Moab Utah, Oasis in the Desert
Moab Utah, sparks comments like where'n the hell...Well it's in
the heart of the most spactacular desert beauty in the world.
Adventures like Colorado River rafting trips and jaw dropping
hiking in one of 7 surrounding National Parks or State Parks are
just the tip of the iceberg for this tiny community start on the
heels of uranium mining. Moab has grown out of it's mining days
and is finding it's way through the struggle of being a growing
adventure tourism destination.
The population of 5-8,000 people range in backgrounds from the
ancestors of original pioneers to eclectic artists looking for
solitude and peace. River trips, Jeep tours, hiking, mountain
biking, and rock climbing have all put this little spot on the
international adventure map.
River Trips on the Colorado river and Green River carry over
100,000 visitors a year down the ancient conyons of the area.
Currnetly over 20 companies offer river rafting trips on theses
two rivers.
Jeeping and 4-wheeling on the desert slickrock is one of the
most unique adventures found here. The annual Jeep Safari in
April typically brings 40-50,000 people. National rock crawling
competitions garner great audiences; and one of the newest
additions hummer tours have been a huge hit.
Mountian biking and Climbing both have found international fame
as well. It's impossible today to pick up a climbing magazine
and not find at least one (if not 20) spectacular photo of
someone climbing in or near Moab. Mountian bikers flock here
from all over the world to test themselves on the slickrock
trails.
For those of us here year-round we get all these desert
adventures to ourselves in the winter. Another winter secret of
Moab are the La Sal Mountains with some of the most amazing back
country skiing to be found in Utah. One road is maintained and
plowed all winter taking skiers to an access point at 9,000
feet, which gaurantees starting in great snow. Utah has always
been known for the greatest snow on earth, but it's not all in
Salt Lake City.