Date of Visit: May 2007
Website: www.nps.gov/arch
Location: Utah
Entrance Fee: $10 per car
Type of Trip: Overnight Trip as part of Western US National Parks Roadtrip
Park Passport Stamps Available: 1
Trip Report: This was Jackson's first national park, and the first stop on a 3-week roadtrip through the Western United States that we took in 2007. Arches National Park is located in southern Utah, in the desolate rock/canyon section of that state. Arches is just a few miles outside of Moab, UT and a few miles from Canyonlands National Park (which we did not visit for some reason). This means that Arches can get very hot in the summer and snowy/icy in the winter. Arches National Park protects some of the fantastic red sandstone arches, natural bridges, and hoodoos found in this area.
One of the great things about Arches National Park is that it is relatively small, making it an easy park to visit in one day. However, the colors at sunrise/sunset are unbelievable, and the park gates actually close at night, so only registered campers get the luxury of doing early-morning hikes in the park. Due to it's small size, most of the trails at Arches are relatively short and somewhat easy, making this a great park to test out some hiking gear or to take small children out on the trail. We hiked every trail in the park, except for the Devil's Garden Primitive Loop (7 miles is a little far to hike with a kid in your backpack) and the Fiery Furnace. The Fiery Furnace requires reservations because it is a ranger-guided hike, and there were no reservations available for the days we were there. However, you can now make reservations for this hike on www.recreation.gov, something that I would do if you are interested in the hike.
We spent 2.5 days in Arches, and really felt like we had a good tour of the park. The first day, we arrived just in time to set up camp and eat before it started to pour down rain (more on the campground in a minute). The second day we spent hiking to Delicate Arch and around the hoodoos towards the front of the park; on Day 3, we completed the trails at the back of the park. I will note that there is only one road that leads into/out of the park, and it can get quite crowded during the peak visitation months.
Hiking among the different rock formations is really quite incredible. They all have creative names, which are very apparent when you see the formations.
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| Jackson takes a break in front of Balanced Rock |
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| Landscape Arch |
If you've seen a Utah license plate, you've seen Delicate Arch, arguably the most famous arch in the park. The trail to reach Delicate Arch is quite neat, since you have to follow cairns right over some of the slickrock. We did this trail very early in the morning and had the trail almost to ourselves -- quite a rarity, I'm told.
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| Trail to Delicate Arch |
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| On the trail to Delicate Arch |
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| Delicate Arch! |
One of the other neat things about Arches is the human history of the area as well. We were able to see some neat petroglyphs, right near the parking area of Delicate Arch.
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| Ancient rock drawings |
All in all, we really enjoyed Arches. We spent enough time in the park that we didn't feel as though we were rushed and we got to see everything we wanted to see. The weather -- this was in late May -- was quite nice; it rained on us the first night but then it was in the upper 60s/lower 70s and very low humidity the rest of the time. Arches has also opened a relatively new Visitor's Center that has a short movie about the park and its formation. Jackson seemed to enjoy Arches, although he wasn't talking at the time so I"m not really sure. We'll have to go back sometime so he can be an Arches Junior Ranger!
Other things to consider if you visit: there is no food service, gas or hotel/motel lodging in the park. Make sure to bring a picnic or check out Moab for places to sleep or eat. Also, it gets very hot here in the summer. Make sure to bring and drink plenty of water. Rock climbing, biking, and backcountry travel/camping are allowed in the park; in fact, Moab is famous for this type of activity. Be sure to stop at a ranger station for more information.
Campground Review
Campground Stayed: Devils Garden Campground (only campground in the park)
Campground Run by: National Park Service
Available to Reserve?: Yes, and I strongly recommend you do so
Cost per night: $20/night
Other notes: There are flush toilets and water in the campground, but no showers or electric hookups.
Review: I really liked this campground. It is very small, with only about 50 sites, so reserving ahead is essential. The campground was completely booked the nights we were there. We are tenters, so I can't really comment on sites big enough for RVs, but our site was great. We had a fire ring and a picnic table, and million-dollar views. The sites are quite sandy, which makes for comfortable tent sleeping. There aren't very many trees, so the sites are not really private at all, even though they are quite large. The bathrooms were clean and since the campground is small, they are not far from any of the sites. The campground also has a small amphitheater where the rangers present campfire programs....highly recommended! I would definitely stay in this campground again.
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| Our campsite at Devils Garden Campground in Arches |
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| The view out my tent in the morning. |
For More Information on Arches:
Campground/Fiery Furnace Reservations: www.recreation.gov
Information on Moab including hotel information: www.discovermoab.com
Information on nearby Canyonlands National Park: www.nps.gov/cany
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