experience.
Trip of a lifetime. Wild Women Expeditions never fails to produce exceptional service. Over and beyond all my expectations for a trip. I can say I have become a loyal customer and believe in everything Wild Women traveling stands for!”
Deanna M.
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Itinerary
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Day 1
Arrival
Hello Moab
Arrive in Salt Lake City (SLC) by 11 a.m. MST. We’ll meet our energetic guide, have lunch at a local brewery and swap stories before embarking on our four-hour drive to Moab in eastern Utah.
Moab is the gateway city to the massive red rock arches, mesas and buttes that have been sliced and sluiced by the serpentine Green and Colorado rivers’ force. In the evening, we’ll gather for a welcome dinner in one of the small resort town’s you-gotta-eat-here restaurants.
Included Meals
Lunch and dinner
Accommodations
Gravity Haus Moab
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Day 2
Arches National Park
Exploring Arches
We’ll rise with the sun and spend the day exploring the eroded sandstone layers and strike off on either a strenuous or leisurely hike (depending on the group’s interest and pace) to marvel at some of the most stunning rock features.
We’ll be on the lookout for kangaroo rats, ravens, bighorn sheep and lizards skittling about. The plant life is abundant here too—we’ll learn all about living soil!
After our immersive time in the desert, we’ll settle into our cool yurts and enjoy a savory dinner prepared by our top chef guides and absorb the sunset overlooking the canyons.
Included Meals
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodations
Yurts, Dead Horse Point State Park
The Hike
Depending on your group’s pace, expect to hike 4–7 miles (6.4–11.3 km)
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Day 3
Canyonlands National Park
Island in the Sky
We are up early this morning for the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park. This sheer-walled mesa is the calling card of the northern part of Canyonlands. We explore the park on foot: several short trails run along the mesa top with minimal elevation change but startling panoramic beauty.
Tonight we enjoy another mesmerizing sunset followed by a star-studded show in the sky above our yurts!
Included Meals
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodations
Yurts, Dead Horse Point State Park
The Hike
Depending on your group’s pace, expect to hike 4.5–6.5 miles (7.2–9.6 km)
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Day 4
The Colorado River
Rafting the Colorado
We head back for a second day in Arches National Park and spend the morning exploring a few more namesake arches before having lunch at a local restaurant in town.
In the early afternoon we take a big bite out of adventure and raft the Colorado River! This stretch of mesmerizing red-rock canyon offers mild to moderate whitewater (class I & II). We spend 1–2 hours floating on the mighty Colorado, pulling over en route for a sandy beach stretch and snack.In the early evening, we’ll have time to poke around the town of Moab before heading back to our yurts. There are several galleries and indie shops on the two block stretch between 100 South and 100 North.
Included Meals
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodations
Yurts, Dead Horse Point State Park
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Day 5
Moab
Canyoneering Moab
We experience Moab from a new perspective today via canyoneering, an intimate way of navigating a gorge or canyon using techniques like climbing, scrambling, sliding and jumping. Anything goes!
With our expert local guide leading us through remote areas and wild canyons, today is dedicated to hiking, rappelling, down-climbing and stemming—a totally authentic Moab adventure! We can expect to rappel at least four times on this beginner-friendly activity. Note: We will be required to do some maneuvering through the slot canyons and climbing over rock formations. The longest rappel is 110 feet (34 m).
Tonight will be all about relaxing, enjoying the sunset and winding down with s’mores by the campfire.
Included Meals
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodations
Yurts, Dead Horse Point State Park
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Day 6
Canyonlands National Park
The Needles District
We spend the day exploring the network of trails and otherworldly sandstone spires of this quieter district of the park. This area is known for its petroglyphs, a historic cowboy camp, ancestral Puebloan-era structures and pothole communities that pepper the slickrock.
Depending on the group’s pace, skill and comfort level, we can check out some of the backcountry arches and descend deeper into the slot canyons or visit the historic Native sites.
In the afternoon, with our amazement meter topped up, we return to Moab and gather for our farewell dinner and a pampered night at our hotel.
Included Meals
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodations
Gravity Haus Moab
The Hike
Depending on your group’s pace, expect to hike approximately 6 miles (9.6 km)
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Day 7
Salt Lake City
Departure
After our last breakfast together in town, our guides transfer us back to Salt Lake City for 2 p.m. for our departure flights. When booking your flight, it’s recommended that you choose a departure after 4 p.m. (MST). Take in those last lovely visuals of the slot canyons and arches from cruising altitude!
Included Meals
Breakfast
Take a Deeper Dive
Want all the details in one handy package? Download the full itinerary here.
What’s Included
- All transfers (to airport and hotels)
- Six nights’ shared accommodation (four nights in yurts, two nights in hotel)
- Awesome medically-trained naturalist and female-identifying guides
- All park entry fees
- All activities and required equipment (rafting and canyoneering)
- All decadent meals from riverside picnics to downtown Moab restaurants
What’s Excluded
Guide gratuities are not included in the trip price. Please see Trip Details for information about tipping.
Sleeping bag (*These are available to borrow. Please contact support@wildwomenexpeditions.com to request a sleeping bag, and include this request in your Travel Details Form.)
Please Note:
Single accommodations are not available for this trip.
All applicable taxes are included in the trip price.
Itineraries may be subject to change without notice due to weather and other environmental conditions. Please review our Booking Terms.
Trip Details
Know Before You Go
Click HERE for all of the logistical details you’ll need to know prior to departure—including the packing list, arrival and departure details and suggested tipping information.
This trip starts in Salt Lake City, Utah (airport code: SLC) and finishes in Salt Lake City, Utah (airport code: SLC).
The Wild Women Way
If you’re wondering how we roll, it’s together. The Wild Women Way is our modus operandi, our mantra and our rock solid foundation. You can learn more about our Wild Ways HERE.
Hiking
The hikes on this itinerary are designated as easy to moderate to difficult. More difficult hikes may be offered as optional extras for those who are comfortable with the challenge, but they’re never mandatory!
The majority of the hikes will be less than 6 miles (10 km) with a maximum elevation change of 1,000 feet (305 m). Depending on the group’s comfort and activity level, we can tailor the itinerary to include hikes that are up to 10 miles long (16 km) with 1,500 feet (457 m) elevation change. Note: The average elevation in Moab and the surrounding area is 15,000 feet (1,524 m).
The hikes will be on established trails with no technical aspects. There will be plenty of time for breaks and to absorb the views. Keep in mind that most of the trails are exposed with no tree/shade coverage. While your guides coordinate start times to escape the extreme heat and desert temperatures begin to drop in the fall, sunscreen and proper headwear and clothing are extra important.
The trails traverse over slick rock, through hoodoos, arches, buttes and amongst the dark red and lush green desert landscape. If a longer trail option is chosen, the elevation gain will be spread out gradually, avoiding intensely steep sections.
Geology
- Slickrock: Wind-polished stone.
- Mesa: An isolated flat-topped natural elevation with steep slopes.
- Butte: Similar to a mesa (in that it is isolated and flat-topped) but narrower than a mesa.
- Monolith: A huge, single upright block of stone.
- Pinnacle: An individual, isolated column of rock shaped like a vertical shaft or spire.
- Hoodoos: A tall, thin spire of rock.
- Fin: A tall narrow rock, the residual wall of hard sedimentary rock that remains standing after surrounding rock has been eroded away
- Slickrock: Smooth, wind-polished rock.
- Petroglyphs: Prehistoric rock carvings created with stone chisels or hammerstones. (Not to be confused with pictographs, which are rock paintings.)
Canyoneering
- Stemming: A technique used to travel up or down a slot canyon to navigate over wet sections. You place your left foot and left hand on one canyon wall and your right foot and right hand on the other wall. Kind of like a vertical version of Twister!
- Down-climbing: A descent is made using a fixed rope gripped with one or both hands with a hand-over-hand movement (without using your feet).
How We Support You
Ready for a big adventure? We’re in it together. On this trip, we spend hours hiking, exploring canyons and braving the heat. Yes, it’s a challenge, but you’re never alone. Like thousands of women before you, you’ll draw on strength you didn’t know you had and come out feeling like the goddess you are.
Like all our trips, this trip can be scaled to suit different abilities and comfort levels. Still have concerns? Let’s talk about it.
What the Trip Entails
This is an active, multi-activity adventure. We would like you to be comfortable with the following:
- The hikes on this itinerary are designated as easy to moderate to difficult, and are less than 6 miles (10 km) with a maximum elevation change of 1,000 feet (305 m)
- More difficult hikes may be offered as optional extras for those who are comfortable with the challenge but are never mandatory
- Expect to pitch in! Helping with some basic camp chores like dishes, some food prep and setting up camping chairs in the evening (on rotation)
- Physical Rating: Moderate (Good level of fitness required. Trips are moderately challenging with an average of 4 to 6 hours of activity each day.)