One of the best things about Moab is that you don’t just hike here—you time it. The red rock glows differently depending on the light, and the best sunrise and sunset spots in Moab can completely transform the landscape. If you only plan one or two big photo ops, make them at golden hour. If you’re planning your Moab trip around golden hour, you might also like my guide to the Top 5 Epic Views Around Moab for even more can’t-miss overlooks.
Here are the best sunrise and sunset spots in Moab (and exactly when to go).
Trail Length: 0.7 miles round trip
Difficulty: Easy
Best Time: Sunrise
If you’ve seen that photo of a glowing arch with a canyon backdrop, this is it. At sunrise, the underside of Mesa Arch lights up bright orange as the sun peeks over the La Sal Mountains. The short hike is easy, but it gets crowded—arrive at least 45 minutes early if you want a good spot.
When I went, clouds covered the sun, so the glow wasn’t there. But honestly, the moody sky gave it its own kind of magic.
Trail Length: 0.3 miles round trip
Difficulty: Easy, paved loop
Best Time: Sunrise
Balanced Rock is impressive any time, and it’s one of the easiest sunrise and sunset spots in Moab to reach. The shadows stretch across the desert floor, and the whole formation looks even more precarious. The loop is short, so you can see it quickly before moving on.
If you’re already exploring Arches at sunrise, check out my post on the Top 3 Arches in Moab You Can’t Miss to add a few extra stops to your route.
Trail Length: 1 mile round trip if you do North Window, South Window, and Turret Arch
Difficulty: Easy
Best Time: Sunrise
Turret Arch framed through the North Window at sunrise is one of my favorite views in Moab. The light streams through the windows, turning the arches golden. If you’re willing to hike the primitive loop, you can also see the North Window from behind—a hidden perspective most visitors skip.
Trail Length: 0.8 miles round trip to the first overlook, 1.8 miles if you continue to the second
Difficulty: Moderate (short but steep)
Best Time: Mid-morning into midday
This one isn’t a sunrise arch—it’s a crater. But the midday light highlights the greens, whites, and reds inside, so if you’re in Canyonlands after Mesa Arch, this makes the perfect follow-up. Scientists still debate whether it’s a collapsed salt dome or a meteor crater. Either way, it’s not like anything else in the park.
For more Canyonlands highlights beyond these viewpoints, don’t miss my guide to the Best Stops in Canyonlands National Park.
Trail Length: 3 miles round trip
Difficulty: Strenuous (steep slickrock, no shade)
Estimated Time: 2–3 hours
Best Time: Sunset
This is the bucket-list sunset in Moab. The 3-mile hike climbs steadily, and the last stretch across slickrock will test your calves, but standing under Delicate Arch at sunset is worth every step. The arch glows gold against the darkening desert.
Pro tip: Arrive an hour before sunset. That way, you can take photos before it gets crowded, then just sit back and watch the light change.
Trail Length: 1 mile round trip with the Windows Section
Difficulty: Easy
Best Time: Sunset
A quieter alternative to Delicate Arch. The sun sets perfectly behind Turret Arch, lighting up the sky behind its stone window. You can climb into the arch for a fun angle, or watch from North Window across the way.
Trail Length: 0.25 miles paved to the overlook (2 miles if you do the rim trail)
Difficulty: Easy
Best Time: Sunset
The name says it all. From the overlook, you’ll see Monument Basin, the Needles, and canyons stretching as far as the eye can see. At sunset, the spires glow while the canyons below fade into shadow. It feels like the whole desert is putting on a show.
Trail Length: 0.5 miles round trip to the overlook
Difficulty: Easy
Best Time: Sunset
One of the most iconic sunset spots in Utah. From the overlook, the Colorado River makes a giant U-turn 2,000 feet below. As the sun sets, the cliffs turn fiery red, and the view is wide open in every direction.
I caught it on a cloudy day, and the stormy light added drama—but on a clear evening, it’s pure magic.
In Moab, the timing matters as much as the destination. Sunrise lights up Mesa Arch like fire. Sunset turns Delicate Arch into gold. And if you’re willing to trade a little sleep or sweat for the view, you’ll walk away with memories—and photos—that feel larger than life.
If you only do one sunrise and one sunset, make it Mesa Arch at sunrise and Delicate Arch at sunset. But honestly? You can’t go wrong—Moab’s red rock knows how to put on a show no matter where the sun is. If you want to build a full red rock itinerary around these golden-hour stops, my Spend a Week in Moab: The Perfect 7-Day Itinerary maps out the best way to fit everything in.
Four hours on a train through a canyon you can’t reach by car — such a fun experience! We picked the indoor seats with unlimited access to the open-air viewing car, which honestly felt like the only right call. You’re not stuck in an assigned seat the whole time we bounced between the two, snacks in hand, chasing the best light.
The scenery is the whole point. Red rock cliffs, the Verde River, a 734-foot tunnel, historic trestle bridges views most people visiting Sedona never see, because you literally can’t drive to them.
The charcuterie box that comes with your ticket is shockingly filling ✨ so skip lunch at the Copper Spike Café beforehand, save your appetite for dinner back in Sedona.
Four hours with no stops did start to feel long by the end, but the trade-off for scenery like this? Worth it.
Would I ride it again? Yes. Would I buy lunch first again? No.
Link in bio for the full review cost breakdown, what to pack, and exactly how early to arrive 🚂
I ate chilaquiles while a Cessna taxied past the window, and that’s just a normal Tuesday breakfast in Sedona.
@mesa_grill_sedona sits right beside the Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout, so along with your food you get red rock views stretching in every direction and a front-row seat to tiny planes lifting off. Chef Mercer Mohr runs the kitchen, serving up Southwestern comfort food from breakfast through dinner, chilaquiles, elevated diner classics, burgers, steaks, seafood, all of it.
The view is what pulls people in the door, but the food actually holds its own. Good enough that this place stays packed with locals, not just tourists passing through on their way to the lookout. It also picked up the 2025 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice and OpenTable Diners’ Choice awards, so it’s not just me saying it.
Indoor seating if you want the AC, a pet-friendly patio if your dog’s along for the trip. Either way, get there before plane-spotting turns into a wait for a table.
Link in bio for the full Sedona breakfast roundup ✈️🌵
Confession: my newsletter is where the good stuff lives. Not the polished, edited-for-the-grid stuff, the “here’s the hole-in-the-wall I almost skipped” stuff, the packing lists I actually use, the “don’t book this hotel” warnings before you waste your money on them.
The newsletter is basically me texting you before a trip instead of after one. Sign up and you’ll be the first to know where I’m headed next, plus a few things I’ll never post here.
Link in bio if you want in. ✈️
Yes, it’s only July. Start planning anyway. Fall books faster than people expect, and a few of these destinations are worth getting ahead of. Here are five places worth putting on your radar right now.
Ireland: Cooler temps, moody skies, dramatic coastline fall was made for it. Tourist crowds drop, the green stays, and the whole country feels a little more like itself.
Great Smoky Mountains, TN/NC: Fall foliage in the Smokies is the real thing. The color peaks mid-October and the views from the ridgelines are hard to argue with. It’s also one of the most visited national parks in the country, so going on a weekday makes a real difference.
New York City: Fall is NYC at its best comfortable temps, the energy of the city shifting into a new season, and every neighborhood doing something worth showing up for. It’s also just a great walking city when it’s not brutally hot.
Japan: Fall foliage season is as good as spring cherry blossoms and somehow less talked about. The colors are dramatic, the temples and gardens are stunning, and it’s worth planning around peak dates by region.
Mystic, Connecticut: Small, walkable, genuinely charming Mystic in fall feels like exactly what a New England autumn is supposed to look like. Easy to pair with a broader New England road trip if you want to extend it.
Full guides linked in bio 🍂
There are two kinds of travelers: people who plan a trip and then figure out where to eat, and people who book a restaurant and then build the rest of the itinerary around it.I am the second kind. I will not apologize for this.
The reservation gets locked in first. The hotel search happens within the same 24 hours. The flights get compared around the restaurant’s hours of operation. The rest of the trip exists to fill the days before and after the table I actually came for.
If this sounds unhinged, I completely understand. It has also resulted in some of the best meals of my life, so I’m going to keep doing it.
Drop a 🍽️ if you plan your trips around food too.
Follow @travelwithwendyplummer for Beautiful Beach Destinations, City Guides, Foodie Spots, and Luxury Hotel Recommendations.
