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Desert hiking adventure in Canyonlands and Arches National Parks

United States
3 nights
Moderate

Experience the Southwest's most epic trails and stargaze in Utah's unmistakeable landscapes

What's Included?

Small Like-minded Groups

Solo-friendly by design, join our small n’ sociable groups of up to 9 like-minded, active and outdoorsy people
From

…

excluding flights
From

…

excluding flights

What's it like?

Hike one of Canyonlands National Park’s most secluded and challenging trails: the Lathrop Canyon Trail

Experience Arches National Park's famous hoodoos: the otherworldly landscapes of natural stone formations and watch the sunrise through Mesa Arch

Spend your evenings stargazing and planet-spotting in some of the USA's best dark sky locations

Key Information

Day 1

Welcome to Utah!

Hiking

2-3hrs · 7-8km

Your host will meet you at Salt Lake City Airport where you'll jump in the van and hit the road over to Moab, the base for your adventure in the Utah desert. After checking in to your luxury yurts you can head out on a warm up hike to get your first taste of Canyonlands National Park.

In the evening you'll have dinner with the group while your guide gives you a heads-up on the big hike tomorrow. If you're lucky the stars will be out for some celestial neck craning before bed.

Day 2

See the sunrise through Mesa Arch before hitting the Lathrop Canyon Trail

Hiking

6-8hrs · 16km

Alarm clocks will be ringing early this morning as you wake up before the sun to head straight out into Canyonlands National Park. You'll watch the sunrise through Mesa Arch, a natural stone arch perched at the edge of a cliff with sweeping views of canyons, rock spires, and the La Sal Mountains.

You'll then tackle one of the park’s most secluded and difficult trails - the Lathrop Canyon Trail. The hike is challenging but you'll be rewarded with amazing big-sky views across the vast openness of Canyonlands. The trail progresses from grasslands to sand dunes to slickrock before you reach the canyon walls with the Colorado River two-thousand feet below. Epic!

Day 3

Arches National Park

Hiking

6-8hrs · 16km

After breakfast you'll head over to Arches National Park, named for the more than 2000 natural stone arches scattered throughout the park. Today you'll take a series of short hikes along different trails to see a selection of these incredible formations including Delicate Arch: the iconic arch which adorns Utah's license plates. Your hikes are set against a constant backdrop of bright red rock against the deep blue sky - an iconic southwestern sight.

Day 4

Goodbye Utah

Hiking

2-3hrs · 7-8km

After breakfast and a leisurely morning, or an optional hike in Dead Horse State Park, your host will drive you back through the desert to Salt Lake city in time for your departing flight.

The Area

map

Logistics

Starts

Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)

10:30 on Day 1

Ends

Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)

18:00 on Day 4

Transfers

Your host will meet you at Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah at 10:30 on Day 1, so please book a flight that arrives by 10:00. Alternatively, you can be collected at your accommodation in Salt Lake City at 09:00 if you are already in town.

Your trip ends back at Salt Lake City International Airport at around 18:00 on Day 4. Please book a flight that leaves after 19:30 to ensure you have enough time to check-in. Alternatively you can be dropped at your accommodation in Salt Lake City if you are staying on.

Travel options

There are flights to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) from across the US and Europe.

Day 1

Yurt · Triple share

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 2 – Day 3

Yurt · Triple share

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 4

Departure day

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

What is the food like?

Evening meals will be based around rice and pasta dishes with fresh vegetables. For breakfast there will be eggs, pancakes and fruit. Lunches will be meat-based sandwiches unless you request a vegan/vegetarian option. During the adventure you'll be kept full of delicious, local snacks. Water, tea and coffee are provided as well as wine and beer in the evenings.

Vegetarian, vegan and most other dietary requirements can be accommodated on this trip.

What is the accommodation like?

Dead Horse State Park

You'll stay in luxury 'Moenkopi' yurts at Dead Horse Point State Park. The Moenkopi Yurts offer a glorious camping experience and perfect location for sunrise, sunset and a bit of seclusion before and after your adventures in the national park. The yurts comfortably sleep 3 people each.

Upgrades

So solo travellers looking for their space, it is possible to request your own yurt (subject to availability). See Optional Extras for prices. Please request this at the time of booking.

This trip is brand new

We’re still waiting to collect any reviews from other travellers on this trip. However, all our hosts go through an extensive vetting process to ensure that your adventure is awesome.

Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear

In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.

What's available to hire?

  • Sleeping bag (see Optional Extras for prices)

What do I need to bring?

Bags

  • Backpack (60-70 litres)

Clothes

  • Hiking boots with sturdy soles
  • Light wool hiking socks, multiple pairs
  • Long sleeve sun protection shirt (synthetic and moisture wicking)
  • Hiking pants or shorts (at least one pair should be long pants)
  • Insulating layers for cool evenings (fleece jacket or vest, down jacket)
  • Hat
  • Casual clothes for camp

Sleeping

  • Sleeping bag (rated 30 degrees or lower). Also available to hire.
  • Cotton or silk sleeping bag liner (optional)

Other

  • Water bottles or Camelbak, 3L total minimum capacity
  • Headlamp
  • Small towel or facecloth
  • Toiletries and personal first aid
  • Sunscreen and insect repellant
  • Sunglasses
  • Personal mess kit
  • Trekking Poles (Optional)
  • Camera
  • Book
  • Ear plugs
*Requests for optional extras can be made after booking on your “My Bookings” page

Optional Private Yurt Upgrade

Payable Before Departure

Optional Private Yurt Upgrade

… Per Person

Sleeping Bag Hire

Payable Before Departure

Sleeping Bag Hire

… Per Person

We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.

What's the number?
It works out on average at 122kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.

The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.

But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:

  • Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
  • A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
  • 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.

What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.

Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.

You can leave any excess luggage at the yurt and just take what you need for each day out on the trails in a day-pack.

There is fresh drinking water available at your yurt accommodation each morning and evening.

The hiking routes don't have water re-supply points, so you will need to bring reusable water bottles and/or a skin to fill up at your yurt each morning.

Tips are not included in the trip cost. The amount to tip is entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip in the USA; your guides will rely on tips for a considerable portion of their income.

We suggest to budget for 10% of the trip cost as a guideline.

Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.

Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers are familiar with the practical information provided on the Government’s FCDO website, where current travel advice can be found by searching for the applicable destination(s).

For customers joining this trip from other international destinations – please also read the official travel advice applicable to your country of residence/origin, as this may differ.

Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.

Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.

Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.

We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!

We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.

You're always in good company on one of our adventures.

Our trips are typically made up of a mixture of solo travellers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.

Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.

It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.

Don't just take our word for it:

  • 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
  • 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
  • 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends

See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.

Interested in a more exclusive experience? Opt for a 'Private Group' through the dates and prices tab to book this adventure for just you and your chosen companions.

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