Arches National Park, central Utah

 
Arches National Park in the central Utah region, near Moab is the symbolic park of Utah is many ways. Firstly it has the famous Delicate Arch which is almost like the symbol by which Utah is known in he US and overseas. Secondly the town of Moab symbolizes the spirit and heart of Utahns and finally the geology of the place reflects what defines Utah.

Delicate Arch, Arches NP

Landscape Arch, Arches NP

There are hundreds of small and large arches which are spread across the National Park. Some are easily accessible while other require you to hike longer distances. 

Best Time to visit: Apr to June and Sept to Oct. Jul to Aug are too hot but days are long.

Weather: 70s to 90s in Apr - Jun, 90s to 100s in Jul - Aug, 80s in Sept - Oct

In Summers, do the hikes in early mornings or late evenings to avoid the intense heat.  

How about winter: Winter hikes are fine too if you are okay with little chill and shorter days. There may be some snow on the trails so need to be careful and well equipped.
 

Where to stay: Camp inside the Park as it has some great campgrounds and a KOA close by, Moab is the nearest town with lots of hotels and inns which are very pricey. Green River is town that is about 40 mi (1 hr drive) from Arches and it has economical hotels.
 

Things to do: Hiking, Rock Climbing, Biking, Backpacking, Best for Night Star Watching, Photography, Sight seeing, Picnics.
 

Attractions close by: Canyonlands National Park is 45 min away, Green River is 1 hr away, Natural Bridges National Monument is 3 hrs away and Monument Valley is 4 hrs away.

Drive from Salt Lake City: 4 hours

Ideal Trip Plan (for first time traveler): 

• Drive in the evening on Day 1 from Salt Lake City and check-in to a hotel
• Start early on Day 2 and complete the Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch and other easy access arches
• Visit Canyonlands National Park on Day 3 and return to Salt Lake City by the night

The main arches in the national park are the Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, Double O Arch, Sand dune Arch and Broken Arch. Most of the arches in the Park are about 10 to 20 min drive from each other. If you have just few hours of day then visit the Delicate Arch. For a trip over couple of days, plan to do the hike to the Devil's Garden Trail and the Delicate Arch on different days. You can technically do both the hikes in one day but will be very strenuous. From the Visitor Center, you will drive on the road towards the trail heads (marked red color in the map inside the Park area). Balanced Rock if the first major attraction on route and there is a small trail to go around the unique rock formation and take pictures. Further ahead the road splits at a fork where the right turn will take you to the famous Delicate Arch while the left turn to the rest of the arches and the Devil's Garden trail head. 

Trails & Hikes in Arches NP

The two most frequented hikes and my personal favorite hikes are the Devil's Garden and the hike to Delicate Arch. There is also a small hike to the Double Arch (different from Double O arch) and the the Windows section which can be done in a couple of hours.

Delicate Arch (MUST DO)

This is the Monarch amongst all the arches. Grand and a highly unique rock structure that creates a view your eye will literally utter "WOW" the moment you see it. The hike is mildly strenuous and takes about 2 to 3 hours to complete but it totally subject to how much time you spend up there. The hike requires climbing uphill on a rocky hill (no loose rocks) and coming back the same way. Avoid losing light while finishing the hike unless you are properly geared up. On the way up, just before you get to the Arch, there is a big hole on your right in the wall and if you climb up there you see a magnificent view of the Delicate Arch as seen in the adjacent picture. Once up there, supervise your kids as there are no railings or fence to hold you back and pathways are narrow with vertical drops.

Photographers can consider this place as a paradise with the Delicate Arch proudly posing for super shots in varying colors, angles and light settings. Different times of the day creates different color patterns on this structure. However, in my mind dusk and starry or full moon nights are the best to shoot the arch. Sunsets are simple superb here and the shot with the sun setting in the background is one of my favorite. You can also go around and climb up the arch from behind (recommended only for extreme hikers and trained professionals) to take a bottom up shot of the Arch. Once at the Arch, watch your steps as the walk up to the arch is along the edge of a bowl and tipping over would mean falling into the bowl (shown in the first pic above) and would be difficult to climb back up.

Devil's Garden Trail (SHOULD DO)

This trail is the second most visited section of the National Park. This trail houses several arches which are from okay to beautiful. On route to trail you will get past sand dune arch and broken arch. The Devil's Garden trail starts with the Tunnel arch as its first exhibit and soon shows signs for the Pine Tree Arch. Tunnel arch is okay but the Pine Tree is very nice. 

The spot around the Pine Tree Arch is very cool and shady. The ground is all sand and walking on it is immense pleasure. Once at this place I found it hard to leave due to the tranquility of the spot. To shoot the full arch in one frame you need wide angle lens on your camera. Luckily I was carrying my GoPro and could shoot the arch as seen in the picture on the right.

The trail then gets to a point where the right turn will take you through some tough terrain and to the Double O arch but the hike is very strenuous and I have not done this yet. The left takes you to the famous and beautiful Landscape Arch. 

Here on we looked up and the road ahead to the Double O arch is to walk up a narrow rock strip and you may need to use your hands at times to climb up. Moderately difficult but doable if you are fit and not scared of heights. The picture on the right is the part of the trail that you need to climb on. Once up there the road is pretty flat to the Double O arch. The view of the National Park from above can't be described in words but has to be seen to be understood.

 A mile and half hike gets to a place where you have to walk on narrow rock road with vertical drops on either side. It is not scary but need to be cautious. The road itself is about 6 to 10 feet wide. The view is simply amazing as you walk on this with green on your right and red rocks on your left. Once past this point, you will get to see couple other arches which can be easily missed and honestly its okay to skip them too.

The Double O arch is the prize at the end of this thrilling hike and it worth it. The spot itself is very peaceful and the arch is truly two O's, one on top of the other. You can walk down to the arch and take close up pictures but we were late getting to this point and didn't want to lose light on the way back so spent a few minutes and turned back. The hike back was tiring but we were very proud of the achievement. I am sure the hike burned thousands of calories but once back at the hotel, the hot tub pool soothed the aching muscles and the local pizza filled up the lost calories.

Zion National Park, southern Utah

Zion National Park is certainly one of the best and my favorite park in Utah, though Bryce comes very close. I also think it is the best maintained and most visited park in the state. I first visited Zion in 2011, but have been a very frequent visitor to the park since. The park offers spectacular views of the high plateaus, some of the best hikes in the country and a truly serene environment.

Best Time to visit: May to June and Sept to Oct. Jul to Aug are too hot and crowded

Weather: 70s to 80s in May - Jun, 90+ in Jul - Aug, 80s in Sept - Oct

How about winter: Great for photo-ops, quiet settings, not great for hikes and camping

Where to stay: Zion Lodge is great and inside the Park, else neighboring town of Springdale ($$$$), Hurricane which is 17 mi away ($$$), St George which is 30 mi away ($$) or Cedar City which is 60 mi away ($$)

Things to do: Hiking, Rock Climbing, Canyoneering, Biking, Backpacking, Night Star Watching, Photography, Sight seeing, picnics

Attractions close by: Bryce National Park is 3 hrs away via US Hwy 89, Kanab is 1 hr away, Grand Canyon National Park North Rim is 3 hrs away, Page AZ & Glen Canyon National Recreational Area (Lake Powell) is 4 hrs away

   

Trails and Hikes in Zion NP

Court of the Patriarchs

Zion is home to the famous Narrows - known as Grandfather of Slot Canyons, the Subway, the Angels Landing, Riverside Walk and many other hikes. It has so much to do for beginner and expert level adventure seekers, photographers, kids, elderly and almost everybody. Park offers great shuttle service during the Summer months. Private cars are allowed in the Park only from Oct to May.

River Walk is a 1.5 mile paved pathway from Temple of Sinawava to the entrance of Narrows and is wheelchair accessible. The shuttle takes your right to the Temple from where it is an easy hike. Hike takes you all along the Virgin river with towering plateaus in the background, making up for beautiful photo-ops. Easy access to the river is available. This hikes takes about 45 min with brisk walking and about 90 min with a relaxed walk.

The Narrows, Zion National Park Utah

The Narrows (MUST DO)

Top Down (16 mi) & Bottom Up (9 mi) hike options
Bottom Up takes 5-8 hrs subject to your speed


It can be done in two ways - Bottom-Up and Top-Down. Top-down (NPS permit needed) is a tougher hike that requires some technical skills for canyoneering. Bottom-Up, which we did is a much easier hike that starts from the River Walk and goes about 5 miles inside the canyon from where you need to turn back unless you have a permit. This is a moderately strenuous hike and is usually the most crowded hike (for the first 2 miles) in Summers. It is a family friendly hike and requires walking upstream in the Virgin River while entering the Canyon and downstream while coming back. The river is usually ankle to knee deep in dry conditions. Always check with the NPS office for weather conditions as flash floods do happen in here during which DO NOT hike the canyon as it can result in serious injury or even death. Water can get cold during spring / fall months and dry or wet suit and water boot rentals are available at NP entrance or in Springdale.

Angel's Landing, Zion National Park Utah

Angels Landing (COULD DO) is an exciting, strenuous and heart-pumping hike that requires going up switch backs to a point after which you need to walk holding chains for reaching the trail summit. Its a 5 mile round trip hike with the first 4 miles round trip being a long, tiring but paved path while last 1 mile of round trip requires climbing on tough and narrow trail (chains are provided for assistance). This section is very thrilling and dangerous as well. The road is very narrow - about 4-5 ft at some places beyond which is 1000 ft vertical drop. The view from the top of the Angel's Landing can't be described in this blog. It has to be experienced. The entire Zion valley is visible from the top with the Observation Point couple of thousand feet above us while the view from Angels to the Watchman is nothing less than spectacular. The hike requires anywhere from 4 to 7 hours depending on your speed and endurance level.

The Subway, Zion National Park Utah

The Subway (SHOULD DO), in my opinion, is the prize of Zion. You have to really earn it through the lottery system as only 80 people are allowed to visit this place every day. The NPS runs 3 month advanced and day-before type lotteries for this which hundreds apply and only a few get. I have returned back empty handed 3 times in a row for day before type of lottery but did receive the 3 month advance on the second attempt. All said an done, it is totally well worth the effort as the rewards are unmatched. Subway is a stunner that leaves you asking for more and highly satisfied at the same time. Similar to Narrows its a walk upstream in the Left Fork but through tougher terrain, no marked trail and a longer route. It also has Top-Down and Bottom-Up options with Bottom-Up being the easy route with just over 8 miles of round trip. The permits have to be picked up at the NP Visitor Center

The Subway, Zion National Park Utah

in Springdale but the trail head is at a different location, about 12 miles away. Start the hike early as it will need 8 to 10 hours depending on your speed and group size. Always check for weather and flash flood alerts. Carry your food and I suggest carrying water filters to drink the stream water which reduces the carrying weight. Take ample sun screen, hats, sunglasses and camera with spare batteries. I recommend taking along torches and GPS (mobile based apps are fine too) in case you lose the daylight on return.

Observation Trail, ZNP

Observation Trail (COULD DO) 
Yet another great hike that takes you right to the top most point in the Zion Canyon at an elevation of 6200 feet plus. It is a highly tiring trek especially on warm days as the hike is continuous uphill from the moment it starts. This hike needs 4-5 hours for completion so target finishing this in either the first half or the second so as to avoid the afternoon sun at least for one time. Wear right shoes as the climb down takes its toll on your knees. In the middle, the hike goes past a narrow mini-slot canyon and it is very beautiful with great photo-ops.


There are several other hikes in Zion which makes it one of the best National Parks in the country. Hidden Canyon (3-4 hrs, 4 mi round trip), Weeping Rock (30 min, 0.5 m round trip), Emerald Pools (1-2 hrs, 3 mi round trip) and many more.