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Visiting Arches National Park and Moab with a 6-month old

Tim

• 5 min read
Landscape Arch while snowing

Trip Details

Last February, during President's Day weekend, we took our 6-month-old daughter to Moab, Utah, and visited Arches National Park. We love visiting this time of year because the park itself isn't scorching hot and crowds are generally pretty low. Coming from Denver, we have to drive on I-70 across the Rockies to get there, so weather is always a factor. Fortunately, we've been lucky with good conditions these past few years.

This was our first year making the trip with a baby and my main advice is to budget for extra time and plan to stop at rest areas when you have the chance. We stopped at:

All of them had adequate changing facilities, but Georgetown and Fruita were definitely the best. The Wendy's was alright. Had some decent nuggets. 👍

I tried to use my new (at the time) GoPro Hero 11 to film a timelapse of the drive, but I failed since I didn't know what I was doing. Ah well, there's always next time!

It took us around 7.5 hours instead of our usual 5.5 (babies slow you down!) so we ended up getting to the Hampton Inn in Moab pretty late that day, but other than that it was a pretty smooth drive.

Arches National Park and Moab

Double Arch

Arches was amazing. It wasn't too crowded and since we visited the park in February it was considered an off-peak time and we didn't need a timed entry reservation (these are needed from April-October). We used our America the Beautiful Annual Pass to get in, but otherwise it's $30 for single-vehicle entry pass.

Trails and Overlooks

Landscape Arch

This trip we hiked a portion of the Primitive Trail in Devil's Garden and saw the famous Landscape Arch. We didn't do the final scramble up to see Dark Angel since that didn't seem like a great idea with a small baby, but the rest of the trail was so scenic we don't feel like we missed out on much.

We also parked at the Double Arch lot and did a short hike around the Windows as well as a number of the overlooks.

We didn't get to around to hiking to Delicate Arch this trip, but we have in the past. We skipped it because it was snowing and our daughter was getting pretty fussy after a morning of hiking. Provided you do it when the weather is decent – not too hot and not icy – and that you're physically up to hiking up an exposed slab of rock I'd consider that hike doable with a baby as well.

Visitor Center

Before you enter the park there is a nice visitor center with a gift shop, a stamp station, some exhibits, and – best of all – restrooms with running water! The rest of the park is pretty spartan when it comes to facilities like that so enjoy it.

Moab

A happy Tim at Milt's

Since we were only there for the weekend we didn't spend a ton of time in Moab itself this trip. That said, I do want to give a shout out to Milt's Stop n' Eat. I love the onion rings and mushroom swiss burger at that place. Some time I'd love to come back and explore more of the town.

Gear

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Baby Carrier

For this trip we used our "cool air mesh" Ergobaby Omni 360 carrier. I had really wanted to use our Osprey Poco Plus hiking carrier (I picked it up months before our daughter was born in an REI sale), but at 6 months she just didn't have the head control and stability for it.

It ended up being the right tool for the job anyway. The weather was in the low 40s and being held nice and snug against mom made for a more agreeable baby. For some added warmth, Jessica wore a nursing pullover that went over the carrier. The pullover wasn't absolutely necessary for this trip, but it's definitely come in handy for some of our bitter winter walks.

The Ergobaby does affect your center of gravity, though, so I recommend bringing some trekking poles for added stability.

Hiking Backpack / Diaper Bag and Miscellania

My favorite "diaper bag" for national parks is the Osprey Nebula 32L commuter backpack. It's basically a hybrid between a laptop bag (lots of pockets and storage!) and a hiking backpack (supportive straps and water bottle pockets!) and it's been my go to bag for these sorts of trips. Within it I carry:

Basically the normal stuff you'd take on a hike plus some diaper gear. 😁

Final Tips and Takeaways

Taking a 6-month old to Arches National Park can be a lot of fun! I just recommend coming prepared and going during the off-season. Oh yeah and stopping at Milt's for a burger.