Arches National Park

We’ve heard it over and over like many of you probably have; “You’ve got to go to Arches”, “You’ll just love Arches”, “Arches is the best”. So, off to Moab Utah we went to see another Utah national park and see for ourselves what the hoopla is all about.

Moab is definitely the place to stay when visiting Arches but we opted to stay on the edge of town at Spanish Trail RV Park and away from the busy Moab strip. Being only 5-10 minutes from the action allowed us to visit the shops, restaurants and of course coffee shops at our leisure – pretty nice little town. The first thing we noticed when we got to Moab, however, is that it resembles more of an off-road vehicle car show then a national park center. This is Jeep country here and people flock from all over the country to ride the off-road trails in the Moab area. I have to admit I had a bit of Jeep insecurity with our almost stock Jeep Willys among all these lifted and beefed up monsters. We’ll get to the trails in a minute, but let’s talk about Arches first.

Arches National Park has moved to a time entry system so we were sure to get several passes beforehand. However, we only used one of them, opting to get into the park before 7:00am when the weather was cooler. Arches is a relatively small national park and one that you could experience most of what there is to see in a day or two depending on how much hiking you do. But its a day or two that you will certainly remember. Some people go to art exhibits to see beautiful paintings and sculptures. Arches offers the most amazing natural sculptures carved by the hands of the wind and water. These arches (and there are many of them) are a mind blowing natural masterpiece to see in person.

Let’s start with the most famous arch of them all, Delicate Arch. Its nose doesn’t glow red but if you get there in the golden hours you might just experience its red hue which sets its beauty off even more (if that’s even possible). Although there are a couple viewpoints to see Delicate Arch from afar, to experience it properly you must hike a somewhat strenuous 3.2-mile trail. There’s a good uphill stretch and then a short walk along a ledge. All that just sets you up for when you come around the corner and see this magnificent natural structure. What sets Delicate Arch out from the others is that it’s free standing in an open area on a ledge. It’s kind of floating out there saying, I’m amazing enough on my own not to need anything else to hold me up. You’ll want to spend some time there admiring the beauty and capturing a few (hundred) pics to take home.

TIP: Delicate Arch is the most popular spot in the park and this hike can get very hot in the summer. Do yourself a favor and get there at sunrise (or just before) to enjoy is best without the heat and with less crowds.

The Windows Section was a favorite for us as well and one that has a lot of bang for the buck. In a short 1.6-mile easy hike you can see three arches: both Window Arch and Double Arches. The latter being especially unique with two arches conjoined. Although you are not allowed to climb “on” the arches, you are able to adventure all around them and climb up to the base and often to the other side. This provides for some fun adventure and additional photo opportunities. While in the Windows Section, the Garden of Eden is well worth checking out. This “garden” of unique rock formations is a great place to walk around or just view from the parking lot.

Another favorite for us was Sand Dunes Arch and Broken Arch. Sand Dune Arch is just a very short walk, but through deep sand inside of a canyon. It seems like you have just escaped to a faraway island. We had this incredible space to ourselves and it was so cool (literally and figuratively) and tranquil with the sand and arch tucked away in this little canyon oasis. A short hike across the meadow, where we saw a deer feeding in the morning, takes you to Broken Arch. This is one you definitely want to do some exploring and see it, and the view, from the backside.

Devils Garden is at the far end of the park and has a loop trail leading to three arches; Landscape, Double O and Dark Angel Arch. Landscape Arch is the longest spanning arch in the park at 306 feet. You can get close to it but since a 180 ton collapse of part of the arch back in 1991, you can no longer get underneath the arch. Just a subtle reminder of how nature continually sculps these fragile formations.

We had planned to continue the hike to the next two arches but we didn’t make it. It takes some pretty hairy climbing and steep ledges to get to the other side. Shannon did it part way and I went a little further but ultimately Shannon gave the Devils Garden a “hell no” and I can’t say I blame her. I put this one on the “go back” list for cooler weather and when I’m not thinking straight.

There are plenty of other arches and awesome viewpoints that are easily accessed right off the road. Although not an arch, Balanced Rock is quite interesting. I’m not sure what’s holding that rock up but there is a major engineering flaw with how that was built!

In for a bit more Arches adventure? The park has a few backroads (most of which require 4WD) that are quite beautiful drives and even get you to the seldom seen Tower Arch. If you’ve got the right vehicle, don’t pass up this quieter side of the park. Speaking of 4WD roads…

Beyond the Park

As I previously mentioned, Moab has some of the best off-roads trails in the country and Jeepers flock here to test their skills. Heck, Jeep even has a Moab trim package to the Wrangler! We try not to go too extreme with our daily driver Jeep but there were plenty of trails that provided exceptional beauty and heart throbbing thrills. Sand Flats is the off-road park right in Moab that is very popular but this is just the tip of the off-road iceberg.

There are just way too many off-road trails to list here, but there is one that stands out and that’s Onion Creek Trail. But first, on the way to the trail, a stop at Red Cliffs Lodge and the Moab Museum of Film and Western Heritage is a must. The lodge itself has a lot of historical importance to the region and the museum will enlighten you on the history of old western movies that were produced in the Moab area. The complex sits right on the Colorado river in a beautiful setting.

As you get to Onion Creek Trail you will now notice the Fisher Towers, a rock formation that was used as a backdrop in many of the John Ford westerns. The trail gets its name due to a section of sulphur in the rocks that has a bit of an unpleasant smell, but that’s the only thing stinky about this trail. The ten plus mile trail isn’t a difficult one but it sure is scenic. There are literally dozens of shallow creek crossings along the way. The further you get the more scenic it is, traversing through canyons and along steep ledges.

The national park doesn’t have the rights to all the arches in the area, in fact you can find arches all over. One of our favorite arches in or out of the park is Corona Arch which is only a short drive from Moab along the Colorado River. A 2.4 mile out-and-back hike takes you to the iconic Corona Arch and a bonus Bowtie Arch. The hike is easy except for a small part near the end that requires traversing up a steep incline with the help of a chain and then a short ladder to get to the the final plateau. Absolutely stunning!

Since it was hot during our visit we decided to take a break from the heat one day and drive up to the La Sal Mountains which backdrop the area. We took the La Sal Loop Road counterclockwise and back around to the Castle Valley area and along the Colorado River on the way back to Moab. The mountains are gorgeous and the cool weather on top was a nice change of pace. We did take a 30 mile detour to Gateway Colorado to a spot with well preserved dinosaur tracks that we had all to ourselves.

We didn’t eat out a lot when we were in Moab but did thoroughly enjoy two places. The first is Sunset Grill, perched up on a tall hill with a beautiful sunset view. The restaurant is the former home of local uranium king, Charlie Steen. The food and the service matched the amazing views.

The other place we enjoyed is the Sandbar Lounge. This small restaurant and bar is located in a converted observation tower along the Colorado River. I wouldn’t say the food was over the top like the view, but it was a very cool experience. Oh, did I mention that you must walk up (and down) the three flights of stairs to the top of the tower? Think of it as part of the adventure but something to consider as you’re ordering your next cocktail.

Arches National Park and the overall Moab area were really fun with a lot of diversity of things to do and see. And as a bonus, Canyonlands National Park is less than 45 minutes away so its somewhat of a two-for-one deal. I’ll be blogging about Canyonlands next, but for now check out all the pictures from Arches and beyond.