Moab, Utah, is a bucket-list destination for outdoor enthusiasts, famous for its red rock landscapes, stunning desert scenery, and access to two of Utah’s Mighty 5 National Parks—Arches and Canyonlands. Whether you're hiking along breathtaking trails, taking a scenic drive through dramatic canyons, or relaxing under the stars, Moab offers endless opportunities for adventure—and the best part? Your dog can join you for the journey!

With a laid-back, adventure-driven atmosphere, Moab is a town that welcomes travelers looking to immerse themselves in nature. The surrounding area is filled with hiking trails, campgrounds, and pet-friendly accommodations, making it a top spot for dog parents looking to explore the beauty of Utah’s desert with their four-legged companion.

Weather & Best Time to Visit moab with Your Dog

Moab experiences hot summers, mild winters, and comfortable spring and fall seasons, making it important to plan your visit around the weather, especially when traveling with a dog.

Spring (March–May) – One of the best times to visit, with daytime temperatures ranging from 60–80°F and cool evenings. Wildflowers bloom, and hiking conditions are ideal for both humans and pups.
Summer (June–August) – Very hot, with temperatures reaching 100°F or higher. If visiting in summer, plan early morning or evening activities and bring plenty of water for you and your dog. Many hiking trails are too hot for dogs' paws during midday.
Fall (September–November) – Another fantastic time to visit, with temperatures cooling down to the 70s and 80s°F. Fewer crowds make it a perfect time for scenic hikes and exploring Moab’s natural beauty.
Winter (December–February) – Cool but manageable, with daytime temperatures averaging 40–50°F. Snowfall is rare in town but can occur in the surrounding higher elevations, creating a beautiful, peaceful landscape for off-season exploration.

For the most dog-friendly experience, aim to visit in the spring or fall when temperatures are mild and comfortable for outdoor adventures. No matter when you visit, always pack plenty of water, dog-safe hiking gear, and a shady spot to rest if you plan to spend extended time outside.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about visiting Moab with your dog, from the best pet-friendly hikes and scenic drives to dog-welcoming accommodations, restaurants, and tips for a stress-free trip. Let’s dive in and start planning your dog-friendly Moab adventure!

where to stay with your dog in moab

Moab offers a variety of dog-friendly accommodations that cater to diverse preferences and budgets. Here are some top options to consider, or you can also rent a vacation home using the dog filter on AirBnB or VRBO.

1. Moab RV and Glamping Resort

Address: 3310 Spanish Valley Dr, Moab, UT 84532
Pet Fee and Policy: Welcomes pets for an additional fee; specific pet policies may vary.
Average Nightly Rate: Approximately $90
Unique Features: Offers a range of accommodations, including RV sites, cozy cabins, luxurious glamping tents, and charming tipis. The resort is just minutes away from Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, providing a peaceful retreat after a day of exploration.

2. Field Station Moab

Address: 889 N Main St, Moab, UT 84532
Pet Fee and Policy: Welcomes two dogs up to 60 lbs for an additional fee of $20 per night. Dogs may not be left unattended in rooms. Cats are not allowed.
Average Nightly Rate: Approximately $150
Unique Features: Offers a blend of modern amenities and rustic charm, with an on-site restaurant and easy access to local attractions.

3. ULUM Moab

Address: Located near Moab, exact address provided upon booking
Pet Fee and Policy: Allows dogs for a fee of $35 per dog, per night. Dogs must be kept on a leash, cleaned up after, and not left unattended in tents.
Average Nightly Rate: Approximately $300
Unique Features: Provides a luxury camping experience with upscale tents, stunning desert views, and outdoor activities.

4. Gravity Haus Moab

Address: 477 S Main Street, Moab, UT 84532
Pet Fee and Policy: Welcomes two pets of any size for an additional fee of $75 per stay. Pets cannot be left unattended in rooms.
Average Nightly Rate: Approximately $350
Unique Features: Features modern rooms, an on-site restaurant, a pool, and proximity to downtown Moab.

5. Under Canvas Moab

Address: 13784 US-191, Moab, UT 84532
Pet Fee and Policy: Allows dogs for an additional fee of $35 per pet, per night. No cats.
Average Nightly Rate: Approximately $300
Unique Features: Provides upscale glamping accommodations with safari-inspired tents featuring king-size beds, plush linens, ensuite bathrooms, and wood-burning stoves. Located near Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, it offers a unique blend of comfort and adventure.

Dog-friendly dining options in moab

The town boasts a variety of dog-friendly dining establishments, ensuring that you and your furry friend can enjoy delicious meals together. Here are some top spots to consider:

1. The Blu Pig

Address: 811 S Main St, Moab, UT 84532
Fare Type: Barbecue and Blues
Unique Features: Offers slow-smoked meats, traditional barbecue sides, and vegetarian options. The covered outdoor seating area features misters for hot weather and patio heaters for cooler days.

2. Zax Restaurant

Address: 96 S Main St, Moab, UT 84532
Fare Type: American Grill and Pizza
Unique Features: Serves a wide range of options including pasta, burgers, salads, steaks, and pizza. They also offer a "Take 'N Bake" pizza option for those who prefer to dine at home. The Watering Hole at Zax features a variety of locally brewed beers.

3. Trailhead Public House and Eatery

Address: 11 E 100 N, Moab, UT 84532
Fare Type: American Comfort Food
Unique Features: Located in one of Moab's oldest buildings established in 1886, this eatery offers scenic views from its open patio. The menu includes vegetarian and vegan options, burgers, sandwiches, and homemade desserts. Note: Access to the rooftop patio requires climbing stairs.

4. Thai Bella Moab

Address: 218 N 100 W, Moab, UT 84532
Fare Type: Thai Cuisine
Unique Features: Offers classic and contemporary Thai dishes such as chicken satay, pad thai, basil fried rice, and pineapple curry. The outdoor patio is dog-friendly and equipped with heaters for cooler weather.

5. 98 Center

Address: 98 E Center St, Moab, UT 84532
Fare Type: Vietnamese-Inspired and Craft Cocktails
Unique Features: A lunch spot by day and lounge by night, 98 Center offers salads, sandwiches, small bites, craft cocktails, mocktails, beer, and wine. The pet-friendly outdoor tables are available, but it's best to call ahead to confirm availability.

6. The Spoke on Center

Address: 5 N Main St, Moab, UT 84532
Fare Type: Gourmet Burgers and Ice Cream
Unique Features: Serves handcrafted burgers, soft-serve ice cream, and more. The dog-friendly outdoor patio provides a comfortable setting for you and your pet.

7. Moab Garage Co.

Address: 78 N Main St, Moab, UT 84532
Fare Type: Café and Ice Cream
Unique Features: A casual café-style eatery serving sandwiches, salads, homemade ice cream, and coffee. Dogs are welcome at the pet-friendly outdoor tables.

8. Arches Thai

Address: 60 N 100 W, Moab, UT 84532
Fare Type: Thai Cuisine
Unique Features: Offers a variety of Thai dishes with a dog-friendly outdoor patio. It's advisable to call ahead to confirm pet-friendly seating availability.

9. Moab Food Truck Park

Address: 39 W 100 N, Moab, UT 84532
Fare Type: Variety of Cuisines
Unique Features: Hosts over 10 food trucks offering Italian, Mexican, Asian cuisines, ice cream, and more. Breakfast items are also available. The outdoor seating area is dog-friendly.

10. Pasta Jay's

Address: 4 S Main St, Moab, UT 84532
Fare Type: Italian Cuisine
Unique Features: Serves in-house made pasta dishes, specialty pizzas, and more. They offer beer, wine, and cocktails, with vegetarian and gluten-free menus available. The covered dog-friendly patio provides a pleasant dining experience.

Dog-friendly activities in moab, UT

This map was made with Wanderlog, for itineraries on iOS and Android

HIT THE TRAILS

While you can’t explore some of the iconic trails in the national parks, there are several great alternatives where you can still get up close and personal with some amazing rock formations.

Check out some of our favorites below and if you have more time, research some more trails from this blog post or this filtered list from AllTrails. We can’t wait to go back and add more to our list.

Corona Arch

Hiking to Corona Arch should be near the top of the list for anyone visiting the Moab area. Outside of Arches National Park, Corona and Bowtie Arches are some of the most accessible and prominent arches to be found. Corona and Bowtie Arch Trail is a 2.4 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail. The trail is primarily used for hiking and dogs are able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

The trail begins near the Gold Bar camping area along Potash Road, nestled tightly to the banks of the Colorado River. Leaving the trailhead, you’ll start a steep climb up some steps and then you’ll cross the railroad tracks to steadily make your way up on top of the slickrock benches that make up Bootlegger Canyon. There is a small section of the trail that includes safety cables with small foot holes and a short ladder, but most people will be able to pass this section without trouble. Give yourself some time to take pictures and enjoy the immaculate desert landscape and incredible formations.

Dead Horse Point Rim Trail

Dead Horse Rim Loop Trail is a 5 mile heavily trafficked loop about 40 minutes outside of Moab that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

Dead Horse Point State Park is located high on the rim of the Colorado River Canyon. It offers some of the most spectacular views in the Moab area. These views offer what is considered the best sunset in Moab, so make sure you stick around and stake out a spot at the overlook to wait for the sun to go down.

Fisher Towers

Fisher Towers trail is a 4.2 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Moab, Utah that is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, running, and nature trips and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash. There is a small ladder about 1.5 miles into the trail that may be difficult to pass with a large dog.

The entire length of the trail is decorated with an enormous variety of rock art, sculpted by the wind and the rain from the soft red sandstone, and it is in large part this spectacle that makes the hike so delightful. The last major tower on the route is the Titan, which the trail passes after about 1.5 miles.

Admittedly we didn’t see the trail markers in the beginning of this hike and ended up wondering in a different direction. We veered to the left and wondered back along this narrow loop near the parking lot. This is not an official part of the trail, but worth the extra exploration.

To ensure you don’t miss the trail, make sure you continue straight when ascending down the trail and walk down the canyon within the first quarter mile. I’d recommend downloading the AllTrails map before you head out because you won’t have service.

ENJOY A SUNSET AT DEAD HORSE POINT STATE PARK

One of the most photographed vistas in the world, Dead Horse State Park towers 2,000 feet above the Colorado River and the overlook provides a breathtaking panorama of Canyonlands’ sculpted pinnacles and buttes. Known for having the best sunset views in Moab, plan to visit this park later in the day to walk the one-mile rim trail and stake out a spot for sunset.

Dead Horse State Park does require a $20 entrance fee that is good for 24-hours.

Legend has it that Dead Horse Point got its name from cowboys corralling wild mustangs to the point after creating a barrier out of branches and brush. They’d pick their favorites and then leave the rest to die of thirst with the Colorado River in view just 2,000ft below. 😭

EXPLORE DOWNTOWN MOAB

The downtown business district of Moab has a great collection of restaurants, microbreweries, shops, and galleries. Stroll through the downtown shops for a great selection of southwestern arts and jewelry, souvenirs, and much more.

Some of our favorite shops include:

Moab Made: Our fav store to check out in Moab. Doodle Mom got her Christmas ornament from here in 2018 and then scored some home decor in 2021.
Moab Barkery: Don’t miss this dog shop off the main strip of downtown. It’s packed with food, treats and accessories. You can pick up a souvenir for your furry friend or grab some emergency treats if you run out.
ar-tee-sian: This is a human store but it had really cute locally designed clothes with the muted desert colors Doodle Mom loves. We got a couple bandanas that can easily be styled for a dog. This shop is also located on a block that has a lot of cute boutiques to wonder into.

In addition to shopping, be sure to add these dog-friendly patios to your list:

The Spoke on Center: Our favorite dinner and best value for quality. Don’t miss the ice cream window on the sidewalk!
Moab Garage Co.: Our favorite breakfast spot. We got it to go three times while we were in town, but there are a few tables and chairs on the sidewalk if you want to dine there.
Glorias Corner Cafe: Great for smoothies or Italian dinner.
Zax: When I called, the hostess told me dogs had to be tied to the other side of the patio on the sidewalk, but when we walked by all the dogs were sitting at the tables with their owners, so we ended up eating dinner here. Don’t miss the fried cauliflower appetizer, and if you prefer takeout they do take and bake for their pizzas.
Moab Coffee Cafe: Great spot for sipping coffee on free wi-fi accompanied by outdoor charging outlets.
Food Truck Park: Variety of food trucks with several picnic tables for dining. Visit their Facebook page for an updated list of food truck options: https://www.facebook.com/MoabFoodTruckPark/

VISIT GOOSENECKs state park

Goosenecks State Park is on the edge of a deep canyon above the sinuous river meander. The San Juan River twists and turns through the meander, flowing a distance of over six miles while advancing one and a half miles west on its way to Lake Powell. This small park affords impressive views that will remind you a bit of Horseshoe Bend without the vibrant colors. It’s really easy to park and walk over to the overlook with no hiking required. The state park is located an hour outside of Moab and requires a $5 day pass to access.

DRIVE THROUGH ARCHES & CANYONLANDS

While national parks are generally not dog-friendly, if you have an America the Beautiful pass and some extra time we definitely recommend driving through Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.

Arches National Park is just outside of downtown Moab and features a scenic out and back drive that you can do in an hour. Along the scenic drive there are overlooks for Courthouse Towers, Balanced Rock, Delicate Arch, Fiery Furnace and Sand Dune Arch. All of these can be viewed from your car except for Delicate Arch - you’ll need to walk a few mins from the parking lot up to the viewing point for this one (dogs are not supposed to leave the parking lot).

Water and ice, extreme temperatures, and underground salt movement are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of Arches National Park. There are over 2,000 catalogued arches in the park with the count fluctuating due to new formation or erosion. In order to count as an arch, the arch must have a minimum of a 3-foot opening.

Ensure you have music downloaded before entering the park because you’ll have no service throughout your drive and don’t enter on an empty tank of gas. We mention this because Doodle Dad wasn’t paying attention and started our scenic drive with only 50 miles in the tank. 😳

Canyonlands National Park is located past Dead Horse State Park and is a bit more spread out than Arches with less unique viewpoints along the scenic drive.

Canyonlands is home to countless canyons and buttes carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries. Rivers divide the park into four districts: Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze, and the rivers themselves. These areas share a primitive desert atmosphere, but each offers different opportunities for sightseeing and adventure. Island in the Sky is the most accessible and offers a paved scenic drive. The other districts are sought after for backcountry hiking and off-roading.

Most of the rock found in Canyonlands today came from distant mountain ranges like the ancestral Rockies and even the Appalachians. For millions of years, rock was broken down and carried here by wind and water, creating deposits that eventually became distinct layers of sedimentary rock.

Many of the rocks exposed in Canyonlands were deposited near sea level. Today, the average elevation here is over 5,000 feet above sea level – a significant uplift.

Canyonlands is part of a region called the Colorado Plateau, an area that stands high above the surrounding country. About 20 million years ago, movement in the Earth's crust began to alter the landscape of North America, building modern landforms like the Rocky Mountains, Nevada's Basin and Range, and the Colorado Plateau. Some geologists believe that the plateau has risen as much as 10,000 feet since the uplift began.

These movements also created cracks where melted rock rose from deep inside the Earth. In some places, it cooled before reaching the surface, creating pockets of harder, igneous rock within the surrounding sedimentary layers. Eventually, erosion exposed these harder deposits, creating the isolated mountain ranges visible from Canyonlands: the La Sals, Henrys and Abajos.

The main attraction in Canyonlands is Mesa Arch, but the trail to the arch is not dog-friendly.

If you only have time to visit one park, we’d recommend Arches. It’s more accessible, there’s more diversity and awe in the viewpoints and it’s closer to downtown Moab.

TAKE A DAY TRIP

While there’s so much to do in Moab, you can venture beyond the city and explore other red rock landscapes, like Monument Valley.

Monument Valley, a red-sand desert region on the Arizona-Utah border, is known for the towering sandstone buttes of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park and located 3 hours south of Moab. The park, frequently a filming location for Western movies, is accessed by the looping, 17-mile Valley Drive.

Make sure you do your research before visiting. There are nearly 30 viewpoints and several self-driving road throughout the park (a 4x4 vehicle is recommended). We didn’t have a ton of time to explore and I wish we did. I think that would’ve made us enjoy it more. At the time it just felt like a lot of driving.

Moab is definitely towards the top of our travel list with a variety of things to do with your dog. If you’re heading to Moab, let us know if you have any questions or if there’s anything we should add to our list the next time we visit.