Side by side
Compare Moab hikes, side by side
Almost every question that reaches this site is really a comparison. Delicate Arch or Landscape Arch. Arches or Canyonlands. A guided day or the rental car. This is where those get answered with numbers rather than adjectives.
The short answer
Start with the head to head answers if you already have two things in mind. Start with the trail table if you do not, because it sorts every headline Moab hike by distance, climb and shade in one place.
Every figure here comes from the National Park Service or from an operator's own published material, with the date it was checked. Nothing is estimated.
The usual questions
Head to head, answered short
These are the comparisons people actually type. Short answers here, with a full page where one exists.
Arches or Canyonlands
The biggest one
Arches for a first visit with one day: more to walk up to, five miles from town. Canyonlands for space and quiet, with 796,000 visits in 2025 against 1.51 million at Arches. They are different kinds of park rather than better and worse.
Delicate Arch or Landscape Arch
Effort against certainty
Delicate Arch is 3 miles round trip with 480 feet of climbing, no shade and a ledge near the top. Landscape Arch is 1.6 miles round trip on easy ground in Devils Garden. If you want one big moment and have the legs, Delicate Arch. If you are travelling with anyone who would rather not climb, Landscape Arch is the better afternoon.
Island in the Sky or the Needles
Distance decides it
Island in the Sky is 32 miles from Moab, about 40 minutes, with short walks to long views. The Needles is 74 miles each way and fills a day by itself. With one Canyonlands day, take Island in the Sky. With three days in town and a second visit behind you, the Needles is the better landscape.
Fiery Furnace or a guided canyon
Not the same product
Fiery Furnace is a maze of fins inside Arches, reached on a $16 ranger tour or a $10 self guided permit, and no commercial operator can guide you in there. Canyoneering is ropes and rappels on BLM land from $140 per person. If you want a rope, the Fiery Furnace is not it.
Fisher Towers or Grandstaff Canyon
Drama against shade
Fisher Towers is about 4.5 miles round trip with almost no shade and the most dramatic rock within half an hour of Moab. Grandstaff Canyon is about 5 miles with a creek and cottonwoods. In April take Fisher Towers. In July take Grandstaff, and it is not close.
A guided day or the rental car
Group size decides it
At one or two people a shared seat from $114 is cheaper than anything private. At three the two are level. At four or more a private trip usually costs less per head as well as being a better day, because most Moab operators price the guide rather than the seat.
Full pages are planned for Delicate Arch against Landscape Arch, Fisher Towers against Grandstaff Canyon, Corona Arch against Delicate Arch, and half day against full day tours. Each one gets the same treatment: numbers, a recommendation, and the guided option priced.
The master table
Every headline trail, sorted by effort
One table, every trail people ask about, in rough order of what it asks of you. Use it to place a hike you have heard of against one you have not.
| Trail | Where | Distance | Climb | Shade | Rated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint | Arches | 200 ftround trip | None | None | Easy, wheelchair accessible |
| Mesa Arch | Island in the Sky | 0.6 miround trip | Minimal | None | Easy |
| Upheaval Dome | Island in the Sky | 0.6 or 1.2 mi | Steep steps | None | Steep |
| Whale Rock | Island in the Sky | 0.8 miround trip | Slickrock | None | Moderate |
| The Windows | Arches | About 1 mishort loops | Minimal | None | Easy, first 100 yards barrier free |
| Aztec Butte | Island in the Sky | 1.4 miround trip | Slickrock climb | None | Moderate |
| Landscape Arch | Arches, Devils Garden | 1.6 miround trip | Minimal | Very little | Easy |
| Grand View Point | Island in the Sky | 1.8 miround trip | Minimal | None | Easy |
| Delicate Arch | Arches | 3 miround trip | 480 ft | None | Strenuous |
| Murphy Point | Island in the Sky | 3.4 miround trip | Minimal | None | Easy |
| Fisher Towers | BLM, river road | About 4.5 miround trip | Undulating | Very little | Moderate |
| Grandstaff Canyon | BLM, river road | About 5 miround trip | Gentle | Good, plus a creek | Moderate |
| Devils Garden, full loop | Arches | Up to 7.9 mi | Fins and drops | Very little | Strenuous |
| Professor Creek | BLM, Castle Valley | About 9 miround trip | Gentle | Partial, in the water | Strenuous by length |
National park trail distances, elevation change and ratings from the National Park Service. BLM trail distances as published by the operators who guide them. Checked September 2026.
Two patterns worth reading out of that table. Shade is the exception rather than the rule, which is why Grandstaff Canyon is the summer answer and why everything else belongs before breakfast between June and September. And climb, not distance, is what separates an easy trail from a strenuous one here. Murphy Point is 3.4 miles and rated easy. Delicate Arch is 3 miles and rated strenuous, because of the 480 feet and the open rock.
Ropes
Canyoneering routes, compared properly
Canyon routes are harder to compare than trails, because length tells you very little. These are sorted by how committing they are, with published prices where they exist.
| Route | Length | Grade | Rappels | Season | Price range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medieval Chamber | 4 to 6 hrs | Easy | 2, to 100 ft | Year round | $140 to $340 |
| Entrajo Canyon | 4 to 6 hrs | Easy to moderate | 2, to 80 ft | April to September | $140 to $360 |
| Zig Zag Canyon | 5 to 7 hrs | Moderate | 3, to 220 ft | Ask | $205 to $450 |
| Granary Canyon | 8 to 10 hrs | Moderate to difficult | 6, to 200 ft | Feb to Mar, Sep to Nov | $230 to $550 |
Routes, grades, seasons and prices as published by Desert Highlights, checked September 2026. Price ranges run from the four or more rate to the solo rate. Other operators run these and similar routes on enquiry.
For a first canyon, Medieval Chamber is the answer nine times out of ten: two rappels, about three miles of walking, fifteen minutes from town, and it runs all year including winter. Entrajo is the alternative if you want water, and it closes from October.
Granary is the one to note for a different reason. At eight to ten hours with six rappels it is a real day out, and the minimum age of twelve reflects the length rather than the technical difficulty.
Every commercial canyon trip near Moab runs on BLM land or in Canyonlands backcountry, under the park's own permit conditions. That applies to every operator in town, so a company advertising canyoneering in Arches is worth a second look.
The other axis
Guided against doing it yourself
Most comparisons on this site end up here, so it is worth setting out plainly. The choice is rarely about capability. It is about group size, time, heat and what you want from the day.
| Drive it yourself | Shared guided tour | Private guided trip | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | $55 annual pass for both parks | $114 to $430per person | $100 to $650per person or per vehicle |
| Best at | One or two people with several days | One or two people with one day | Three or more, or any mixed ability group |
| You handle | Driving, parking, navigation, timing | Nothing, on a fixed schedule | Nothing, on your schedule |
| Gets you | Full flexibility and solitude | The highlights without the logistics | The day built around your group |
| Cannot give you | Canyoneering or four wheel drive routes | A pace of your own | The cheapest option for a solo traveller |
Ranges drawn from published rates across Moab operators and National Park Service fees, checked September 2026.
The crossover sits at three to four people. Below that, book a seat or drive. Above it, price both, because most Moab hiking and canyoneering is charged per group rather than per seat and the cost per head falls as the group grows.
Method
How these comparisons are made
- Trail data comes from the National Park Service for anything inside Arches or Canyonlands, and from the operators who guide them for BLM trails. Neither is estimated.
- Prices come from each operator's own website, with the month they were checked printed on the page. Where a company quotes on enquiry, the page says so rather than guessing.
- Nobody pays to appear, or to appear higher, or to be recommended in a comparison.
- Comparisons name a winner where there is one and say so plainly when there is not, which is most of the time. Two trails that suit different people are not a ranking.
- Corrections are welcome from visitors and from operators, and they are made the same week.
We do not run trips, own gear or employ guides, and no operator pays to appear here or to appear higher. Details below are from each company's own published material, checked September 2026. Full disclosure.
Common questions
Questions
Which Moab hike should I do?
It depends on your legs and the month. Delicate Arch at 3 miles and 480 feet of climbing is the one most people come for, and it is rated strenuous. Landscape Arch at 1.6 miles is the easy alternative in the same park. In summer, Grandstaff Canyon at about 5 miles is the only headline trail with real shade and a creek.
What is the easiest good hike in Moab?
Mesa Arch at Island in the Sky, 0.6 miles round trip and rated easy, gives one of the best views in Canyonlands for almost no effort. The Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint is 200 feet on a level paved path and is wheelchair accessible, though it shows the arch from a distance rather than up close.
Is Delicate Arch harder than it looks?
Yes, for a trail of three miles. The National Park Service rates it strenuous because of 480 feet of climbing on open slickrock with no defined path, a narrow ledge near the top, and no shade at any point. Murphy Point is longer at 3.4 miles and rated easy, which is the clearest illustration of what actually makes a trail hard here.
Which canyoneering route is best for beginners?
Medieval Chamber. Two rappels of ninety and a hundred feet, about three miles of walking, fifteen minutes from Moab, and it runs year round including winter. Published at $140 to $340 per person depending on group size. Entrajo Canyon is the alternative if you want water, running April to September.
Should I book a guide or drive myself around Moab?
Group size decides it more than anything else. At one or two people a shared seat from $114 is the cheapest guided option and driving yourself is cheaper still. At three the two are level. At four or more a private trip usually costs less per head, because most Moab operators price the guide rather than the seat.
How do you decide what goes in these comparisons?
Trail data comes from the National Park Service for the national parks and from the guiding operators for BLM trails. Prices come from each company's own website with the month they were checked printed on the page. No operator pays to appear or to be recommended.
Next step
Or go straight to a trip
Trail data from the National Park Service, operator data from published material, all checked September 2026. Figures change, so every page carries its own date.