Plan your visit toMoabto include many free educational opportunities by park personnel and other authorities about the region’s Natural History. Besides a myriad of activities hiking to biking, rafting to 4 wheeling, visitors will find these things to do too with an additive of stillness. Listen to park rangers at Arches andCanyonlandsNational ParksorDeadHorsePointState Park. Meet with the awarded Artist in the Park at Arches andCanyonlandsNational Parks. Opt for the Junior Ranger programs for kids 6-12 years of age. Or enjoy the Lecture Series hosted by theMoabInformationCenterin downtownMoab.

ArchesNational Parkhas a Fiery Furnace ranger lead walk twice a day that is regularly sold out 5 weeks in advance. Alternative tours are now available fromMoabAdventureCenter, Windgate Adventures andNAVTEC Expeditions. Each is a commercially permitted company with Fiery Furnace itineraries. Then nightly a free 45 minute illustrated program is held at the Devils Garden Campground Amphitheater. Check at theArchesVisitorCenterfor times and topics.

CanyonlandsNational Parkhas geology presentations in theIslandin the Sky District twice a day at the Grand View Point. The Needles District has a one hour evening program in the amphitheater of the Squaw Flats Campground involving the topics like desert plants, cowboys, explorers or astronomy. The Maze District provides guided hikes at theHorseshoeCanyonunit on Saturdays only during the cooler months of the travel season. It is a seven mile round-trip hike that takes about five hours.

Get more contemplative with the Artist in the Park. In the fifth year, Sarah Hamingson has been awarded for the role in 2013. Sarah creates with pastels. Visitors have an opportunity to interact with the artist on scheduled days in Arches orCanyonlandsNational Parks. Dont’ be surprised if Sarah Hamingson hands out paper and colors to share the inspiration of a park view. Scheduling continues through November.

Both National Parks have a Discovery Pack for families with children. A deposit is required to borrow this handy pack of field guides and explorer gadgets forArchesNational Parkor theIslandin the Sky District of Canyonlands. Junior Ranger booklets are given out to kids ages 6-12 in every National Park across the nation. In addition to Arches andCanyonlands National Parks,Moab’sDeadHorsePointState Parkhas a Junior Ranger program too.

DeadhorsePointState Parkhas visitor programs ranging from coffee with a ranger, to Leave No Trace Ethics, to Full Moon hikes. Programs vary and are posting in theVisitorCenter. Also in theVisitorCenteris the Bighorn Gallery which periodically showcases artists from the region or subject matter depicting the region.

The Moab Information Center in downtownMoab seasonally establishes a weekly Thursday night Lecture Series with speakers on an assortment of topics. Presentations about cultural resources, flora, geology, local history, dinosaurs and park insights are on the 2013 agenda. TheMuseum ofMoab is located a block away from theMoabInformationCenter, alongCenter Street and is teeming with history aboutMoab’s cowboys, uranium mining, dinosaur finds, and Native American occupants.

There are excellent guided tours in Moab. They lead visitors on the Colorado River, on the trails by motorcycle, ATV, four wheel drive or bicycle, through the rocks climbing or canyoneering, in the sky with scenic flights, hot air ballooning, ziplines, or skydives. The website www.discovermoab.com fully describesMoab’s activities and lists tour companies.