Under Canvas Moab

Under Canvas Moab sits on 40 acres of red-rock plateau seven miles north of town on Highway 191, between Arches and Canyonlands. The scenery goes all the way round, which is the reason to sleep out here rather than in town. It was one of the first resorts to be DarkSky Certified, and both national parks are DarkSky Parks too, so the night is half of what you come for.

We had a Safari tent for two nights in June. Unlike most Under Canvas camps, Moab has no café, so dinner is up to you: we cooked ours on the camp's shared barbecue and ate it sitting out under the stars with a beer. Then a very comfortable night, in a tent that never once felt like camping.

Arches is twelve minutes' drive, for the Delicate Arch trail, and Canyonlands' Island in the Sky district twenty-five. Dead Horse Point State Park, twenty-three miles off, has the Rim Loop Trail above the Colorado River. The Adventures team arranges canyoneering, rock climbing, paddleboarding and Hummer tours into the parks, all paid for separately, and Moab's restaurants and bars are ten minutes away on the nights nobody fancies the grill. The Stargazer tents have a viewing window over the bed, and the camp holds star parties.

There are tents with beds for children, and the largest sleeps six. The camp is open from March to November, has no wifi anywhere, and runs no shuttle, so arrive by car.