Editor's note: This is a sponsor-supported article from the Essential Guide To Paddling The Parks.

There’s no better town situated for fun, outdoor adventure, and national parks than Moab, Utah. In fact, it’s the gateway for both Arches and Canyonlands national parks.

This small town of around 5,000 was a uranium boom town in the 1950s, but these days it’s all about recreation. And the reasons are obvious: towering red-rock walls, blue skies, and desert rivers. When the evening sun casts its low-slung rays across the landscape, it seems to set it ablaze. Millions of years of erosion have masterfully carved deep canyons, spires, buttes and mesas. Within the boundaries of Arches National Park is the world’s largest collection of rock arches, with more than 2,000 of these stunning features. It’s easy to imagine the recreational possibilities. Just choose a direction.

Thinking of some white water and river running? Then float, raft, or kayak down the Colorado and Green rivers, which meet just downriver from Moab.

Want to fit in some mountain biking? This is where the red-rock cycling craze started, and you’ll find some of the world’s best slickrock single track just south of town at the Sand Flats Recreation Area. Cyclists have been challenging themselves here for more than three decades.

Need to climb a rock or canyoneer? The two national parks, and the countless acres of surrounding public lands, have sheer walls and deep slot canyons.

And those are just the top three activities here.

The national parks have hundreds of miles of trails for day hikers and backcountry explorers. The mileage goes up when you add-in the Manti-La Sal National Forest, whose snow-capped peaks are framed by Delicate Arch in Arches National Park.

You don’t have to venture far from your vehicle to enjoy the surroundings. Arches National Park is less than a 15-minute drive from downtown Moab; the park road leads you through the main sandstone wonders. Canyonlands National Park’s Island in the Sky District is a bit farther (about 30 minutes) but there you can catch the sunrise through Mesa Arch, spot the Green River from Green River Overlook, or gaze into Upheaval Dome from the back of Whale Rock.

While vacations never seem long enough, go ahead and take a four-day river trip down the Colorado, and through the rapids of Cataract Canyon with Western River Expeditions. Then return by air to Moab for a unique perspective of this canyon-riddled land.

And wait, there’s more. Float serenely above the red rocks in a hot air balloon, or climb into the saddle and ride trails John Wayne rode as he scouted movie locations.

Whatever your recreational itch, the folks at the Moab Adventure Center can help you scratch it. And at day’s end, while relaxing over dinner and reliving the day, you’ll understand why people proudly affix those “Paris-London- New York-Moab” bumper stickers to their rigs.

Southeastern Utah’s landscape could be called “spare” for its lack of vegetation, but it’s still spectacular/Western River Expeditions