Grand Junction to Moab drive: Distance, time & best road trip stops
By car, the distance from Grand Junction to Moab is 113 miles. That makes for a driving time of 1h44m. The best road trip stops on the Grand Junction to Moab drive are Fruita, Rabbit Valley and Mill Canyon.
Planning a Grand Junction to Moab road trip
The drive from Grand Junction to Moab takes you from western Colorado to the adventure sports capital of Utah. For most people, this will be a second leg on the road trip from Denver to Moab.
Grand Junction is the gateway to the Colorado National Monument, but other attractions include the mountain bike trails and the Museum of the West.
All-action Moab offers 4×4 adventures in Arches National Park, rafting on the Colorado River, half day trips into the rugged ranges of Canyonlands National Park and e-bike petroglyph tours. For other Moab experiences, try drive-your-own-Jeep tours, canyoneering adventures and paddleboarding on the Colorado.
Grand Junction to Moab distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Grand Junction to Moab is 113 miles. That makes for a driving time of around one hour and 44 minutes. The drive is largely along the I-70, then down US-191.
The best attractions along the Grand Junction to Moab drive are heavily dinosaur themed. Pick one of Fruita, Rabbit Valley and Mill Canyon.
Grand Junction to Moab road trip attractions: Fruita, Colorado
A short drive out of Grand Junction, Fruita is home to the Dinosaur Journey Museum. It has the requisite fossil collection, skeletons and reconstructed dinosaurs, but it makes a point of being interactive and hands-on. That might mean making dino tracks in a sandbox or uncovering real dinosaur bones in a fake quarry site.
You can also take on the mildly strenuous, one mile-long Dinosaur Hill walk.
Grand Junction to Moab drive: Rabbit Valley
Before crossing into Utah, Rabbit Valley plays host to a working fossil quarry. The dinosaur fossils on display are thought to be 140 million years old.
There’s a looping, 1.5 mile walking trail around the quarry, ostentatiously called the Trail Through Time. Interpretive signs around the trail, plus a kiosk at the start, tell the tales of different dinosaurs that have been found in Rabbit Valley.
Where to stop between Salt Lake City and Moab: Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail
In Mill Canyon, just off US-191, more than 200 dinosaur tracks and bones have been found in the sedimentary rock.
It’s possible to walk through the canyon, seeing the Cretaceous Era footprints, more than 100 million years old.
Download an interpretive brochure from the Bureau of Land Management before visiting so you know exactly what you’re looking at.
More Grand Junction road trips
Grand Junction to Aspen | Grand Junction to Colorado Springs | Grand Junction to Denver drive | Grand Junction to Salt Lake City.