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Welcome to my blog/travel guide. Take a look around, you never know what you might find!
Welcome to my blog/travel guide. Take a look around, you never know what you might find!
Arches may catch some flack for not being the most creatively named national park, but what else would you call a place that contains more than two thousand sandstone arches (the highest concentration in the world)? Delicate Arch, possibly the most famous natural arch in the world (and a symbol of the state of Utah) can be found within Arches National Park, along with countless other arches and sandstone formations.
Eastern Utah
National Park 1971
(National Monument 1929)
$25/vehicle
1.6 million annually
76,679 acres
This incredible drive should be sipped like a fine wine; slowly and deliberately.There are multitudes of named unearthly rock formations right along the road and if you look at them from the right angle most of the rocks do, in fact, resemble what their names imply. Sheep rock looks like an escapee from little Bo Peep’s flock. The three gossips resemble a trio of secretive silhouettes. Just after you reach BalancedRock, turn down The Windows Road. This 2.5 mile pavedroad takes you to an outcrop of arches and eventually loops back to the main road. Here you’ll see a myriad of formations including the Parade of Elephantsand North Window Arch. Short trails take you to more intimate views of Double Arch, Turret Arch, and North and South Window Arches. Back on the main road, head north toward Devil’s Garden. Another2.5 mile paved roadon your right takes you to Wolfe Ranch (the trailhead for Delicate Arch Trail) and at the end is the parking lot for the lower viewpoint of Delicate Arch. Delicate Arch Road loops back toward the main road where you should continue north to Devils Garden, the terminus of the scenic drive. Along Devil’s Garden Trail you’ll see Landscape Arch, one of the longest natural arches in the world
This hike is a calf burner. A steep and lengthy scamper up the face of slick rock is followed by a breathtaking cliff-side hike up to the precariously located Delicate Arch, sometimes called “Chaps”. This enormous sandstone arch surprises you as it leaps out from behind the final corner of the trail, leaving jaws agape. The hike is a bit of a challenge, but everyone wants their picture with the arch, so take a number. Everyone is patiently waiting in line to get their moment under the arch, so give your phone to a stranger so they can snap your pic. Taking a picture without a human in the frame can be quite the challenge, but that is my new favorite hobby apparently. The hike isn’t terribly difficult so if you are able bodied, I highly recommend doing it, but if it’s just not in the stars for you there are two other options to see Delicate Arch. Honestly, finding parking at Wolfe Ranch in an RV was more strenuous than the hike was.
One mile past the Delicate Arch Trailhead are the Upper and Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoints. The upper viewpoint is still a moderately strenuous (half-mile round trip) trek to see the wonder from a short distance. The lower viewpoint is even more distant from the arch, but is wheelchair accessible and can be done in ~10 minutes.
At 290ft. (nearly the length of a football field!) Landscape Arch is the largest natural arch in the world outside of China. Short side trips take you Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, you can continue on the Devil’s Garden Trail to Partition Arch, Navajo Arch, the Double-O Arches, and Devil’s Garden.
