A sign with the words 'The Desert Moon' hangs above a blue building with a red roof. There are several cars parked in front of the building, and trees and a cloudy sky are visible in the background.
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Historic Hotel, RV Park, and Campground just outside Moab

Set in the old desert town of Thompson Springs, a place shaped by history, wide open skies, and creative spirit.

This place has real personality: a little unusual, a little wild, and much more memorable than the usual stop along the way.

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Accommodations at Desert Moon

Historic Hotel

A bedroom with turquoise walls featuring a large geometric mural behind the bed, a wooden floor, and a window with brown curtains. The bed has a colorful quilt and pillows, and there is a nightstand with a lamp and a mirror above it. Some towels are folded on the bed and a cowhide rug is on the floor.

Stay upstairs in the historic Desert Moon Inn, where each room has its own artistic personality. The inn is more like a boutique boarding house, with private rooms, shared bathrooms, and a shared kitchenette.

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RV Park

A sign for Desert Moon Hotel RV Park with a smiling face emoji on top, set against a blue sky and surrounded by trees with RVs and vehicles in the background.

Settle in under the shade trees with full hookup RV sites offering water, electricity, and sewer. A desert basecamp with easy access to Moab, Arches, Canyonlands, and more.

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Campgrounds

Camping scene with an orange and white tent and a white car parked on a dirt area near trees and bushes, with open land and hills in the background during sunset.

Pitch a tent and enjoy the quiet, open desert atmosphere. Campers have access to restrooms, showers, and water spigots, with plenty of room to take in the landscape.

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Stay Near Moab, Arches, and Canyonlands

Desert Moon makes a great base for exploring southeastern Utah.

Red sandstone rock arches and formations against a blue sky with clouds in a desert landscape.

Nearby highlights include:

  • Moab

  • Arches National Park

  • Canyonlands National Park

  • Sego Canyon pictographs and petroglyphs

  • The Green and Colorado Rivers

  • Scenic drives, rafting, hiking, and desert adventure

Desert Moon is close to a lesser known north side approach to Arches that gives the adventure a more scenic, backroad feel.

Arches Access

Historic Hotel: The Desert Moon Inn

A bedroom with green leafy patterned wallpaper, a metal bed with green bedding, a small nightstand with a neon cactus light, a window with teal curtains, a corner sink, and wall art, with a multicolored circular rug on wooden floor.

The Desert Moon Inn was originally built in 1936 as a boarding house for miners and travelers passing through Thompson Springs. Today, its private rooms have been reimagined as immersive, art filled spaces, each with its own mood and character.

Plant Room

A cozy bedroom with pink walls, two windows with wood trim, and turquoise curtains. A bed with a blue bedspread and colorful pillows is in the foreground, with folded towels on it. There is a wall mirror and two diamond-shaped decorations on the wall.

Crystal Room

A bedroom with teal walls featuring southwestern style geometric mural art, a black metal bed with a quilt, a bedside table with a white lamp, a tall mirror with a wooden frame, a window with curtains, a cowhide rug on wooden floor, and a small sink in the corner.

Southwest Room

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The old Desert Moon Hotel and Cactus Cabaret Dancehall were built in 1936 and have served miners, railroad workers, truck drivers, tourists, and travelers for generations. The property has a long and colorful history, including its days as the town bar and brothel, and remains one of the most distinctive places to stay in the area.

Located in Thompson Springs, a former mining town with a current population of around 50 people, Desert Moon is one of a kind. It is both a historic relic of the wild west, and an evolving creative property, with ongoing restoration, artistic touches, and a small on site community continuing to shape what it becomes.

A Historic Desert Stop with a Wild Western Past

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Our little town offers a central location to many activities, and we have some pretty amazing views of our own.

A rugged, barren mountain landscape with a large, flat-topped mountain in the center under a partly cloudy blue sky. The foreground consists of dry grass and sparse shrubbery.

One of the best parts of staying at Desert Moon is the setting itself. The property sits at the base of the Book Cliffs, surrounded by open desert, shifting light, and ancient pictographs. Sunrise and sunset are especially beautiful here. Desert Moon offers a beautiful setting to experience this part of Utah.

More Things To Do
Ancient petroglyphs painted in red on a reddish-brown rock face depicting humanoid and animal figures.

Just up the road, Sego Canyon adds another layer to that experience, with ancient Archaic and Fremont pictographs and petroglyphs, dramatic canyon walls, and traces of the area’s old mining history. It is one of the most remarkable nearby places to explore, and a reminder that this landscape has held meaning for a very long time.

Visit Sego Canyon

Choose Your Stay

Hotel

Historic, artistic, and full of personality.

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RV Park

Full hookups, shade trees, and easy access to adventure.

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Campgrounds

Tent or van camping with showers, restrooms, and open desert views.

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What Guests are Saying

"Great spot to park your RV and explore Moab!! Friendly staff. We had our dog with us and had zero issues with any of the residents or their pets. The train is fun to watch and you are ten minutes from some pictograph and petroglyphs to go see. Hook ups work great. Shade tree was nice. We will be back!”

“My family and I loved staying here! Can't wait to come back and stay in other "themed" rooms. Loved the crystal room! A little off the beaten path but a cool experience. The building was super neat, remodeled after being used to house miners long ago. Highly recommend!”

"Unbelievably unique and beautiful!!! Each room in this old boarding house was artistically hand painted. Then there is a shared kitchen area, a balcony and a shared bathroom… I just have never seen anything like it!"

"The Desert Moon is an absolute hidden gem! The couple that owns this place were very welcoming and you can tell they put their hearts into restoring this place. I loved the eclectic decor and the themed rooms. The historic vibe of this place really comes through, the train rolling by and the horn sang out topped it off for me."

A sunset or sunrise over a mountainous landscape with colorful clouds in the sky.

Desert Views

Desert landscape with distant snow-capped mountains, sparse vegetation, and abandoned vehicles in the foreground.
A vast desert landscape at sunset with a colorful sky and distant mountains.
View from a train window showing railroad tracks in the foreground, with a barrier and a mountain range with snow-capped peaks in the background. There is a railroad crossing sign on the right side of the image.

Find Us in Thompson Springs

Desert highway scene with a Shell fuel station, a sign pointing to Thompson Springs, and a truck on the road with rocky hills in the background.

Located just off I-70 at Exit 187, Desert Moon is an easy stop on the way to Moab, Arches, Canyonlands, and the surrounding desert. Close enough for adventure, but far enough out to feel like its own experience.