Arches National Park: All You Need to Know
- Patrick Cetina
- Jun 21, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 21, 2021
One of America's most popular National Parks, Arches National Park lies just north of Moab, Utah. Bordered by the Colorado River in the southeast, it’s best known for its more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, such as the massive, red-hued Delicate Arch in the east and Landscape Arch in Devils Garden to the north. In addition to the many arches which can be found throughout the park, you can also see other natural marvels such as the geological phenomenon, Balanced Rock, towering over the desert landscape in the middle of the park.
Our goal was to get to the park before 6 AM so we could ensure we obtained a parking spot in the lot and to get a good head start on the hike up to Delicate Arch in attempts to avoid big crowds. Delicate Arch is the most popular hike at Arches and for good reason too; however, due to this fact and having heard rumors that the park parking lot has been filling to capacity some days by 7, 8, or 9 AM, we wanted to ensure we did not miss out so that is why we decided to get down to the park so early and start with Delicate Arch first.
It took us about 45 minutes or so to reach Delicate Arch, a 3.5 mile round trip to the top and back. The climb up is moderately challenging as it is a pretty consistent ascent up to the end point. It was fairly crowded already at this time in the morning but luckily starting the hike by 6 AM did help keep the crowds to a minimum at least on the hike up which was helpful once we were at the top. There was a small line of people already waiting to go get their pictures taken with the arch so we stood in line for about 5-10 minutes at most before our turn was up. Delicate Arch is a beauty to take in. The views of the canyon around you while standing under this sweeping archway is mesmerizing. We stayed at the top to take in the sights and views before heading back down the trail to the parking lot. By this point there was a steady flow of folks slowly working their way up the trail while we were making our descent back down.
On the hike back to the lot we stopped by the Wolfe Ranch site which sits at the base of the trailhead to Delicate Arch right next to the parking lot. Here you'll find a set of two cabins that belonged to the Wolfe family who settled in this area around 1898 from Ohio. Beyond Wolfe Ranch, you can see evidence of even earlier human activity in the area. A short walk across a small bridge spanning the Salt Wash leads you on a short trail over to a nearby petroglyph panel. The stylized horse and rider surrounded by bighorn sheep and dog-like animals is typical of Ute rock markings. These figures were likely carved between 1650 and 1850 CE (Common Era).
From the parking lot we then drove around the park and stopped at a few more trails and landmarks including the Landscape Arch Trail and Devil's Garden Trails to see the Tunnel Arch, Pinetree Arch, and Landscape Arch. The hike to these arches is not difficult at all and mostly flat with the exception of a couple small elevation changes. You are in the sun a lot for most of the hikes out in Arches so be sure to protect yourself from the sun and stay hydrated with lots of water too! On our way out of the park we stopped at Balanced Rock which you can easily drive up to and get out to walk the small loop that surrounds the rock. We spent maybe about 15-20 minutes at Balanced Rock and that was more than enough time to enjoy this unique natural phenomenon that appears to defy gravity and all laws of physics.
All said and done we were able to accomplish everything detailed here in just under 4 hours. Having arrived and started our first hike by 6AM allowed us to be done and out of Arches around 10AM. This was perfect timing due to the fact that we were also trying to then drive over to Bryce Canyon which was about a 4 hour drive. This gave us plenty of time to adventure around Bryce for the entire afternoon and evening too before heading to our hotel for the night.
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