Stewart M. Green - Best Easy Day Hikes Moab

Stewart M. Green has been traveling to Moab to hike and climb for more than fifty years. He lived part-time in Moab in the 1990s and is now based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he works as a writer, editor, and photographer for FalconGuides and Globe Pequot. Hes written over forty-five travel, hiking, and climbing books including Best Climbs Moab , Rock Climbing Colorado , Rock Climbing Utah , Scenic Driving Colorado , and Best Hikes Colorado Springs . Hes also a professional climbing guide with Front Range Climbing Company. Visit him at https://green1109.wixsite.com/stewartmgreenphoto.

Best Easy Day Hikes Moab

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Moabtheres a lot of magic in that name. It conjures up bare-bones landscapes of stunning beauty, deep canyons excavated by the Colorado River, distant vistas of peak and plain, long cliff bands of multicolored sandstone, and soaring towers and arches that scrape against the blue sky. The Moab area, with its vast uninhabited tracts of sandstone canyons, cliffs, and mesas, is an outdoor paradise for hikers.

The Moab area, including the Colorado River canyons, Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park, offers lots of excellent trails that thread through canyons, climb mesas and buttes, and traverse sand dunes and slickrock. Best Easy Day Hikes Moab describes thirty of the best hikes and trails for the casual hiker within 40 miles of the town.

If you are on a tight schedule or want to do a short, fun hike in a scenic area, the hikes in this book, hand-picked by the author, allow you to quickly select a day hike suited to your abilities and time constraints. Most of the hikes are between 1 and 3 miles long, although some are shorter, and some are longer. Also included are easy strolls and nature walks for families and barrier-free trails that are wheelchair and stroller accessible. All the trailheads are easily reached by vehicle and have parking lots, and some have facilities, including water and toilets. The hikes are also rated by difficulty from easiest to challenging. Check the listing to help you decide which hike is best for you and your party.

One of the best ways to enjoy, understand, and appreciate the red rock canyon country is by hiking over its diverse terrain. Footpaths take you away from highways and roads and into ancient landscapes preserved in the dry desert air, up hidden canyons filled with sunlight and birdsong, under shining cliffs to arching sweeps of sandstone, and to scenic overlooks with views that reach distant horizons. Every hiker interested in the varied ecosystems found in the Moab region, which range from lush riparian zones along the Colorado River and in deep canyons with perennial streams to austere gardens of juniper, yucca, and Indian paintbrush tucked in slickrock hollows, can learn much by hiking Moabs many trails.

Best Easy Day Hikes Moab is about walking for pleasureabout the joy of putting on boots, filling up a water bottle, shouldering a pack, and setting off into the world. Pick an easy trail and follow your feet. Youll find you can go just about anywhere.

Trails in the Moab area are heavily used year-round. We, as trail users and advocates, must be especially vigilant to make sure our passage leaves no lasting mark. Here are some basic guidelines for preserving trails in the region:

• Be prepared. Bring or wear clothes to protect you from cold, heat, or rain. Wear a hat and use sunscreen in summer. Use maps to navigate (and do not rely solely on the maps included in this book).
• Avoid damaging trailside soils and plants by remaining on the established route and trail. This is also a good rule of thumb for avoiding trailside irritants, like poison ivy.
• Pack out all your own trash, including biodegradable items like orange peels. You might also pack out garbage left by less considerate hikers. Use outhouses at trailheads or along the trail and keep water sources clean.
• Dont pick wildflowers or gather rocks, antlers, feathers, and other treasures along the trail. Remember that archeological sites, including rock art panels and ruins, are protected by law. Removing these items will only take away from the next hikers experience.
• Dont approach or feed any wild creaturesthe ground squirrel eyeing your snack food is best able to survive if it remains self-reliant. Control pets at all times.
• Be kind to other visitors. Be courteous by not making loud noises while hiking and be aware that you share the trail with others. Yield to other trail users when appropriate.

The canyon country surrounding Moab is filled with objective hazards and dangers. Always be aware of your surroundings to keep your children, your friends, and yourself safe when youre hiking in the backcountry.

Falling is the greatest danger and the leading cause of accidents and deaths in the canyon country. Cliffs are everywhere and most, composed of different kinds of sandstone, are loose and friable. Cliff edges can break off, causing you to fall and fracture a leg or worse. A fall of only twenty feet can be fatal. You can also slip and fall on loose boulders.