A day of chasing Arches

christopherwanstal
Nov 2, 2023
2 min read

Updated: Jan 10

1 day itinerary

Arches is one of the most iconic parks of the National Park system, and along with the Grand Canyon, probably the most recognisable in the southwest region! A massive park filled with beautifully sculpted creations, make the most of one day in this corner of Utah with this one day itinerary...

Enter the nations 34th national park at the main entrance in its southwest. As the sun starts to rise, ascend the switchbacks and drive through Park Avenue, with its towering sandstone walls and monoliths being a spectacular first sight of the day. There is a short trail here to get closer to Courthouse Towers than the viewpoint - at just 1.8 miles round trip.

The next segment of the park that awaits you is The Windows. This impressive series of formations is probably best viewed from North Window, looking out to Turret Arch - possibly giving you an Inception-type feeling (an arch within an arch......) Various angles of these arches are available as you follow another short trail, looping 1.2 miles that should take you less than an hour, even with a few stops of admiration!

Double Arch is located across the small road loop, and a very short hike can get you closer if you aren't satisfied with the view from The Windows loop trail! Afterwards, you can give your feet a bit of a rest as you drive towards one of Utah's most famous residents - Delicate Arch. You'll have almost certainly seen it before, as it features prominently on Utah license plates!

This is one of the most popular hikes in the park, and will always be a pretty busy trail, especially in the peak season of May-October. But it's still worth the effort and crowds! This particular arch is famed for its isolated nature as it sits on the edge of a sandstone panhole with the La Sal Mountains on the horizon. This hike should take you two to three hours, so make sure to enjoy your lunch at the halfway point before the return leg.

Spend the rest of the afternoon continuing through the main paved road of the park, passing Fiery Furnace on your way to Devil's Garden - another popular but less frequently visited area of the park. If you have time for our 3 day itinerary, then you'll spend a whole day here enjoying the main trail featuring multiple arches that you can't see from the road! But with less time on offer today, you can pop down to Skyline Arch just a few hundred metres away - one of the most famous and celebrated in the park! Its formation is particularly unusual as it doubled in size following a rockfall around 80 years ago which tore through the existing opening!

End your day back where you started, but with some changes to the backdrop. Sunset at Courthouse Towers is a cracking way to end your day as you leave the park. Grab dinner in nearby Moab to reward all your Arches exploration!