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Moab is one of our all time favorite places to travel with our family. It’s got a massive amount of adventure activities RIGHT THERE for the whole family, and it also makes us feel right at home (after 4 years of living in the Saudi Arabian desert).
Since Moab is in the middle of the desert, you really need to plan your trip carefully so that the heat doesn’t get the best of you. A lot of that has to do with the clothing that you wear. Since we’re basically experts on what to wear in the desert (thank you Saudi Arabia), we wanted to share exactly what we pack and wear when we travel to Moab, Arches, and Canyonlands. We’ll first start with what you need to pack any time of year when you’re visiting Utah National Parks, and then we’ll share specifics to take for each season.
We’ve put together a list of the best activities to do around Moab, and there are plenty that are great for each season if you need ideas on what to do.
What to Pack for Moab, Arches, and Canyonlands year round
Although the clothing that you wear in Moab will vary greatly by season, the gear that you pack really doesn’t. Since Moab is a hot spot of adventure travel, you’re going to be out EXPLORING the whole time that you’re here. What that means is that you’ll need good gear so that all your time outside is comfortable and pleasant.
Note: you can easily combine a trip to Moab with a winter ski trip, with just a 3 hour drive!
Also Read: What To Pack For Southern Utah
- What to Pack for Moab, Arches, and Canyonlands year round
- #1. A good quality backpack
- #2. A hat with good coverage
- #3. Hiking Socks For Moab
- #4. Good Hiking Shoes For Moab
- #5. Cooler for Moab
- #6. Lightweight compact towel
- #7 Camera for Moab
- #8 Sunscreen for Moab
- #9 Bug Spray for Moab
- #10 Best Water Bottle for Moab
- What to pack for Arches and Canyonlands in the winter: Moab in December, January, and February
- What to pack for Arches and Canyonlands in the Spring and Fall: Moab in March, April, May, October, and November.
- What to pack for Arches and Canyonlands in the Summer: Moab in June, July, August and September
- What to wear hiking in Arches, Canyonlands, and Moab
- What to pack for kids in Arches, Canyonlands, and Moab
- What to pack for a baby or toddler in Arches and Canyonlands
- When is the best time of year to visit Moab, Arches, and Canyonlands?
#1. A good quality backpack
On a trip to Arches and Canyonlands, a good backpack is so important, since you’ll be wearing it almost constantly. Our top recommendations are backpacks like this from Osprey, we specifically like this women’s backpack and also the men’s version. This has been my go-to pack for the last 7 years, and I absolutely love it. It’s a perfect backpack for hiking in Moab since the mesh panel separates the backpack from your back, keeping you significantly cooler. I also love the hydration system that it comes
For kids, I recommend just having them hike with a hydration pack with a small pocket. We really like this hydration pack, and this one as well.
#2. A hat with good coverage
While a hat might not be considered incredibly stylish, it’s a whole lot more stylish than a horrible sunburn, or worse, skin cancer. When the sun isn’t as intense, we all tend to prefer trucker hats like these ones. They keep the sun off of our faces, and our heads cool. When the sun in more intense in late spring and summer, a wide brim hat like this one or a
For the kids, we’ve tried dozens of hats over the years and keep coming back to Sunday Afternoon Hats. There wide brim hats have great coverage and are easy to pack, and their other hats have awesome enough designs that even my 13-year-old doesn’t complain about wearing one.
#3. Hiking Socks For Moab
When you’re anywhere around Moab, you can pretty much guarantee that you’ll be getting sand in your shoes throughout the day, and if you’re not careful, that can lead to blisters. Hiking socks are often overlooked, but trust me, regular athletic socks really don’t cut it for the sand in Moab.
I recommend getting a
#4. Good Hiking Shoes For Moab
Whatever your Moab itinerary has on it, I’m pretty sure that you’ll find yourself doing a fair amount of hiking in Moab.
A good pair of hiking shoes in Moab is absolutely essential! For adults, we prefer to wear trail running shoes instead of hiking shoes, since they tend to be more flexible and comfortable. Here are some of our top recommendations for trail running shoes for hikers.
For kids, we’ve
If you’re planning on spending time in the water in Moab doing things like rafting the Colorado River or hiking and swimming in Mill Creek, you’ll want some Chaco sandals. I’ve been wearing Chacos for over 20 years, and they’re still my go-to favorite. I also wear these hiking a lot since they offer good footbed support and have a rugged sole.
#5. Cooler for Moab
Packing a cooler for a Moab trip is an absolute necessity in the deserts of Canyonlands and Arches. We’ve broken down our favorite things about some of the best affordable high-quality coolers. For most of our trips, we take this cooler since it’s lightweight, durable, keeps food ultracold, and is the perfect size cooler for Moab day out with the family.
#6. Lightweight compact towel
Even though you are in the middle of the desert in Moab, there are plenty of things to do that involve
We always throw a couple of these towels in our backpack in Moab and they’re a lifesaver when we just need to dry off a bit, or when it’s just so hot that one of the kids has to jump into the nearest stream NOW! They weigh almost
#7 Camera for Moab
The beauty of Arches, Canyonlands, and the entire Moab area is something that you’ll want to capture so that you never forget it. I shoot most of my photos on this affordable DSLR
For video, nothing quite captures footage quite like a GoPro in Moab. We recommend you either get this one or this
#8 Sunscreen for Moab
We spend a massive amount of time outside, and this sunscreen has been our go-to for years. I love that it’s got a high SPF rating (we all burn really easily
I burn very easily on my face and neck (and have had several spots of skin cancer removed there), so I prefer to wear this extra high SPF sunscreen that’s also really gentle on my skin.
#9 Bug Spray for Moab
In the spring, summer, and fall, there are certain areas around Moab where the bugs can get pretty annoying once the sun goes down. This is our favorite bug spray since it’s all-natural, smells good, and works incredibly well.
#10 Best Water Bottle for Moab
A good water bottle only really needs to do one thing – not leak. I’ve tried more water bottles that I can even remember, and the absolute best out there are these spillproof bottles. I’ve never had one of these water bottles leak or break, and I’ve been using them since I was just a kid (over 30 years ago). While it’s tempting to get a fancy bottle, I really recommend just sticking with these classic water bottles for Moab adventures so you never have to worry about water spilling and ruining something else in your bag.
While I wouldn’t hike with this, we also keep this giant insulated bottle in our car for filling up water bottles with cold water throughout the day (because no one likes boiling hot water). This bottle will keep our drinks ice cold for an entire day without needing to be in a cooler.
What to pack for Arches and Canyonlands in the winter: Moab in December, January, and February
If you’re planning a trip to the Moab area in the winter, come prepared for cold temperatures. The desert gets pretty cold in the winter and high temperatures are often in the 30’s and 40’s and it even snows on occasion.
The trick to staying warm in Moab in the winter is to dress in LAYERS. Below I’ll show you (including exact product recommendations) what to pack for Arches in the winter, what to pack for Canyonlands in the winter, and what to pack for Moab in the winter.
For women, I love this combination of base layers, durable hiking pants, a warm shirt, a warm hat, and a down jacket. This combination is great for Moab in December and Moab in January, though the temperatures often start warming up a bit in Moab in February.
For men, my husband wears something similar to these pants, a half-zip shirt, and a down coat.
For our kids, they always wear base layers, a warm shirt (with a t-shirt underneath) and a synthetic puffy coat (down is hard to maintain with kids).
What to pack for Arches and Canyonlands in the Spring and Fall: Moab in March, April, May, October, and November.
If you’re planning a trip to Arches and Canyonlands in the Spring, expect warm temperatures, and cool nights. The high temperatures often range from the
If you are visiting Moab in March or November in Moab, temperatures are often a little bit cooler, so come prepared with a few warmer layers. Moab in April and October in Moab are my favorite times to go since the weather is usually in the low 80’s during the day and still cools down a lot at night. Moab in May starts getting pretty warm, though I had a friend get stuck in a snowstorm in Moab in May once! Yikes!
Here is what you need to pack for Arches in the spring and fall, Canyonlands in the spring and fall, and Moab in the spring and fall.
Here’s what we pack for Arches and Canyonlands for our family:
- Athletic wicking t-shirts to keep you dry from sweat- Recommended: Women, Men, Boys, Girls
- Hiking shorts – Recommended: Women, Men, Boys, Girls
- Lightweight hiking pants – Recommended: Women, Men, Boys, Girls
- Long-sleeve zip-up shirt
- Fleece Jacket
- Outdoor Sandals
- Trail running shoes
- Hiking Socks
- Hat
- Swimming Suit
What to pack for Arches and Canyonlands in the Summer: Moab in June, July, August and September
If you’re planning a trip to Arches, Canyonlands, and Moab in the summer, be prepared for the HEAT! Here is exactly what you need to pack for Arches in the summer, Canyonlands in the summer, and Moab in the summer. The Utah desert can get crazy hot during the summer, but there are still plenty of things that you can do to stay comfortable and enjoy all the adventure activities around.
Here’s what we pack for everyone:
- COTTON T-shirts (they will stay moist from your sweat, which actually helps cool you down)
- Hiking Shorts
- Fleece Jacket
- Outdoor Sandals
- Trail Running Shoes
- Hiking Socks
- Hat
- Swimming Suit
How to manage the heat in Moab during the Summer
During the summer in Moab, you’ll need to be very conscious of the temperatures. There isn’t much shade around and the temperatures usually climb above 100 degrees.
If you want to go hiking or biking during the summer in Moab, make sure to head out early and try and be done before 10:30am. You can also hit the trail again when things start cooling down around 5pm.
In the summer the best activities to do in Moab during the middle of the day are rafting the Colorado River, swimming at Mill Creek, and spending the day at Ken’s Lake. Moab in June and July in Moab can also get quite busy with tourists. If you want to enjoy the warm temperatures without the crowds, visit Moab in September after kids have gone back to school.
What to wear hiking in Arches, Canyonlands, and Moab
Choosing the right clothes to wear hiking in Arches and Canyonlands is really important because the extreme temperatures of the desert could leave you roasting hot, or freezing depending on the time of year. Moab hiking clothing needs to be very carefully chosen.
In our seasonal suggestions for what to pack, I gave lots of specific suggestions for clothing that’s exactly like what we would wear hiking in Canyonlands. The real key to hiking comfort in the Moab desert is to dress in layers. Morning and evening temperatures around Moab often vary by at least 40 degrees. Also, take note of where you’ll be hiking. Temperatures in shady canyons can be up to 20 degrees cooler than out in the sunshine. What to wear hiking in Arches is also basically the same as what to wear hiking in Canyonlands.
What to pack for kids in Arches, Canyonlands, and Moab
As you can see from above, our kids wear essentially the same clothing that we do. We believe that it’s important to invest in good quality clothing for our
Our top suggestion for what to pack for kids in Moab is a child hydration pack. Kids drink so much better when they have a hydration pack, so we love to bring these for our kids. If you’re really worried about dehydration, add some flavored electrolyte packets to their hydration reserviors.
We’ve reviewed all the best kids hydration packs, so choose one that will fit your child well.
When you head to Moab with your kids, make sure to take a few things to help them EXPLORE. There are lizards to be caught (not allowed in the National Parks though), critters to examine, and lots of rocks to add to their rock collection. To help keep the kids engaged, we always through a few desert specific things for the kids into our car. Here are some of our favorites:
A bug/lizard catching net (these telescoping ones are great for putting in your backpack and suitcase)
A small backpack to put all the rocks they collect inside (this one doubles as a hydration pack).
Sand buckets and shovels (these are collapsible for easy transport)
What to pack for a baby or toddler in Arches and Canyonlands
If you’re heading to Arches and Canyonlands with a baby, there are a few things that you’ll want to add to your list to help make your trip more comfortable.
The first is this baby carrier. It’s absolutely the best for hot weather since the mesh inside helps to keep both the baby and parent cooler (as most baby carriers are REALLY HOT). I had an older version of this when we lived in the Middle East with 2 of my babies, and it truly is the BEST. I recommend this exact carrier to all new moms and I actually prefer it over our big framed backpack carrier.
A sturdy picnic blanket where you can lay them down. Don’t get a flimsy parachute blanket since
If you’ve got a baby that really wants to move, but can’t walk yet, consider getting a play station like
Soft baby shoes are also essential. The ground in Moab seems to either be super hot or super cold, so make sure to protect your little one’s feet (even if they aren’t walking much). We’ve loved soft baby shoes like these for our infants and
Don’t forget to bring a baby-friendly sippy cup or water bottle as well. We’ve tried dozens
When is the best time of year to visit Moab, Arches, and Canyonlands?
The best time of year to visit Moab is in the Spring and in the Fall. In winter it can get pretty cold, with temperatures below freezing each day. In the summer, the temperatures can get up to 105-110 degrees, and there isn’t a lot of shade. Obviously the crowds are higher in the spring and fall, so if weather doesn’t bother you, you’ll get smaller crowds by visiting Moab in the Winter or Summer.
Moab is full of amazing outdoor adventure, so you could easily spend a month here and not see everything. For the average traveler, I recommend spending 3-6 days in Moab, and also combining that with other southern Utah adventures.
There are so many outdoor adventures in and around Moab. While hiking is the obvious thing to do in Moab, adventure sports are everywhere. We recommend canyoneering, rock climbing, mountain biking and whitewater rafting in Moab.