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.