This historic ranch has been transformed into the only AAA 4 star lodging in all of Moab. Everywhere you look in this area presents you with an amazing view, but this serene Moab luxury resort enjoys a particularly stunning setting beneath the red rock monoliths of Professor Valley along scenic River Road.

Horseback ride or hike surrounded by classic cowboy scenery. Raft the just-wild-enough Colorado River. Relax by the sparking pool only steps from the river. Enjoy fine dining at the River Grill, which not only offers the best food and service in the Moab area, but the most scenic setting, as well.

This unique dude ranch resort combines an understated old west ambiance with the best in personal luxury. It has over 10,000 square feet of meeting space and is an absolutely perfect place for your wedding, anniversary or other luxurious romantic getaway. Once you’ve been charmed by Sorrel River Ranch, you’ll never want to leave.

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One of the toughest things about visiting Moab is deciding how and where to stay. While the burg often seems like a ghost town during the day, don’t let it fool you into thinking there are a lot of vacancies. It’s only because all the visitors are out exploring. By sundown, all the restaurants are packed and it’ll be hard to find a place to sleep if you don’t have advanced reservations.

In Town

Do not believe everything you see or read on the internet, because unfortunately, a lot of the motels in downtown Moab are pretty much dumps. This does serve a demand by low budget travelers, but not everyone wants to pay $100 or more a night for a shabby room, even if they can cram 4-6 people into it. If you’re looking for a decent room, try one of the newer hotels along 191 north of town. They only cost a little more and you’ll be much happier with the facilities.

Luxury Lodging

The Gonzo Inn, just a block off of Main Street. is about your only choice for anything approaching luxury in Moab proper. It’s an oasis of style, yet has a personality that compliments the activities and attractions that brought you to the area.

Just a scenic 20 mile drive along the Colorado River Road (Highway 128) will bring you to another oasis, Sorrel River Ranch. If you’re looking for true luxury lodging in Moab, this stunning guest ranch is the place for you.

Camping

There are several absolutely huge commercial campgrounds in Moab and boy do they pack ‘em in! But if you’re an afficionado of the RV lifestyle, I guess that’s not much different than what you’d expect in any popular destination. Choose one of the several well-kept campground “resorts” with treed settings right along the river.

The spectacular Devil’s Garden campground in Arches National Park is where I take first time visitors. The setting is stunning and peaceful. Trails branch out right from the camp area and you can keep yourself busy for days without ever venturing out of it. Although you might occasionally get lucky, if you have your heart set on camping here, make a reservation well in advance.

The BLM campgrounds dispersed along the Colorado River northwest of town are another personal favorite, especially while river running. Big Bend and Hittle Bottom are the largest and busiest. There are 6-7 others that are more intimate and worth your consideration. These are a good choice if you enjoy camping, but don’t really want to be out in the wilderness or if you arrive in Moab without a reservation.

Moab, Utah is the kind of place that attracts outdoor adventurers from all around the globe. Long before it became a modern day mecca for mountain bikers, back country hikers, canyoneers, rock climbers, dirt bikers, off road jeepers, river runners and rock hounds all found the best of what they enjoyed in the canyons and on the mesas surrounding this unique desert outpost.

Americans and foreigners alike are drawn to it’s two enormously popular National Parks, Canyonlands and Arches. These parks preserve and celebrate the geological history of the American West. Every twist and turn surprises you with yet another strange rock formation. Not just arches, but hoodoos and goblins and fins and needles and mazes and many other things only geologists can name.

Moab isn’t really on the way to anywhere else, but it does lie only 45 scenic miles along Highway 128 from Interstate 70, which is a main east-west path through the Rockies from Denver. If you’re in the neighborhood, don’t miss Moab!

In an area with 2 geology-rich National Parks and weird rock formations waiting to startle you around every corner, it’s no surprise that the very scenic Utah State Highway 128 doesn’t get much attention in the tour books and travel guides. However, if you’re driving from I-70 south into Moab, Utah don’t miss this amazing drive. It beats the main route into Moab hands down.

Take I-70 Exit 204 towards Cisco, Utah and then turn onto Route 128. Within a few miles, you’ll begin dropping into a stunning red rock canyon that winds beneath sheer cliffs through the lush bottom lands along the Colorado River.

If you’re just along for the drive, it’s about 45 miles that you should expect to take you 60 to 75 minutes. But there are so many things to do and see along the way that you can easily spend days exploring the canyon.

There are numerous river-side campgrounds (this is BLM territory) and trailheads for famous hiking, mountain biking and off-roading trails, such as Negro Bill, Fisher Towers, Kokopelli and Onion Creek.

The river is navigable by small watercraft all the way down into Moab and beyond. Numerous class II and III rapids dot the “Daily” section of the river that most of the commercial outfitters run. A half or full day raft trip is an ideal way to experience the canyon, especially when the weather’s hot, hot, hot.

Wow, there’s a huge 20,000 square mile, 37 county region in Northeast Iowa that’s designated as a National Heritage Area. Smokestacks and Silos celebrates Iowa’s role in making America mighty through agriculture.

Nearly a hundred historic and culture sites and make up the places to go and things to see in this region and there is something for everyone to enjoy and learn from.  Included are one room schoolhouses, living history farms, homes, blacksmith shops, parks, ranches, farms, art galleries, wineries and interpretive centers.

There are plenty of unusual museums which celebrate the area, including those for Laura Ingall Wildes, the Mississippi River (including an aquarium), Masons, African Americans, Farms and Agricultural Equipment, Tractors, Toys and The Putnam Museum in Davenport, which joins the old and new with an IMAX Theater.

The Silos and Smokestacks organization provides several travel itineraries to guide you. Try the 50 mile serene and scenic drive along the peaceful Iowa River and the 64 mile loop tour of Grundy County that highlights the area’s famous Barn Quilts.

A trip through this area of Iowa will give you and your children a real sense of time and place as well as a feel for a part of American history that so many of our very ordinary ancestors contributed to.