Not a very experience poster on TUG. I followed a link on this weeks TUG email to a thread about Atlanta that also contained information on Moab area - seemed confusing (and I lost track of the post anyway) so I decided to start a new thread. Hope the posters who commented that they had seen the 3 southern Big 5 parks but not the ones near Moab will see this.
If you go to Arches and Canyonlands do not miss Dead Horse State Park. The views from Dead Horse SP are as good or better than Canyonlands and it is so easy to get to while on your way to Canyonlands from Moab. Also, don't expect a town like tourist Springdale near Zion if you go to Moab. Hotel prices are very high but it is not a quaint little tourist town. It has a busy main street with frequent mining trucks rumbling through town. Interesting place and decent restaurants - but definitely not quaint. Arches, Canyonlands and Dead Horse SP definitely worth the trip - all three just beautiful.
If you go to Arches and Canyonlands do not miss Dead Horse State Park. The views from Dead Horse SP are as good or better than Canyonlands and it is so easy to get to while on your way to Canyonlands from Moab. Also, don't expect a town like tourist Springdale near Zion if you go to Moab. Hotel prices are very high but it is not a quaint little tourist town. It has a busy main street with frequent mining trucks rumbling through town. Interesting place and decent restaurants - but definitely not quaint. Arches, Canyonlands and Dead Horse SP definitely worth the trip - all three just beautiful.