Usually the word “Moab” conjures up mental images of finding new desert towers to explore, dumping sand out of our shoes, eating smores under the stars, and lots and lots of time in the sun. It also usually means a few days of no showers and chasing after patches of shade and crowd-free creeks throughout the peak of the day to stay cool. We’ve passed the Sorrel River Ranch countless times as we’ve driven along the river for desert adventure weekends. My daughter always shrieks with excitement when we see horseback riders on the property! We’ve peeked at the garden, just visible from the road, which is used for their award winning meals- and we’ve read allllll about the luxurious property. When Sorrel River Ranch offered to host our family, we couldn’t reply fast enough! Desert adventure + Luxury Lodging and Dining + Beautiful Horses (and other ranch animals)? SIGN US UP. This type of vacation is ALL TIME for our family!

Luxury Lodging And Dining

We’re used to “dirt bagging” it in Moab. We actually drive right by the Sorrel River Ranch every time on our way out of town (sleep deprived and shower deprived), and have been FANTASIZING about booking a trip for our family. “But! Would staying here change everything we love about a trip to Moab?” Turns out: Only in the best ways possible! Let me tell you what we loved about staying at the Sorrel River Ranch.

First of all, the location. The ranch is situated right across from our favorite towers in the area. Our cabin had a back porch that opened up to a sprawling green lawn that led to the Colorado River. I spent several hours feeding Levi under a shady tree, reading a book next to the river, across from our favorite view. IT WAS GLORIOUS.

Secondly: THIS IS SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST A CLEAN BED AND A SHOWER. The Sorrel River Ranch is absolutely a destination in itself. We loved the desert-rustic-luxury feel of the Sorrel River Ranch! The deep tub, the comfortable beds, the beautiful decor. We loved making a snackboard and hanging out on the deck and listening to the river after the kids went to bed. We LOVED our room! But, you’ll read next why we didn’t spend a TON of afternoon time in our cabin….

Finally: The amenities and activities at the ranch. We love spending time exploring in Moab- but it also just felt GREAT to spend time hanging out as a family at the ranch. Our kids LOVED spending time with the animals on the ranch. Seriously- that’s all they wanted to do! The wranglers were so incredibly kind and helpful, and helped our kids having great experiences, feeding and petting the animals, or hopping on one of the friendly horses in the corral.

They also loved ripping around on their bikes around the property and on the paths next to the river! I was hoping to check out the gardens at the ranch… but the kids kept me pretty busy with all of our visits to the barn. We also went for some unbelievably gorgeous hikes just across the street from the ranch! We played family board games (and the adults enjoyed cocktails) before dinner reservations. All our meals on site were delicious- take the staff recommendations! They steered us towards a fresh, locally caught trout, and made sure our kids got meals JUST they way they like them. My goodness, lets not start talking about desserts- that could be an entire separate post. The favorite thing we ate might have been the s’mores around the fire before bed. Dessert just tastes better under the stars. There’s also a gorgeous blue pool surrounded by lounging chairs outside of the lodge- perfect for desert scorcher afternoons!

You might THINK You Know Moab Adventure…

We’ve DONE Moab again and again over the years. Mountain biking, climbing, camping, hiking, rafting… we consider ourselves fairly well versed in Moab adventure. I didn’t quite understand how much value we’d get from the guides at the Sorrel River Ranch Adventure Center. When we walked past the door we saw signs offering a wide range of experiences: skydiving, hiking, horseback riding, National Park tours, rafting, jet boat tours, hot air ballooning, UTV tours, mountain biking, kayaking… the list went on and on!

We originally planned a guided hike- but I was a little hesitant. We consider ourselves fairly well versed with the trails in the area (we make a point to explore and find less popular trails in Moab every time we come)- did we “need” a guide? We also have that whole gaggle of kids! We might not go at a typical guided hike pace! We popped into the Adventure Center, and were pleasantly surprised. We talked to our guide about hiking with a 3yr old, infant, and adventurous 7yr old, and he offered lots of trail suggestions in the area- some I had never heard of. The hike was perfectly paced for our family- and we learned lots about the history and geology!

Come For The Horses, Stay For The Ranch Life

Not gonna lie: the big thing my kids were the most excited about at Sorrel River Ranch was riding horses! I felt the same! Our days seemed to revolved around visiting horses, going for rides in the corral, and the centerpiece of our trip was our desert adventure horseback ride! I *knew* it was going to be an incredible experience… but I didn’t QUITE KNOW. There’s nothing that I’ve done that quite compares to riding narrow trails under the shadows of tall desert towers for sunset with your children. But honestly? We found just as much enjoyment from our time with the other animals on the ranch too! The kids started their mornings feeding animals with the wranglers, and had countless visits to the horses in the afternoon. I loved learning about the history of the land, and feeling like I stepped back in time while we heard the horses bray against the backdrop of the tall red towers.