You have packed your sleeping bags, camera, and toothpaste and are ready to head off to explore Moab’s back country. Armed with your map and sunflower seeds you’re ready for an exciting weekend of adventure and relaxation. But, have you though of everything? If you need medical attention what kind of services are available in Moab? Do you know what kind of weather you may be facing, or what kink of amenities the town offers? When you are planning a trip nothing makes up for a lack of preparation so to help you out we have created this page full of important tidbits that will help to make your trip to Moab the kind of vacation that you will remember for a lifetime. Whether you are interested in learning more about the history of Moab, or just need to know where to go to check your email this page has all of the information you will need to plan your next Moab vacation.

History • Statistics • Climate • Average Temperatures • Mileage from Major Cities
 Mileage to Local Recreation Areas & National Parks • Getting to Moab • City Parks • Activities
Arts & Entertainment • Churches • Health Care • Public Internet Access

Statistics:

Climate:

Because Moab is in a desert it is subject to extreme variances in temperature. Temperatures have been reported as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit and as low as -20 degrees F. In spite of the intense heat that visits Moab each summer, the climate is generally moderate making Moab a popular year-round playground with spring and fall being the most pleasant times of the year to visit.

Rainfall in Moab averages about eight inches per year with October being the wettest month and March taking a close second. During the summer Moab is prone to sudden, brief, violent thunderstorms that can result in flash floods.

Plant life in Moab is typical of that found in high desert life zones and includes sagebrush, saltbush, serviceberry, and mountain mahogany. Juniper and pinion are found along with desert shrubs until about 7,500 feet elevation where the mountain ecosystem of aspen, spruce, and fir takes over.

Average Annual Temperatures:

City Mileages from Moab:

Mileages to Recreation Areas:

Getting to Moab:

If you plan on driving Moab can be accessed from U.S. I-70, U.S. Highway 191, and the Utah Scenic Byway 128. Visit our maps page for more detailed information. Moab is also accessible by railroad and it is just a short drive from the Green River depot. Moab receives flight services through Salmon Airlines as well as three other charter companies and there is a car rental service at the airport. You can also arrange for van shuttle services from Salt Lake City, Utah or Grand Junction, Colorado. Click on our transportation page to find out more.

City Parks:

Moab has several public parks. These parks can be reserved for special gatherings and events. Contact the Moab Public Works Department at 435-259-7485 for information on reserving a park.

Activities:

Moab is beautifully situated in the red rock country of Southeastern Utah along the Colorado River and is the gateway to both Arches National Park, which is only six miles from downtown, and Canyonlands National Park located 32 miles south of Moab. The City is surrounded by public lands which are used not only for grazing, drilling, and forestry but for recreation such as mountain biking, hiking, river rafting, rock climbing, and cross-country skiing.

The city of Moab offers over 30 motels, numerous camping areas, many bed and breakfast establishments, as well as apartment type lodging. There are over 50 restaurants, as well as an abundance of camping supplies stores, sport outfitters, tour guides, and gift shopping available. Moab has a spectacular 18-hole golf course as well as tennis courts, bowling, a movie theater, a water park, amusement center, and scenic chairlift.

Click here to goto our Activities Page

Arts and Entertainment:

Moab’s beautiful red rock landscape has attracted artists of all kinds. After a day of exploring you can come into town to enjoy theater productions, a variety of galleries, concerts, and arts and music festivals. Throughout the year Moab is host to many events such as vintage car shows, rodeos and horse events, volleyball and fast pitch softball tournaments, marathons, parades, archery and shooting meets, mountain bike races, the Annual Flat Tire Mountain Bike Festival, and the Annual East Jeep Safari.

Churches:

Though the town was originally established by members of the LDS Church, Moab has become a very religiously diverse community. The following is a listing of the different church groups found in Moab:

Health Care:

While the city of Moab has a small population, the number of visitors to the area’s recreational and tourist destinations total over 2 million annually. The tourism industry and the adventure sports also bring patients to Moab’s emergency room. If you or someone in your group is injured, you don’t need to worry because they are very well prepared. Allen Memorial Hospital (AMH), located in downtown Moab, is a 38-bed facility, which includes long term and skilled care, critical and emergency care, acute care, labor and delivery services, and a care-center wing. Nine board-certified physicians are currently on staff, including a general surgeon, an anesthesiologist, an internist, an emergency specialist, and family practitioners.

Public Internet Access:

If you need to check your email or surf the Internet during your visit you can access the internet at the following locations:

Red Rock Bakery
74 South Main, Moab
(435) 259-5941

Slick Rock Cafe
5 North Main, Moab
(435) 259-8004

Footprints Tech Suite (Buisness Oriented)
121 East 100 South, Moab
(435) 259-4384

History:

Moab sits in a valley fifteen miles long and three miles wide near the east bank of the Colorado River and just west of the 12,500-foot-high La Sal Mountains. In the 1830’s the valley was significant because of the nearby Colorado River crossing used by white settlers and Native Americans alike. In 1855 Brigham Young, leader of the LDS church, sent 41 men to the valley to perform missionary work and to try and control the river crossing. Together, the men constructed a rock fort and established the Elk Mountain Mission at present day Moab. Relations grew tense between the settlers and the Native Americans and in September of the same year a battle occurred that left two of the Mormon settlers dead. In defeat the settlers abandoned the fort and returned to their homes in Sanpete Valley.

A little over two decades later, in 1878, permanent settlers returned to Moab to establish farms and ranches. The community continued to grow steadily and in 1882 a Mormon ward and a community school were established. In 1883 the railroad running between Salt Lake City and Denver was completed bringing the railroad within 35 miles of the isolated community. A ferry across the Colorado River began operating in 1885 and the first bridge across the Colorado was completed in 1912. In 1890 Grand County was created by the Utah Legislature and on December 20, 1902, Moab was incorporated as a town. By the beginning of the 1900s Moab had become one of Utah's finest fruit-growing areas, producing peaches, apples, and grapes.

Moab received its name from the Mormon settlers because of its geography and geographical location. In the Bible the name Moab appears frequently pointing to a dry, mountainous area east of the Dead Sea and southeast of Jerusalem. Moab, Utah was a dry mountainous area that fit the same geographical relationship to Salt Lake City and the Great Salt Lake.

The Uranium boom of the early 1950s transformed Moab’s economy from farming and ranching community into a mining town; bringing in many prospectors, miners, and workers. The mining boom brought new business to Moab and tripled the population. By 1920, the southeastern Utah area had produced more than 2.4 million dollars in uranium. Potash and manganese also played a role in Moab’s mining industry, along with oil and natural gas.

By 1964 the demand for Uranium had decreased and hundreds of workers had been laid off. The community began to look towards tourism as a chance to save its waning economy. The river-running craze, which had begun slowly in the 1950s, gained momentum and became a staple of the region's tourist industry by the early 1970s. In 1975 there were 313,000 visitors to Arches National Park. The establishment of Canyonlands National Park in 1964, for which Moab serves as the northern gateway, also assisted in Moab's becoming an important tourist and recreation destination. During the 1980s Moab, with its hundreds of miles of slickrock trails, gained worldwide fame as a mountain-biking center.

Today, mining industries such as oil exploration continue to boost the local economy, but Moab is primarily a tourist based economy. It is estimated that over a million people visit Moab each year.