Single day hikes must be reserved within two weeks of departure.
Day hikes generally take from four to six hours, depending on fitness level and distance.Note: National Park Passes are not included. Please bring your passes or cash for the entrance fee if your trip is in a National Park.$175 for a single tourist, $250 for a couple, $100 per person for groups of three or four.
Sample Day Hikes for Dreamride's Moab Vacation Packages
These hikes are available as substitutions for mountain bike rides during any private mountain bike package upgraded with ELITE SERVICES. Each hike generally takes from four to six hours and are chosen through consultation based on fitness level and specific interests.
WHAT YOU GET: All hikes feature local and natural history interpretation by Moab's best guides (REALLY Moab's best), personal assistance with photography, comfortable transportation, boxed lunches, water and snacks. Hydration packs are offered for rent ($7.50 a day). As with all Dreamride tours, groups are small, unless booked as a private charter. Larger group charters are restricted to more environmentally sound locations. This not only insures protection of wildlife habitats and fragile archeological sites, it guarantees personal attention and the solitude necessary for a true wilderness experience.
Special Note: The trail listings below are partial. We do not mention most of our permitted sensitive and fragile trails. Dreamride is pleased to offer you the chance to visit Anasazi ruins and hidden rock art as yet uncharted, but we must protect these sites from looting and vandalism by keeping the areas in which they are found TOP secret.
Moab, Utah Hiking Trails
HANGING VALLEY OF THE KOKOPELLI CLAN -- Visit the very best examples of petroglyh art in the Moab area. There are more Kokopellis on this one hike than you can shake a stick at. You will hike up into a beautiful hanging valley just minutes from Moab where wildlife abounds and rock fins form mazes that beckon you to explore. A great place to bring a flute or harmonica due to the wonderful echoes produced by huge opposing sandstone fins.
DRAGONFLY CANYON -- This is a hike to a spot local musicians prize as the best place to "play." It features 700 foot high vertical walls at the back of a box canyon, creating an amphitheater that produces the sweetest echoes imaginable. There are a couple of canyons with this name in our area. One is the "false" Dragonfly where you are sent if you ask in local tourist establishments. This one is the real deal, a real treat of a hike that includes a musical destination. Bring your guitar.
NEGRO BILL CANYON -- The slang name that truly graces this canyon is now a racial slur and we dare not write it due to the "Cyber Police" in Utah, but suffice to say that African American William liked his name, was even extremely proud of it. Bill Granstaff moved into the Moab Valley after the failure of the Elk Mountain Mission, the first Mormon settlement of Moab. Bill traded liquor and guns to the Ute Indians who inhabited the Valley and ended up with the cattle the Mormon mission had traded to the Utes for safe retreat from the Valley. Bill kept his cattle and his horses in the canyon that now bears his name until the Mormons returned and ran him out of the valley under threat of death. This is a wonderful hike through a designated wilderness area to a beautiful natural bridge with a spring emerging underneath. It is perhaps the most pristine area close to Moab and is perfect for children and anyone wishing to see this area at it best and most unspoiled. See it now while the Tamarisk (a non-native plant that is the biggest environmental disaster in canyon country) still has not penetrated the reaches of the canyon. This hike is led by Miki Bridgers, a professional herbalist and Native American spiritualist.
HUNTER CANYON -- Another beautiful, tight canyon close to Moab with a lovely creek spashing from a spring at its end and a great opportunity to experience desert oasis wildlife. We have seen mountain lion tracks along the creek. The water is delicious, the hike is truly wondrous. This hike can include a moderately technical climb out of the canyon to Pritchett Arch (see photo above left). The addition of the Pritchett Arch hike turns this route into a full day excursion (see full day hikes below).
CRYSTAL CREEK CANYON -- Do you want a "cowboy jacuzzi" in a stunningly beautiful canyon with towering slickrock fins. Do you have kids that would enjoy a swim in a crystal clear stream? Do you like to cliff dive? Well, this canyon offers some great swimming holes and side hikes to rock art panels. Great in the heat of summer! Can be done as a full day hike also!
KANE CREEK CANYON -- This is a vehicle supported educational trip that gives you the opportunity to visit dino tracks, petroglyphs, and a unique box canyon. This trip is actually a series of short hikes to spots of archeological and geological interest. A great excursion for families with small children.
PORTAL OVERLOOK -- A great hike to a fantastic view of the Moab Valley, the La Sal Mountains, and Arches National Park. Trip is highlighted by a lecture on Moab history presented at the overlook.
BOOK CLIFFS OVERLOOK -- This is a rarely visited trail that leads to a beautiful slickrock shelf with lots of pristine cryptobiotic soil and geological points of interest. The view at the end is particularly beautiful and the Morrison layer offers a chance to view dinosaur bone and gastroliths.
GEOLOGY/PALEONTOLOGY HIKE #1 -- This hike takes you past a rare example of Apatasour tracks to an old copper mine where azurite and malachite stones dot the ground. A great hike for kids interested in rock hounding and old mining equipment. This hike also has a unique option that includes the very best examples of dinosaur tracks anywhere in Utah. This option is only for strong hikers and turns this route into a full day trip (see immediately below).
SPECIAL GEOLOGY, PALEONTOLOGY, AND ARCHEOLOGY HIKES -- Note: There are a few very rare pictographic and dinosaur tracking areas that can make for a very special hikes for professional and avid amateur archeologists, and paleontologists. Call for special rates on these particular options.
MOAB RIM -- This hike travels up to above Moab for a lovely view of the valley. Options are available that include a visit to an Anasazi ruin or a full day hike through to The Hanging Valley of the Kokopelli Clan (call for rates). Among the special attractions are some very large and beautiful Navajo sandstone formations.
STAR WARS CANYON -- A tight canyon hike to a ultra-special swimming hole. Awesome canyon walls and wildlife! Through co-operation with Classic Helicopter in Moab we can arrange a helicopter flight through this canyon if you would like to experience why they call it Star Wars.
FISHER TOWERS -- Fisher Towers is one of the most impressive sandstone formations in the world. This is a fantasy hike with infinite opportunities for photography. The view of Onion Creek with its spires and gnarly crimson walls is among the most spectacular anywhere in the world. You may even have the opportunity to watch climbers ascending the Titan. Your guide will present some interesting historical information about the film industry's use of this area. This is one of our best locations for photography workshops.
KANE SPRINGS CANYON -- Kane Creek offers some fantastic sights and the opportunity to swim and view wildlife. Get your feet wet. Awesome hot summertime hike! Can be done with a shuttle to expand into a very long full day expedition.
CRYSTAL CREEK CANYON 2 -- Our personal favorite summertime trip. Do you have kids that would enjoy a swim in a crystal clear stream? Do you like to cliff dive? Well, this canyon offers some great swimming holes, water slides and side hikes to rock art panels. Great in the heat of summer!
OUTHOUSE BUTTE -- A visit to a dinosaur bone quarry is overshadowed by a hike around a massive butte revealing some very interesting rock art and a few special wildlife attractions. For the stout of leg we offer a climb up onto a beautiful mesa for a look at weird rock formations and remnants of an ancient cliff dwelling.
ARCHES NATIONAL PARK -- We can take you to some very special places in the park, some well known, others very obscure. We know the most beautiful places for photography and the very best hikes. Visit fantastic Private Arch! Go to Four wheel drive trips for other more remote options in Arches.
OUTRAGEOUS MESA -- One of our most popular photography hikes, this route takes you across some of the most magical slickrock in the area to an astounding view of awesome sandstone spires. Not for those who are frightened by exposure to steep drop-offs.
Special rates for this hike: $149 for a single tourist--$99 per person for couples--$89 each for group of three or more.
THESE AREAS MENTIONED ABOVE HAVE OPTIONS FOR EPIC DAY EXPEDITIONS: NEGRO BILL, HUNTER GATHERER, ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, ISLAND IN THE SKY, SECRET ENTRADA (OUTRAGEOUS MESA), KANE SPRINGS, PORTAL OVERLOOK, OUTHOUSE, CRYSTAL CREEK, AND STAR WARS.
CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MULTI-DAY HIKING PACKAGES OUTSIDE OF UTAH!
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Call 435-259-6419.
FAX number is 435-259-8196.
or write to:
Dreamride
P.O. Box 1137
Moab, UT 84532
