Exploring Moab With My Best Friend: Dog-Friendly Adventures Around the National Parks
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First, the National Parks
Moab sits right between two stunning national parks — Arches and Canyonlands — and here's the thing every dog owner needs to know going in: dogs aren't allowed on the trails in either one. (actually this is the case for nearly all the national parks to help preserve and
protect the lands)
But that didn't stop us from visiting. Dogs *are* welcome on the scenic drives and the paved overlooks, so Luna and I spent our park time in Arches — cruising the scenic drive, pulling off at the lookouts, and finding a quiet spot to share lunch with a view. Getting to enjoy even that slice of the place with my best friend beside me was worth it.
Where we actually hit the trails:
For our actual hikes, we headed just outside the park boundaries — and honestly, the dog-friendly spots out here were fantastic.
One thing I always do before we hit this kind of rough red rock: protect Luna's paws. I use Rhino Wax Trail Paw Wax [you can check it out here] to help shield her pads on rocky ground — and I love that Rhino makes a whole lineup formulated for different environments (Trail, Street, Beach, and Snow), so you can match it to wherever you're adventuring! Since Utah has such a different environment from Florida and this was her very first hiking trip- I wanted to do whatever I can to help her be a happy healthy little hiker!
Dead Horse Point State Park
This one's all easy walking — about seven miles of mostly flat rim trails connect a string of overlooks. We hiked both the East Rim and the West Rim trails, which together loop you around the whole peninsula and past most of the viewpoints.
What I loved most were the views. You're up on a mesa looking out over plateaus and buttes that seem to stretch forever, and way down below — about 2,000 feet down — the Colorado River winds through the bottom of the canyon.
Along the rim there were wind-whipped, gnarled juniper trees and pretty cactus blooms tucked into the rock.
Fisher Towers
This one was so cool. The trail runs about 4.5 miles round trip (a little more if you walk all the way to the far end), winding right through a maze of towering rock spires — and they are SO tall they make you feel absolutely tiny.
The best surprise: we watched rock climbers actually scaling the towers, which was incredible to see.
Corona Arch
This one was special. There's a chain section partway up where you scramble over the rock, and I was so glad I'd packed Luna's Wilderdog harness [here]. I searched long and hard for a harness that was both beautiful *and* functional, and this one nailed it — I love the color and the design, and that back handle makes it perfect for hiking with your pal.
Right there on the chain section, the handle made it easy to help her up the incline. It was her first time doing anything like that, and she did it like a champ. (was there ever really any doubt?!)
And when we finally got up there to the arch, a man was playing some kind of flute beneath the arch — the sound carrying through that huge open space was absolutely magical.
We were only in the area for a couple days before heading south, so if you have any additional hikes youd like to reccomend we would love to hear them so we can save them for our next trip out to Moab!
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