Grandstaff Canyon National Recreation Trail — Attraction in Moab

There are 2 things I enjoy the most on a trail, really tall cliffs, and pretty rivers. This has both in abundance. The cliff are such a beautiful red color, and they are so huge...they are Godlike Grand in scope, and you walk along these cliffs the entire 2.5 miles in. The river is really a small stream, but you follow it almost the entire time crossing over the stream often. I would suggest 2 things. 1. Wear spikes or crampons over your shoes. I had them in my backpack and just started the trail not yet evaluating if I even needed to put them on, and only a few steps from the parking lot into the trail I hit a big patch of ice and before I knew it I was smack on my bum. (Broke my tailbone again…huge bruise back there). I wish I would have put my spikes on right from the parking lot. There is a few more parches of ice, but there are trails now that go up higher above the ice and into safer areas. Watch for them. Second I would suggest either a really good pair if waterproof hiking boots, or waterproof socks. You cross the river so many times that you are bound to get a little wet. With as cold as it is, it is smart to do on of those 2 to keep you feet happy. Of course the arch at the end is very worth it. Get all the way to the end of the trail so you can see it. Amazing trail. ...

The good: This is a long hiking trail that is half in the shade with several stream crossings. Great for hot desert hiking. And good trail for dogs. 8.4 miles round trip and 1317 feet elevation gain. Fantastic arch at the end. The bad: Parking is tough since the parking lot fills up. We had to park across the highway. Lots of hikers are on this trail. It was busy. There are several side trails so it’s hard to tell what is the real trail until you hit a dead end. That was really annoying. There was a steep rocky section that is not ideal for those who may have physical limitations. This is not an easy hike. This entire trail is lined with tons of poison ivy along the sides and I mean TONS! Near the end is a narrow tunnel of poison ivy.

Lessons learned: wear water shoes or shoes that can get wet, not flip flops. I tried to cross one steam barefoot and slipped hard/fell down since the rock bottom was incredibly slippery. You better learn what poison ivy looks like before going. Do not let your dog touch it since that poison will travel to you once you touch the dog. Consider long sleeves/ long pants if you’re sensitive to poison ivy. Keep dogs on leash....

Honestly, this was one of the most pleasant surprises of our trip to Utah. It was at least 100F everyday and we would go to national park hikes in the early morning, but by midday, we needed respite, bcz hanging out at the campground was oppressive! We went to the Mill Creek hike, but there were a lot of people, so we wanted to find something else refreshing. Went here around 2-3pm and it was mostly shaded by the combo of plants and big rocks. Really beautiful and many small swimming holes along the creek. We hung out at one spot for 1.5hours for kids (and us) to swim (we all have water shoes). During that time, maybe 2-3 groups passed by (weekday). Cooling off motivated the kids to keep hiking and we made it to the arch. We are also now fairly confident that we can ID poison ivy lol. It was not obstructing the trail, but I could see that with a bit more growth, you might want to be wearing long pants. Anyway, we took our time and when we returned to the trailhead, it was golden hour and cooling down. A wonderful way to spend...