If you’re passing through the town of Moab on your way to Utah’s national parks, chances are your itinerary is packed with outdoor adventures like hiking, rock climbing or off-roading.
But if you need a break from all the physical activity, this little town has plenty of options for a more laid-back travel experience. David Latt reports on local places to eat and relax in Moab.
Moab is a town that caters to tourists, with affordable accommodations, dozens of casual restaurants, and plenty of trinket shops. But if you look closely, there are some gems within this well-traveled destination.
Locals happily recommend Manin Street favorites like the intimate Jailhouse Cafe, open only for breakfast andEklecticafe with homemade soups, sandwiches, pastries, and second-hand collectables.
For an ethnic option, Singha Authentic Thai Cuisine serves spicy chicken larb and fat noodles with broccoli.
Meanwhile, locals point to the funky Wicked Brew, the “Espresso Drive Thru” for excellent coffee, the Love Muffin Cafe with a large selection of breakfast burritos, muffins and sandwiches and, my personal favorite, Milt’s Stop & Eat.
Tucked away on a side street in a residential neighborhood, Milt’s, opened in 1954, serves classic burgers, cheeseburgers, and chili cheeseburgers, with French fries, onion rings, milk shakes, and malts. Reflecting current tastes, burgers are also available with bacon, green chili, jalapenos, mushrooms, grilled onions or grilled pineapple, and there are veggie burgers as well as grilled cheese and BLT’s.
The grill station takes up a third of the cramped interior, with customers jammed together along the counter and perched on the few high tables against the window. The delicious burgers are fat and juicy, topped with a mix of mustard and ketchup with pickle slices on a sesame seed bun. The fries are a bit limp, but the onion rings strike a balance between the crispy outside and the sweetly caramelized onion inside. The strawberry milk shake was perfection.
Shopping in Moab is limited as most stores support tourists activity. Besides art galleries, jewelry stores, and half a dozen T-shirt stores, Moab is also home to the Hogan Trading Company which carries a wide variety of hand-crafted work by Southwestern craftspeople and Native American artists from the Navajo, Zuni, and Hopi tribes.
Just outside the entrance to the trading company are stairs leading down to Mill Creek Parkway, a hiking and bicycling pathway that cuts through town. Virtually hidden from view, the parkway is Moab’s little secret, providing an opportunity for a quiet walk in a sylvan setting.
Locals also frequent MiVida on East Center Street, a resale shop with a good selection of affordable western collectables. A few blocks away at the corner of North Main Street and E. 100 North are Back of Beyond Books and its adjoining sister store, Arches Book Company. A half a dozen coffee shops are within walking distance for those who have tired of active recreation and sight seeing and want some quiet time to read a good book.
Learn more about the area with David Latt’s Southeastern Utah Travel: Moab, Canyonlands & Arches National Park
A few miles outside of Moab, Hole n’ the Rock, a local oddity, is worth a quick stop to investigate the peculiar obsession of Albert Christensen who decided that burrowing deep into a massive stone hillside, using a pickaxe and dynamite, was the best way to build a 5,000-square-foot house for his family.
Guided tours of the home are available for a modest entry fee, as is the petting zoo, but the picnic areas and kid pleasing sculpture garden with dozens of eccentric homemade sculptures are free to all.
On Highway 128, also outside of town, Red Cliffs Lodge sits on a bend of the Colorado River. Like its more luxurious cousin a few miles away, Sorrel Creek Ranch Hotel & Spa Resort, visitors find themselves up close and personal with the landscape.
A dirt road leads down from the highway to Red Cliffs Lodge and the Cowboy Grill restaurant with a deck overlooking the Colorado River. The Lodge has meeting rooms and a film museum, documenting the area’s use as a location for dozens of Hollywood movies as varied as John Ford’s Rio Grande, Mission Impossible II, and Galaxy Quest.
Fanning out from the lodge, the guest rooms, solidly built cabins with kitchens and private decks, are located along the river so guests can enjoy a morning coffee with the water only a few feet away. The large property is a working ranch with an enclosed pasture for cattle and horses alongside the cabins.
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The effect is idyllic, Western-style, with contented farm animals basking in the sun as they roam the green field at the base of a majestic red rock mesa.
In addition to the lodge and restaurant, Red Cliffs Lodge is home to Castle Creek Winery. Whether because of the Mormon Church’s disapproval of alcoholic beverages or price-point issues, Utah has very few vineyards. Popular with tourists, Castle Creek is one of only a handful of wineries in the state.
Besides hiking, river rafting, and mountain biking, horseback riding is also available. Guided rides begin at the stables, with a dozen riders watched over by two wranglers. The trail climbs up into the foothills overlooking the lodge. The leisurely ride gives ample opportunity to take photographs and enjoy the landscape, with views off the Colorado below.
At the nearby Sorrel Creek Ranch, the attractions are similar but decidedly more sybaritic and expensive. Spa treatments and yoga classes are available, as is a fine dining experience in the River Grill Restaurant which travelers have given mixed reviews because of the inexperienced service staff and high prices. The Ranch sits across the highway from three of the most iconic rock formations just outside of Moab: the Castleton Tower, Rectory, and Priest and Nuns. Taking advantage of the location, guests can sit in comfortable lawn chairs and contemplate these natural wonders, a glass of merlot in hand.
By David Latt for PeterGreenberg.com. Visit David on the Web at MenWhoLiketoCook.com.
Related links on PeterGreenberg.com:
- Southeastern Utah Travel: Moab, Canyonlands & Arches National Park
- Ask the Locals Travel Guide: Park City, Utah and The Sundance Resort
- Sundance Film Festival: When Hollywood Takes Over A Small Mountain Town
- Family-Friendly Outdoor Travel: Bryce & Zion National Parks
- Off the Brochure Travel Guide: Salt Lake City, Utah
- Western United States Travel
