Top Things to Do on a Moab Family Vacation With Kids

2021-04-02

Posted In: Blog

If you’re looking for fun and adventure while on a family vacation, look no further! With world-renowned hiking and biking trails, stunning red rock formations, and plenty of activities for kids, Moab is a great destination.

Your Guide to a Moab Family Vacation

Here’s a list of some excellent Moab family activities as well as hotel and dining options to help you build your itinerary for family fun and comfort. A great option for many families is to choose a guided tour so that you can leave the planning to a local! Keep reading for guided and do it yourself options!

Top Moab Family Activities

1. Go Hiking in Arches National Park

One of the main attractions in Moab is the beauty of Arches National Park. Take your loved ones on a hiking trip to Delicate Arch, one of the largest freestanding arches in the Arches National Park. It is rated as moderate-hard with some steep and rocky sections, but only about 3 miles round trip. Other famous Arches hiking trails worth looking into include Double Arch, Fiery Furnace, and Landscape Arch. You can also just take a scenic drive through Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and see the arches from the comfort of your own vehicle. You will experience a host of exciting features within this park, such as the Petroglyphs and the Wolfe Ranch Cabin.

2. Discover Dinosaurs at Moab Giants

You and your family can also visit Moab Giants. This is an interactive museum that features a 5D Prehistoric Aquarium, dig-out sites, a dino playground, and a dinosaur trail with 100 life-size dinosaurs. Take your loved ones through this historical journey of dinosaurs by watching a 3-D movie within the museum. This is an exciting, educational activity for younger children during Moab family vacations.

3. Hit Slick Rock Trail on a Mountain Bike

Moab is world-famous for the Slickrock Bike Trail. One of the great things to do in Moab is to experience the excellent mountain biking trails. Moab offers trails for any level of mountain biker from beginners to seasoned pros looking for the ultimate challenge. Beginners can take a short drive from downtown Moab to the Klonzo Trail System with short loops of varying lengths. At Dead Horse Point State Park, there is the family-friendly intrepid trail system. Children can tackle shorter distances while mountain biking, whereas adults can opt for a more challenging trail within the great pyramid.

4. Swim at Moab Recreational and Aquatic Center

The new recreational and aquatic center in Moab features a spectacular outdoor pool for children and adults alike. These outdoor pools are open between May and September, containing everything that can excite your children. For example, you can take your children to the smaller pools in the recreational center as you relax on a pool chair enjoying the fresh air.

5. Go River Rafting Down the Colorado River

Another exciting adventure is rafting in Moab. Experience Fisher Towers rafting, a section of the Colorado River with exciting class 2 and 3 rapids. Guided half-day or full-day river rafting trips are offered on this section by local guide companies. Kids as young as 5-years-old and 40 pounds can enjoy this scenic rafting trip.

6. Hunt for Ancient Petroglyphs

Choose from hundreds of sites with indigenous rock art left by the native people who once populated the area dating back as early as 5500 BC. You can visit some of the best petroglyphs in Moab within a short walk from your car. Or, hire a Moab Canyoneering guide and see some of the less visited petroglyphs during a family-friendly canyoneering adventure.

7. Rock Climb Moab’s Legendary Red Rocks

Moab rock climbing is world class! Families with children 8 years of age and over can hire a Moab rock climbing guide and learn to rock climb outdoors. The great thing about climbing in Moab is that there are routes for all levels of experience and ability. Guides at Red River Adventures can tailor trips for you and your families experience level and comfort.

Kid-Friendly Lodging and Restaurants in Moab

At this point we’ve provided a detailed list of family things to do in Moab. Now we will cover great family hotels and kid-friendly dining options in Moab. The only problem may be narrowing down all the choices to pick just one hotel and the number of restaurants you’ll actually have time to try while you’re here. Here are a few popular options to start your search:

Moab Family-Friendly Hotels

Moab Redcliff Condos: Pool, free Wi-Fi, free private parking
Hoodoo Moab: Oversize parking, picnic area with tables
Aarchway Inn: Pool, hot tub, fitness course, free Wi-Fi, free shuttle services
Big Horn Lodge: Heated pool, free Wi-Fi, coffee maker
Expedition Lodge: Heated pool, free Wi-Fi, playroom
Hyatt Place Moab: Pool, restaurant, free private parking, fitness center, playground, on-site bar

Favorite Moab Restaurants for Kids

Zax Restaurant: 96 S Main St
Review: “Great food kid-friendly as well”
Jailhouse Cafe: 101 N Main St
“Kids build their own breakfast”
Moab Diner: 189 S Main St
Review: “Easy, quick family-friendly stop”
Trailhead Public House & Eatery: 11 E 100 N #2436
“Tasty burgers and salads in a cozy location!”
Pasta Jay’s: 4 N Main St
Review: “Scrumptious Italian fare”

Red River Adventures offers the adventure you’re looking for that will take your Moab family vacation from exciting to nothing short of epic! In addition to Moab rafting, we also offer Moab canyoneering and Moab rock climbing for all ages. With Red River Adventures, there’s something for the little adventurer in every family. The next time your family is looking for a Moab family activity unlike anything you’ve experienced before, Red River Adventures is here to help you build new memories and have a blast while doing it!

Questions? Call (877) 259-4046 or Email Us

The River People

Post Author

We strive to ensure that time spent with us is time that you will always look back on fondly. We want to leave you with a memories that bring a smile to your face no matter where you are, no matter what you are doing, and no matter how much time has passed. In addition to a deep reservoir of personal experience, our rafting guides are licensed by the state of Utah, have Wilderness First Responder and/or First Aid/CPR certifications, and are insured. Many guides also have swiftwater rescue training. Our climbing and canyoneering guides are AMGA-certified for the terrain in which they operate. Our skiing guides are certified for the terrain, and some are world-renowned for their experience. All of our guides are intimately acquainted with not only the river, rock and snow, but also with the incredible surroundings of the areas we guide.

Karla G

September 11, 2026

Had a great, relaxing, and very scenic float down the Corado River. Our guide, Seth, was excellent.

Joan Hoffberger

September 8, 2026

I would highly recommend Red River Adventures.We had a great half day on the river with our guide Dallan,who was awesome!A really fun time with lots of stories and jokes.Liz and the rest of the gang were amazing also.Join them for an adventure you won’t forget!!

Jan Lewis

Great ride! Beautiful scenery and fun guide! Loved Hanks bubble bath!!

Guru Dwarakanath

We tookricer rafting, a morning round. The team was fantastic and fun! We had kids with us who thoroughly enjoyed their first rafting exp! Team made it safe for kids to jump in the water, swim, sit on raft's nose. The Red River team has great crew, boats and take sound care about managing risks and gave us good walk through Do's and don'ts. Overall a wonderful experience as we redid rafting with Red River after 14yrs!

DXC

September 7, 2026

Great excursion, fantastic guide, awesome people on our tour. What a beautiful day we spent with Molly as our guide! The scenery was amazing, the participants were everything (I couldn’t have handpicked a better group). Highly recommend this company and would do this trip again in a heartbeat. Thank you!!!

Lucus Allen

Best experience ever. Request the Taco Champion dude. And his buddy. Amazing staff. Kids had a blast.

Trent W

Great time! Great guides!

Bryn Johnson

September 6, 2026

My husband and our 2 teenagers had a great time with this fun group! We especially enjoyed the raft guides’ jokes and games, including: “rocks that look like other things” and searching for “rockadile babies and Moab flamingos!” Dallin was a joyful and knowledgeable guide. He was very patient with our silly fam :) We will happily load up on their “brown whale” and be “sardines” on their awesome red rafts again soon!!

Shelisa Pinson

We had the best time! Steph was super kind, patient, and very knowledgeable. He taught us so much about the dinosaur tracks and petroglyphs we saw, and even educated us about the cryptobiotic soil along the way. The rappel adventure was definitely what we were there for, and it did not disappoint! It started off a little easier, but it definitely got more intense as we went. You won’t walk away feeling like you signed up for a toddler adventure 😂, but you also won’t feel like you’re in over your head. It was the perfect balance of fun, adventure, and challenge!

Eyal

September 4, 2026

Even when the river wasnt as exciting, the guides were awesome and made the trip memorable for us. Would do it again only with them.

Mary Nofs

August 31, 2026

We chose a canyoneering expedition, and the experience was great! I was a first-timer, and our guide, Steph, was top-notch!

Taylor DeBoer

August 30, 2026

Our guide was super knowledgeable and super fun! Red River made everything super easy, from booking to drop off. I genuinely had an amazing time and would recommend them to anyone looking to raft in moab.

Craig Kief

August 29, 2026

Excellent adventure. Had a great raft trip with Aaron and Carl rocked for setting things up.

Mark Tripp

August 28, 2026

Top tier adventure company! My family and I had the pleasure of doing the half day canyoneering tour paired with the half day rafting tour. Steph (aka Jimmy) was our guide for canyoneering and we were beyond impressed. He did a great job of educating us on petroglyphs and local flora/fauna as we hiked into the canyon. My eight year old daughter also did the canyoneering tour and Steph went above and beyond coaching her through the rappels. As a parent I was most impressed by his attention to detail and safety. Rafting in the afternoon was also a great experience. Molly (aka Jersey Mikes) was our rafting guide and she also did an exceptional job and made sure everyone on the boat had a great experience. The other rafting guides on our tour were Ainsley and Seb; they were also very engaging and made the short bus trip more enjoyable with their comedy :-) Highly recommend this company. All of the staff that we encountered were friendly and seemed to truly enjoy what they do.

Jennifer Nappila-Nutter

Amazing adventure with great guides! Would highly recommend this tour company

Jeri Hurst

August 27, 2026

Had a fun trip on the Colorado river with guide Aaron. Aaron made the rafting trip special

Christa Wittenberg

August 26, 2026

We had a great time on this rafting trip! It is a tame river, perfect for kids (it was my kids' first time), and a beautiful backdrop. The guides were great.

Braden Young

August 25, 2026

Booked a full-day 1-on-1 trad class with Red River Adventures on short notice and it was one of the best days I've spent on rock. I came in as a relatively new trad leader — solid on movement, but still pretty heady about my own gear. I explained where I was and what I wanted out of the day, and Carl met me exactly there. No canned curriculum, no dumbing it down. He watched me place, corrected me where I needed it, and critiqued placements I would have walked away from thinking were fine. The part I valued most was the reasoning. We covered protection selection and *why* certain pieces work in certain features — the kind of thing you can read about for months without it clicking. He also went through my entire rack piece by piece and walked me through what I was carrying, what I should be carrying, and why. I had no idea how much of my rack was there out of habit rather than intention. That conversation alone changed how I'll approach every route from here on. He also cleared up a few misunderstandings I'd picked up secondhand and never questioned. Having someone qualified put those to bed was worth the price of the day by itself. Carl was honest about what I was ready for and what I wasn't, confirmed my capabilities, and turned me loose. I left with a much clearer head and a much better sense of what I'm actually looking at when I'm deciding where to put a piece. If you're stuck between following your friends and leading your own routes, this is money well spent. Highly recommend.

Robert Raymond

We had a blast. Aaron was a great tour guide! Great stories and was very helpful with my wife who is not a fan of water!

Jennifer Kioski

August 24, 2026

Our guide Aaron made the trip so much fun! All of the staff were very friendly. Great trip!

B B

August 23, 2026

Had a few days to kill in Salt Lake City and hired a guide (Carl) to show me some multi pitch in the area. Awesome service, I’ll definitely be back

Melissa Bardsley

We had a fantastic time. 2 moms and 3 kids, everyone loved our time on the river and the bus! Aaron was hilarious and a great guide. We definitely recommend renaming the last rapid “Hank’s Bubble Bath”.

Lesley Klett

August 22, 2026

Experienced and knowledgeable guide! Despite the low water made the 1/2 day rafting trip fun for a family w tweens. Recommend!

Sophie Wolfe

August 21, 2026

Our group had such an amazing time with Red River Adventure and their crew! It was a great experience in total, entertaining as well as very cost effective. The owner, Carl, even made a point of reaching out to me multiple times during the booking process to answer my questions. I will definitely book with them again.

Ana Sanchez-valdes

August 18, 2026

We had an amazing experience due to out wonderful guide Steph

Cindy Correa

August 17, 2026

I always choose Red River Adventures for my river rafting trips. Thanks everyone!

Boysen Hodgson

We loved this trip. Aaron was hilarious, informative, and professional. Being on, and in!, the water was an awesome way to spend an afternoon. Or, in a word, epic.

A Aa

August 16, 2026

Only wish the river water was higher. Our guide was great as were our boat mates

Etienne Detrie

August 13, 2026

On a passé un bon moment avec l'équipe de Red River pour profiter du colorado é rafting. Ballade paisible avec quelques rapides dont un dans lequel on peut se jeter dans l'eau. Les enfants ont beaucoup aimé

Longevity Physical Therapy LLC

We booked canyoneering and white water rafting for our day and it did not disappoint. We were greeted right on time of our arrival by Steph who was our guide for canyoneering. We didn’t quite know what to expect and it was absolutely amazing. Steph was 10/10 and would rate him higher if we could. He provided knowledge, lots of laughs, and a calming presence during repelling. His attention and care to the two little ones in our group was amazing helping them. They re named him “Jimmy John” which provided great laughs he was an amazing sport with. Our next adventure was rafting with Molly (aka Jersey Mikes) who was also amazing. She knew exactly how to have a good time when the water was calm with rafting games and water gun fights. All of the guides were friendly and Ainsley’s jokes were top notch! If you are seeking adventure and fun don’t hesitate to book with Red River Adventures. They truly are #1 in our book!

Lisa Lyman

August 12, 2026

Professional guides. We took all of our kids ranging from 12 to 5 and they all loved every second of it. Would definitely recommend. Beautiful place.

Leonardo Pracchi

August 11, 2026

This trip canyoneering with Steph was AMAZING. Extra care in talking about the beautiful land and history of the people who lived it for the past couple thousand years! Repelling is hard but so fun and it was overall a fantastic experience.

The GUILIG

Top team, great place, perfect moment!

Jody Lyman

Well informed and fun guides! Our river guide was so friendly and especially patient with our enthusiastic boys on the trip. It was a really fun day for the whole family!

Larry

Absolutely spectacular. Excellent, professional service. Totally recommend this company to anyone. 👌👌👌👌

A K

August 10, 2026

Great team at Red River Adventures. Knowledgeable and fun guide team. Molly was our guide and she was fantastic with keeping our group safe and cooled off with the high temps while sharing details of the amazing views from the Colorado River. Highly recommend!

Brianne Jordan

August 9, 2026

All the guides in our group were great and we loved the jungle cruise-esque jokes on the bus. Dallin was our guide on the river and he was the best and made sure we had an awesome time! We have kids aged 5-15 and it can be hard to find things they all enjoy, but this checked all the boxes. We were told that Molly made the curry for lunch and we loved it and will try to dupe it at home. We would definitely do another trip with Red River!

Hannah Harrison

Our guide, Ansley, was fantastic! Each rapid, swimming in the river, hearing the majestic eagle call, and playing “rocks that look like stuff” was all stellar. 10/10 would recommend. Ps. Hanks bubble bath was our favorite rapid.

Roxanna Isaacs

So much fun!!! Our guide was awesome!! Thank you

Michael Vitols

Great Staff! Super welcoming and friendly. Highly recommended!

Laura Schultz

We really enjoyed our day whitewater rafting with Red River. Our guide, Seb, was fun and capable making sure everyone was comfortable and having a good time. We enjoyed the rapids, the chances to swim in the river, the geology lessons, wildlife and the jokes.

Jeff Shuff

Great time from the bus ride to drop off and the jokes that were told to the history of area and geological features and wildlife. We saw a beaver!!!

Michele David

August 6, 2026

Wisconsin travelers here to bear-ify that Molly did in fact see a bear on our full day rafting excursion. We had a blast with Red River Adventure and their crew- the entire day was great and well organized! If you are looking for an adventure - check them out our family had a blast on the Colorado River. Molly was amazing -we learned lots of fun facts about the area, jumped in for a refreshing swim and lunch was awesome! I highly recommended Red River Adventure!

Matthew Lord

August 5, 2026

Our guide was both professional and entertaining. Favorite rapid was Hanks Bubble Bath…so fun!!!

Courtney Beck

August 4, 2026

Red River Adventures was the absolute BEST! My family (5 of us…3 kids ages 16,14, and 12) had an amazing whitewater rafting float down the Colorado River with our super awesome guide Aaron. We saw lots of wildlife, including big horn sheep, and Aaron was not only super chill and hilarious, but very informative of the river and history of the area. The whole crew of Red River Adventures was awesome, actually! So much fun!! My kids had an absolute blast.

Seth Jones

Seb was a great guide and would recommend him to anyone.

Dawn Wilson

August 3, 2026

Our group of tween boys LOVED it, as well as the adults!!! The guides were professional yet soooo full o’fun, and the raft ride had adventures abound. So glad this is the company we landed with!

Steven Henderson

The guides were terrific and fun. Ours took a personal interest in everyone in the raft. Safety was obviously a genuine concern, and having fun was a top priority. Although the rapids were basically only Class I, it was still a very fun ride with beautiful scenery.

Thomas Hartung

August 2, 2026

Wir haben das Bow and Arrow Canyoning gebucht. Dauer ca 3h plus Fahrzeit. Wir hatten zu viert gebucht und einen eigenen Guide bekommen. Alles super professionell. Zuerst ein kurzes Abseilen zur Eingewöhnung und Kennenlernen der Handgriffe. Danach 3 unterschiedlich hohe Felswände. Die höchste war 35m hoch. Ob der Preis gerechtfertigt ist, muss jeder selbst wissen. Es war nicht günstig. Wir würden es aber sofort wieder buchen

Chuck M

We spent two days with Red River Adventures and had a blast! The guides were very professional, knowledgeable and we learned lot. I highly recommend this outfit if you’re ever in the Salt Lake City area.