Exploring Arches National Park
Arches National Park was the last stop of our 2020 Western USA Road Trip. As we departed from Bryce Canyon National Park, we drove through Capitol Reef National Park before arriving in Moab, UT. Even with fully loaded excitements and super high expectations set by other UT National Parks that we visited within the same week, Arches National Park did not disappoint!
Delicate Arch
Started our visit to the famous Delicate Arch around 7:00am, and surprisingly the parking lot was half full already. However the hike didn’t seem too crowded at all, and temperature was just perfect early in the morning as there was no shade throughout the entire trail.
The hike is a 3 mile (4.8km) round trip in semi-primitive condition and about 480 ft of climb, to us this really helps explain the popularity of the place in addition to the iconic arch itself at the end - the trail has just the right length and elevation gain to be fun yet not too challenging for most, and it also provides a fair amount of intimacy to Mother Nature while not being overly rugged in most area.
When you reach the very top, you will walk into a bowl shaped amphitheater with Delicate Arch on the far back, and you can now walk around the amphitheater to find your favorite angle and view of this freestanding rock formation - delicate just as its name, yet uncontroversial and steady in another way.
Something we’ve learned from our past trips is that you can’t really experience a place without being upfront and close to it. Without walking right underneath the arch, it didn’t prompt us to think how tall it really is. The Delicate Arch is actually 52 ft (around 16 meters) tall, so unless you have a super wide angle lens, photos will have to be taken from quite some distance away in order to capture its entirety.
Devils Garden
Devils Garden is a large hiking and camping area within Arches National Park, and is one of those areas with very concentrated arch rocks. The hiking trail starts easy with paved road, but then turns into primitive path once you walk past Landscape Arch. Though we didn’t have time to make it to the very end of the loop, we were still able to see a handful arches during our hike here.
Tunnel Arch - This is the first arch of the trail, and can only be seen from afar and from a specific angle. Before we reached the vista point, we had temporary doubt of whether we were heading the right way because we couldn’t spot where the arch is, but as we continued walking it just suddenly and magically appeared. Reminded us of the old saying - there’s always light at the end of the tunnel!
Pine Tree Arch - Located not far from Tunnel Arch, it also required a short walk off the main trail in order to see Pine Tree Arch. We had some guesses on how this arch got its name, and the answer seemed to be no-brainer when we arrived: there were many pine trees growing in the area, perhaps witnessing and safeguarding the arch formation process throughout the years.
Landscape Arch - Probably one of the most famous arches in the park, Landscape Arch is large in size and unique in shape. It also survived a major collapse in 1991, since then this arch can only be seen from distance, but prior to that rock fall many visitors were able to walk underneath it.
Partition Arch - Just as its name, this arch serves as a fabulous picture frame of views on the other side. Arguably one of our favorite arches in the park, we spent quite some time here looking through the partition and admiring how picture perfect this view is.
Navajo Arch - We had no idea what to expect of this arch, but found out immediately after arriving here that Navajo Arch is such an ideal hideout spot. You’ll find a semi enclosed area with lots of shade, and that just sounds like an awesome picnic place to us.
Double Arch
The last formal stop of our visit in Arches National Park is Double Arch, easily accessed as it is located only a short walk from parking lot.
Having visited so many arch rocks within a day, not only did we not get tired of seeing them, but also continued to be astonished by their epic formations. The Double Arch is another creation by both nature and time, a spectacular masterpiece.
Hotel we stayed at: Comfort Suites Moab
Standard experience with a chain hotel, meets expectation and overall needs.
Click and read blog posts on other Western U.S. National Parks: