JOURNEYS
YOUR PASSPORT TO THE MOST FASCINATING CORNERS OF THE GLOBE COURTESY OF ULUM RESORTS

WANDERLUST

RED ROCK REVERIE

AT GLAMPING RETREAT ULUM, LUXURIATE IN UTAH’S CANYON
COUNTRY, SURROUNDED BY MARQUEE PARKLANDS     
BY PAUL RUBIO

A visit to eastern Utah feels somewhere between a journey to
Earth’s core and another planet altogether. At the nexus of national
and state parklands, uninhabited, ethereal landscapes stretch in every
direction. Steep ridgelines and canyons reveal true wrinkles in time,
topography shaped over millions of years. Colossal boulders teeter on

precipices beside formations that shift from smooth sandstone to jag-
ged and foreboding, carving valleys, hills, and sudden drops. Against

JOURNEYS

this palette of rust and amber, the sky does
its own work: dramatic cloud formations
casting spectrums of blue and violet, with
flashes of green from pockets of flora. The
scene changes by the hour, each shift in

light recasting the terrain. The natural splen-
dor here ranks among the most extraordi-
nary in the United States—and it refuses to

hold still.
Reaching this remote corner of Utah by
air typically means connecting through
Phoenix or Denver onto Contour Airlines,
the only commercial carrier serving Moab.
While connections aren’t always ideal, the
final leg more than compensates. The flight

doubles as a pilot-led overview of the Amer-
ican Southwest’s greatest hits, especially via Phoenix, tracing paths over the Grand Can-
yon, Lake Powell, and Capitol Reef National

Park before circling closer to the visual apex
of red rock country: Arches National Park
and Canyonlands National Park, with the La
Sal Mountains rising in the distance. Seeing
the scale from above sharpens the moment
of landing and the immersion that follows.

For those arriving by private aircraft, the ap-
proach delivers the same perspective. Once

on the ground, Ulum Moab Luxury Resort

places you squarely within it, a new glamp-
ing retreat set on its own sweep of archland.

Opened in 2023, Ulum is an elevated
offshoot of Under Canvas, a hotel brand
known for its casual, safari-inspired tented

camps near national parks. True luxury ac-
commodations close to U.S. national parks

remain surprisingly scarce, which makes
Ulum’s arrival especially well timed. Here,
the concept goes further: a remote 200-acre
setting, larger and more fully equipped
tents (about 360 square feet), and common
spaces that feel considered without trying
too hard. Each of the 50 tents includes a

king bed, private deck, rain shower, wood-
burning stove, and in-tent cooling. The cen-
tral hub—a restaurant and bar framed by