OUR FAVORITE HIKES IN ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Utah’s Arches National Park has a range of beautiful hikes that highlight the park’s well-known natural arches, rock formations, and stunning scenery. These are our favorites:

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Delicate Arch Trail:

 

  • Distance: 3.2 miles (4.8 km) round trip
  • Time: 1.5-3 hours
  • Elevation gain: 629 feet
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Highlights: Delicate Arch, the park’s most well-known arch, can be reached via this popular ascend. There is no shade along the route, so make sure you pack enough water. It’s especially beautiful at sunset

Double Arch Trail:

  • Distance: 0.6 miles (0.9 km) round trip
  • Elevation: 95 ft.
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Time: 30 minutes
  • Highlights:  This quick and simple ascend brings you to the foot of two enormous arches, which combine to create a singular and breathtaking sight. It’s a fantastic choice for time-constrained individuals and families.

Devil’s Garden Trail:

  • Distance: Total 7.9 miles loop, but it varies depending on your chosen loop.
  • Elevation: 1,085 ft.
  • Difficulty: Easy to Hard
  • Highlights: Devil’s Garden is a long trail with various arches along the way, including Landscape Arch, which is one of the longest natural arches in the world. You can choose shorter or longer loop options based on your preference.

Windows Loop  and Turret ArchTrail:

  • Distance: 1.2 mile round trip
  • Elevation:154 ft.
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Highlights: The Windows Section features several arches in close proximity, including North Window, South Window, and Turret Arch. The trail offers great photo opportunities.

Fiery Furnace Ranger-Guided Tour:

  • Distance: Varies (Ranger-guided or get individual permit)
  • Highlights: The Fiery Furnace is a maze of narrow canyons and fins. Due to the challenging terrain, access is restricted, and guided tours are available. Rangers lead informative and entertaining tours through this unique area.  Bring a map or download a map, if you going by yourself, before you start the hike.

Sand Dune Arch to Broken Arch Loop

  • Distance: 2.8 miles
  • Elevation: 321 ft.
  • Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
  • Highlights: The highlight of the trail is the Sand Dune Arch itself. This arch is unique because it is surrounded by a sandy area, creating a mini amphitheater. The sand under the arch is perfect for children to play in, making it a family-friendly destination.  he arch is nestled between tall, red rock fins and walls, creating a visually stunning contrast between the light-colored sand and the vibrant red rocks.  Continue on the trail to reach Broken Arch, a large and partially collapsed arch that spans a trail. It’s an impressive sight and offers great photo opportunities.  The loop takes you through a variety of landscapes, including sandy areas, rocky terrain, and open slickrock expanses.

Park Avenue Trail:

  • Distance: 2 miles (3.2 km) round trip
  • Elevation 298 ft.
  • Difficulty: Easy.
  • Highlights: The Park Avenue Trail is a relatively easy hike that provides stunning views of towering red rock formations resembling skyscrapers. The trailhead is near the Park Avenue viewpoint.

Balanced Rock Trail:

  • Distance: 0.3 miles (0.5 km) round trip
  • Elevation gain: 55 ft.
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Highlights: This short and easy hike takes you to see Balanced Rock, an impressive formation where a large boulder appears to balance precariously on a slender pedestal.

Using This Map: To access the layers (driving routes and places to go), click the tab located in the upper left corner of the map. To reveal or conceal layers, click the checkboxes. You may learn more about each point of interest on the map by clicking on the icons.  This map will be added to your Google Maps account if you click the star next to the map’s title. Open Google Maps on your computer or phone, select “Your Places” from the menu, then click Maps. This map will appear on your list.