Land of Liberty Explorers

Overview

Arches National Park features over 200 natural stone arches. Arches was designated a national monument in 1929 and elevated to a national park in 1971. It has the highest density of natural stone arches anywhere in the world.

Starting the Day Right – with a Hike!

The trailhead for the Park Avenue Trail is located just inside the park. It is an out and back trail that totals 2 miles, but if anyone in your group does not want to hike, they can pick hikers up at a well marked parking lot at the far end of the trail.

From the trailhead the hike descends into a canyon that features steep walls and giant rock formations on the way to Courthouse Wash (where shuttle drivers can pick up hikers, or where hikers turn around and head back up the canyon). This trail is a nice introduction to the landscape.

The Windows Section

After hiking Park Avenue, we headed to the Windows Section to see huge natural arches. This section of the park gets its name from the North and South Windows – the most prominent feature in the area.

After walking the trail around the Windows, we visited nearby Turret Arch.

We enjoyed the easy half mile hike from the Windows to Double Arch!

Delicate Arch

The park’s most well known arch is Delicate Arch – it is even on Utah’s license plates. The trail looked extra crowded on the day we visited, so we just checked it out from the Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint at the end of road.

Hiking to Landscape Arch

Landscape Arch is the longest arch in the park – and also our favorite! Getting to Landscape Arch requires a 1.9 mile hike from the Devil’s Garden Trailhead. The trail is hard packed and relatively flat. Several other arches are accessible by short spur trails on this hike. We stopped at Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch before making our way to Landscape Arch.

Landscape Arch is 306 feet long. It is only 11 feet wide at its narrowest point.

Skyline Arch

Skyline Arch is another favorite. A quick walk leads to excellent views!

Sand Dune Arch

The short hike to Sand Dune Arch passes through tall rock fins that are just a few feet apart. It is a fun family hike to find the arch that is hidden from the road.

Sunset at the Fiery Furnace

We ended our day by enjoying the sunset at the Fiery Furnace. As the Sun sank lower, it illuminated the orange and red rocks. What a great way to end the day!