Best Easy Hikes Near Moab for Scenic Views Without Overdoing It
Moab isn’t the kind of place where you have to suffer for a good view.
Can you choose a long, exposed, leg-burning hike and feel very accomplished afterward? Absolutely. But you can also get massive arches, canyon overlooks, river corridors, and genuinely jaw-dropping scenery without turning the day into an endurance event.
That’s one of the best things about this area.
We are rarely the “get up at the crack of dawn” crowd, and Moab still delivers. Mesa Arch near sunset — still stunning. Double Arch without breaking much of a sweat — still one of the best payoffs in Arches. Grandstaff Canyon with Wilson and Journey splashing through stream crossings — one of our favorite hikes near Moab, period.
The key is knowing which hikes are actually easy, which ones are easy but exposed, and which ones need more preparation than the distance suggests.
Quick Answer: Best Easy Hikes Near Moab
• Best easy Canyonlands hike: Mesa Arch
• Best easy Arches hike for big payoff: Double Arch
• Best easy Arches combo: Windows Loop + Double Arch
• Best easy longer walk in Arches: Landscape Arch
• Best quick family-friendly stops: Sand Dune Arch and Balanced Rock
• Best canyon overlook walk: Grand View Point Trail
• Best quieter Canyonlands view: White Rim Overlook Trail
• Best easy-to-moderate Canyonlands oddball: Upheaval Dome First Overlook
• Best dog-friendly hike outside the parks: Grandstaff Canyon Trail
• Best free roadside arch stop: Wilson Arch
If you only have time for one easy hike in Canyonlands, choose Mesa Arch and then enjoy the rest of the time driving to expansive overlooks and viewpoints. In Arches, choose Double Arch or the Windows area.
What “Easy” Means in Moab
Easy in Moab does not always mean effortless.
A trail can be short and still feel harder than expected because of heat, sand, slickrock, exposure, or parking stress. For this list, “easy” means hikes that are generally short, approachable for most visitors, and do not require major elevation gain, serious scrambling, or advanced route-finding. A few push into easy-to-moderate territory, but they are included because the payoff is strong and they still make sense for travelers who want scenic views without overdoing it.
Bring water, wear real shoes, and use sun protection. The desert doesn’t negotiate on any of those.
For packing help: What to Pack for Moab: Desert Road Trip Essentials
In Arches National Park
These hikes in Arches tend to reward quickly, which is a big part of why the park works so well for first-time visitors.
1. Double Arch
Distance: About 0.6 miles round trip | Difficulty: Easy
Double Arch barely causes a sweat, and the payoff is some of the best in Arches.
These arches are unbelievably large. Once you’re standing underneath them, you realize photos have been selling them short the whole time. The classic move is shooting upward from below, with the frame of the arches against the sky above you — one of the most photographed angles in the park for a reason. We’re guilty of it too.
For the more adventurous, you’ll see people climbing and maneuvering within the rock beneath the arches. Just be smart. Getting up is usually easier than getting back down, which is exactly the kind of thing people remember a little too late.
Also, this trail will be crowded. Not maybe crowded. Crowded. Early morning helps with both light and crowds, but Double Arch is still worth it whenever you go.
2. Windows Loop and Turret Arch
Distance: About 1 mile round trip | Difficulty: Easy
The Windows area is one of the best easy-hiking zones in Arches — North Window, South Window, and Turret Arch are all accessible in one area, with Double Arch trailhead right nearby. Great for getting a big Arches experience without committing to one long trail.
If parking is chaotic — and it often is — take the first reasonable spot and walk between trailheads. Circling the lot several times is never fun and rarely successful, unless you go full creeper mode and slowly follow someone back to their spot.
3. Landscape Arch
Distance: About 1.8–1.9 miles round trip | Difficulty: Easy
Landscape Arch is the longer easy walk on this list, but shouldn’t be too hard for visitors comfortable with close to two miles of mostly flat, well-maintained trail.
The payoff is one of the longest natural stone spans in the world — stretching impossibly thin across the sky in a way that makes you stop walking because your brain needs a moment. A rock fall event years ago resulted in the trail being closed beyond the arch, so you view it from a distance. But don’t worry, it doesn’t need you standing underneath it to be spectacular.
Adventure There take: Worth doing if you have time in Devils Garden and want an easy hike that feels like a real walk.
4. Sand Dune Arch and Balanced Rock
Distance: About 0.4 miles / 0.3 miles | Difficulty: Easy
Sand Dune Arch is tucked between sandstone fins with a more sheltered, playful feel than most of the park’s exposed stops. The deep sand makes it feel slightly more tiring than the distance suggests, but still very manageable.
Balanced Rock is a quick loop around a massive boulder perched on a narrow spine of rock that never ceases to amaze — or make you wonder if one tiny earthquake would finally be the thing that takes it down. We think that pretty much every time we see it.
In Canyonlands Island in the Sky
5. Mesa Arch
Distance: About 0.6–0.7 miles round trip | Difficulty: Easy
Mesa Arch is one of the easiest high-reward easy Moab hikes you can do.
Yes, it’s famous for sunrise photography — that orange glow under the arch is iconic for a reason. But we’ve done Mesa Arch later in the day and near sunset, and it is still stunning. You don’t have to be part of the sunrise tripod crowd to enjoy it.
The arch sits right on the canyon rim with the La Sal Mountains and a massive desert landscape beyond. Short hike, massive payoff. Just be careful near the edge, especially with kids.
6. Grand View Point Trail
Distance: About 1.8–2 miles round trip | Difficulty: Easy
Grand View Point gives you big Canyonlands scenery via an easy rim walk, and the views keep arriving the whole way — canyon layers, mesas, cliffs, and distance from start to finish. This is a walk, not a workout, but the trail can be rocky and uneven in places and cliff edges are not the place to get casual.
7. White Rim Overlook Trail
Distance: About 1.8 miles round trip | Difficulty: Easy
A good option if you want a Canyonlands hike that feels a little less obvious than Mesa Arch but still delivers big canyon-country views. Especially nice later in the day when the light softens and the canyon layers start doing interesting things. Limited trailhead parking — if you see a spot and this hike is on your list, take it.
8. Upheaval Dome First Overlook
Distance: About 0.6 miles round trip to the first overlook | Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Not the prettiest hike on this list in the classic arch-and-sunset way, but one of the most interesting. The payoff is a strange, crater-like geologic formation that feels completely different from the canyon overlooks and arch hikes nearby — giving it its own weird personality.
If you want a moderate challenge, we had fun following the cairns, traversing the slickrock, and climbing steps carved directly into the stone to reach the second overlook. More physical effort and a longer push, but the views were better and there were far fewer people. The NPS and other trail sites differ on length from 1.2 to 1.8 miles roundtrip from the trailhead. So, to be safe, plan 1.8 miles and you should be fine.
Outside the National Parks
9. Grandstaff Canyon Trail to Morning Glory Bridge
Distance: About 4 miles round trip to Morning Glory Bridge | Difficulty: Moderate, but approachable
There are other easy hikes near Arches, but this one feels special to us.
Grandstaff Canyon is the one hike on this list in a category of its own — not because it’s hard, but because it’s genuinely different from everything else near Moab.
The trail follows a stream through a canyon of high sandstone walls, cottonwood trees, willow shade, and several creek crossings. At normal water levels you can usually hop rocks or wade through shallow crossings, though conditions change with weather. Compared with most exposed Moab hikes, Grandstaff feels like a gift — more shade, more greenery, more water, and a completely different canyon personality.
Wilson and Journey loved this one. The stream crossings were basically the highlight of the trip — maybe not so much for Journey — and it was one of those rare Moab-area hikes where they could actually be on the trail with us instead of waiting back at the RV. Few things make us smile like seeing them having that kind of fun.
We didn’t make it all the way to Morning Glory Natural Bridge, but we’ve heard good things, and the four of us still had a blast.
Canyon safety: Poison ivy is common along the trail, especially near the water — stay on the path and keep dogs close. More importantly, check the forecast before hiking any canyon or drainage route near Moab. Flash floods can move fast even when the sky above you looks fine. In colder months, shaded sections can be icy. No park pass required; dogs allowed on leash, but always verify current rules before you go.
Adventure There take: Best dog-friendly hike near Moab if you want canyon scenery, water, shade, and a real trail experience outside the national parks.
10. Wilson Arch
Distance: Very short roadside stop | Difficulty: Easy near the base; more effort if climbing
Wilson Arch sits right off Highway 191 south of Moab — no park pass, no long trail, no complicated plan. Pull over, take it in, and decide whether you want to walk closer. If you climb up toward the arch it turns into a sandy, steep little scramble, so don’t treat that part like nothing. As a roadside stop it’s one of the easiest scenic wins in the area.
A Few Things to Know
Early isn’t always required, but it helps in summer. Mesa Arch near sunset is still beautiful. Double Arch at midday still delivers. But if you’re visiting in July or August, earlier is cooler, less crowded, and generally better.
Dogs aren’t allowed on trails in Arches or Canyonlands. Grandstaff Canyon and some areas outside the parks do allow dogs on leash. Always check current rules before you go.
Download offline maps. Cell service in both parks can be unreliable. Have your trail downloaded before you head out.
Plan Your Hikes
The best easy hikes near Moab don’t ask much — just water, decent shoes, and realistic expectations about heat and crowds. Mesa Arch and Double Arch are the obvious starting points. Grandstaff Canyon is the one that tends to surprise people.
For gear: What to Pack for Moab: Desert Road Trip Essentials. For the full planning picture: Ultimate Moab Travel Guide: Best Things to Do, Scenic Drives & Planning Tips. To pair a hike with a scenic drive: Best Scenic Drives Near Moab Worth Adding to Your Trip.
Use Moab Road Trip Resources: Lodging, Gear, Tours & Planning Tools for maps, gear links, and planning tools — then pick the hike that fits the day instead of trying to prove anything to the desert.
