August 2016 found us at Arches National Park in Utah. Steve and I stopped here during our first road trip together. This post is an excerpt from my older post on My Favorite Colorado Road Trip. I am adding this today because Saturday, Steve and I leave for a 2 week road trip to Colorado and Utah and we will be at Arches again. We plan on seeing other sites at Moab, so I wanted to show the most popular arches since we won’t be going to these again but they are a big part of Moab.
Arches National Park is located near Moab, Utah. It is known for its natural stone arches seen throughout the park. This area is popular with mountain bikers, hikers, tourists, and those that love nature. For more information about Arches Park, follow this link to the Arches National Park website https://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm .
North Window, South Windows and Double Arch
We arrived at Arches in the late afternoon, and drove to the windows section of the park. There we saw the North and South Windows, and Double Arch. All were just short walks from the parking area. We loved the rock formations and arches! In addition, we were there during sundown and Mother Nature put on an amazing show for us!! We actually had a blast climbing around on the rocks for the perfect sunset picture!
Delicate Arch
We woke up early to a beautiful sunny day, it was going to get hot so we wanted to hike and explore while it was still early. We were on the trail by 7 am hiking to Delicate Arch which is notably the park’s iconic and most famous arch. This is a 3 mile hike, out and back trail. It is not a difficult trail, but a bit tough with the incline on the way there and the increasing heat.
Sandstone Arch
This arch is less than 1/2 mile from the parking lot and is an out and back trail. It gets its name from the sand all over the ground around it. I thought it was a bit tough to walk through the sand, but definitely worth the short walk to see this arch.
Broken Arch
Broken Arch is less than 2 miles round trip. This trail is an out and back trail and easy to navigate. Sandstone Arch Trailhead is just a short walk away, different direction from the same general area.
Skyline Arch
This arch is less than a half mile out and back round trip hike from the parking area on the road between Sandstone Arch and Broken Arch.
Tunnel Arch
You can find Tunnel Arch on the way to Pine Tree arch! The trail is another out and back trail and is not even a mile round trip.
Pine Tree Arch
Pine Tree Arch is an easy 1.8 mile out and back trail. We hiked it on our way to Landscape Arch.
Landscape Arch
The trail to Landscape Arch is a 1.5 mile round trip out and back trail. It is also easy to walk to. If you check out Pine Arch it is a little further. Landscape Arch is not only the largest arch in the park, but it also has the distinction of being the largest arch in the world!
Conclusion
Steve and I loved Arches National Park and are excited w will return here next week and visitings more of Utah’s National Parks! We also plan on having fun in Colorado as well!