UTAH: Canyonlands — Day 2 @ Arches NP
Utah - Canyonlands Series
- Day 1
- Day 2 ← You’re here!
- Day 3
- Day 4
- Sample Itineraries and Summary
Day 2
Start the morning off with hotel breakfast (hooray) and picking up a bag lunch inside Moab.
Devils Garden (Landscape Arch and more)
Located at the end the park, it’s generally a good idea to go here early in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat as well as the crowds. This is a long trail if hiked in its entirety - about 10 miles in total! - so it naturally follows that this section is pretty long as well.
The trail immediately goes through some rock fins before skirting over to Landscape Arch, the longest arch in the park, at about 290 feet.
long thin arch boi
Back in 1991, a 60 feet long slab fell from the arch, making the thinnest point only 6 feet thick. The trail underneath the arch has (understandably) been since closed, but the viewpoint itself still gives a very good view of the arch.
| Landscape Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | Large, thin arch. What an amazing arch. |
| Verdict: 5/5 — Long thin boi that who knows will last how much longer | |
After Landscape Arch, there is a sign that warns you that the trail after that point is primative and difficult. True to its word, it is definitely more difficult.
If you put it in Fate/GO terms, it’s like the difficulty jump in Camelot.
Almost immediately, you scramble up the fins. Wall Arch used to be here, but in 2008 it collapsed sometime in the night in August. Good hiking boots help a lot here, since a slip means a larger fall than anyone would reasonably like.
It wasn’t so bad in April, but ice definitely was not helping in February
| Wall Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | What arch. The slipperiness of the rock while scrambling up or down is evil. |
| Verdict: 1/5 — It’s dead jim | |
Follow the rock cairns before coming to a sign to branch off to Parition Arch and Navajo Arch. Both are a short quarter-mile trek back between fins, and are definitely worth the walk! Partition ARch gives you a good view below, while Navajo Arch seems like the kind of hidden nook to find a treasure (and snakes).
Two arches in one, what a deal (Partition Arch)
| Partition Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | Two arches, one big one small. Well, one looks like a hole rather than an arch. Good views though. |
| Verdict: 5/5 — Two arches for the price of one, what value! | |
| Navajo Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | It’s a thick arch and is interestingly colored. |
| Verdict: 4/5 — Shade is good, but a nagging feeling that there are snakes here. No treasure found. | |
Return back to the main trail, and climb up a fin to carefully walk toward the Black Arch viewpoint. The dropoff to the right is a long way down, so it’s not friendly for people with fear of heights (read: my parents). A ranger at the visitor center joked: “yeah, you know, we only lose one or two people there…per week, maybe.”
The view is amazing though
| Black Arch Lookout @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | If you squint real hard you can see it. It’s all…black, surprise. |
| Verdict: 2/5 — I mean, you stare at it for 30 seconds but it’s so far away that you kinda just think, saitama-okay. | |
A bit further along, you reach the end of the main trail at Double O arch, which, true to its name, has two arches almost stacked above each other. This arch is the second largest in the park in terms of size (Double Arch takes first, and Landscape Arch, third).
A good game is to find my friend in these photos
| Double O Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | Again, two arches at once, but now on top of each other, wow! |
| Verdict: 4/5 — Two large arches! Like the double rainbow, but made of stone. | |
After this point, the trail becomes even more primative, and we definitely would have lost our way without our phone’s GPS guiding us (thank you AllTrails for having offline maps since cell service is nonexistant). Keep left to see the Dark Angel, which, like its name, is a tall, darkened rock tower. If you don’t feel like making the one-mile roundtrip to get up close, keep right to make the primitive loop back to Landscape Arch.
the angel laughs at the people struggling to figure out where the trail is
| Black Angel @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | Not an arch, but 150 feet tall. |
| Verdict: 3/5 — Tall boi. | |
As you struggle down multiple fins-in-the-making, of which one is known to become a deep pool in the wetter months, the trail slowly shifts toward the east. Supposedly, cairns mark the trail, but sometimes they fall, or maybe someone makes a wrong one, and we’ve had to correct course several times while checking our phone’s map. The number of people on the trail also drop off sharply after this point. However, we soon end up in between the huge fins that we looked down upon earlier from the top. Honestly, this was my favorite part of the trail, because of the scale of the whole dang thing.
jokes on us, it turns out this was a dead end and not the trail
but we got photos, so it’s ok, probably
There was a turnoff for Private Arch, but we did not go as reports say Private Arch is…pretty ordinary, just out of the way and quiet. Also if you run out of water there, noone will find you for a long while. Teh trail follows a wash before you have a bit over a mile of trudging through sand in the sun without much in terms of notable landmarks. Honestly, this, following the breathtaking scenary that we’ve just passed through, was such a drag.
After finally returning back to the Landscape Arch trail, there are two short branches for Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch. The former is viewed from far away and is not particularly remarkable, but Pine Tree Arch is pretty neat, being a partially freestanding arch.
Pine Tree Arch has, wait for it, a pine tree. Amazing.
| Tunnel Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | I mean, it’s there, and you don’t even need to walk to its dedicated viewpoint to see it. |
| Verdict: 2/5 — Compared to all the arches on the trail, it just…doesn’t have anything making it special. You also only can see it from a distance. | |
| Pine Tree Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | The arch almost looks like a rectangular door, wow. It also has shade and trees! |
| Verdict: 4/5 — If you walk through it maybe you’ll get good luck. | |
Return back to the car to have lunch.
| Devils Garden Trail @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | A trail that has so many spectacular (and, maybe not so spectacular) arches packed into it. This is the one trail that would ‘summarize’, so to say, Arches National Park as a whole, with all the variations of rock formations. It’s a long way, but no matter how far you go, it’s a worthwhile hike. |
| What to Expect | This is also a heavily trafficked trail, so be prepared for people for the first half. However, people disappear after Double O if you choose to take the primitive trail loop back. The first half has some scrambling and unprotected dropoffs, and the second half has steep scrambling and difficult trail finding and trudging through sand. Be prepared with water, and take care not to overheat. The whole loop with all branches is a bit over 10 miles. Doing an out-and-back to just Double O arch is about 5 miles. Landscape Arch is the closest, at just over half a mile one way, and the trail is improved considerably so it is easy to reach. |
| Notes | If you are doing the whole loop, be sure to go clockwise through the loop - it is overall an easier experience. Cell service is, as usual, poor, except for a brief period near the fin ridge on the way to Double O Arch. |
| Verdict: 5/5 — Super cool. Well, technically, super hot, given the climate I guess. | |
Skyline Arch, Broken Arch, and Sand Dune Arch
Just a short distance from the Devils Garden trailhead are a few more arches that are easily walkable.
Skyline Arch widened itself significantly in 1940 when a huge boulder suddenly fell, doubling the arch’s size. A quick ten minute walk will get you to the viewpoint from the parking lot. It’s pretty neat how it’s on the upper half of the fin - giving it its ‘skyline’ moniker.
| Skyline Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | It’s a very okay arch, but easy to get to |
| Verdict: 3/5 — That’s an arch, yep. | |
A short drive further down gets you to the trailhead for Sand Dune Arch as well as Broken Arch. Sand Dune Arch is a 5 minute walk into a cluster of fins through (wait for it), sand. The entrance in is actually quite cool and almost cinematic. The actual arch itself, eh. It’s okay.
Takes a photo of the trail but not of the arch, lol
| Sand Dune Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | Also an okay arch, albeit a bit smaller. |
| Verdict: 3/5 — I bumped it up a point because the walk in to get to the arch neat. | |
Going further down across the flat desert gets you to Broken Arch. Broken Arch is… gasp not broken. It does have a neat swirl going through it where it does look like it’s broken, though. If you choose to continue toward the campsite on the trail, it does pass through the arch! It is also one of those “oh, that’s surprisingly large” arches.
| Broken Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | Wow, pretty large arch that you can sit on and get a good photo. It’s an arch with…a twist! |
| Verdict: 4/5 — It’s not broken. | |
By this point I’ve decided sandy trails are painful and Bad Civilization.
The Windows and the Cove of Caves
The Cove of Caves is a little more famous, but somehow, people generally refer to this area as the Windows. Is it sponsored by Bill Gates (answer: no)? Think thonk. Either way, the areas are just on opposite sides of the road loop, and both are easy-going trails - a great way to end the day.
First - the Double Arch. Formed when a pothole eventually eroded through through the stone and leaving just one supporting column, this is the largest arch in the park. Even better, since you do get to walk underneath it and into the center, you can really get wowed by how fricking huge the whole thing is. I can’t easily fit the whole thing in even with a wide angle lens when standing inside the arch.
From further away, it simply looks large, but when comparing its size to the people underneath it, it’s huge.
You are allowed to climb a bit and get some good instagram shots
| Double Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | It’s that buy one get one free deal again with arches, but even larger! Wow! |
| Verdict: 5/5 — 2 arch 5 me | |
On the way back, there’s a cluster of rock formations that is named “Parade of Elephants”. Even without knowing the name, it definitely does bear some resemblance to it!
Something something animal crossing, except in rock form
On the other side is the Windows arches and Turret Arch. By themselves, they’re pretty standard arches (though large), but when viewed from a bit further away, they resemble a face. Coincidentally, if you hike the primitive loop around the back of the arches, the pair is named “The Spectacles”.
Two eyes and a nose
There’s also Turret Arch - a tall but narrow arch that looks like a keyhole in a wall. It’s okay.
| The Windows @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | Two large (but not as large as Double Arch) arches that look like eyes when viewed from a bit further away. There’s also a rock that looks poised to fall any minute on the north arch - be careful when standing under it. |
| Verdict: 4/5 — The face the arches make, it mocks humanity | |
| Turret Arch @ Arches National Park | |
|---|---|
| Review | There’s a turret, and two arches. Unfortunately, the turret doesn’t have an arch. |
| Verdict: 3/5 — The name raises expectations that are gently let down | |
By now, our feet are all walked out, and complaining about being in boots so long, so we returned to the hotel and got more Thai food again.
Food
| Sweet Cravings Bakery + Bistro @ Moab, UT 397 N Main St, Moab, UT 84532 |
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|---|---|
| Review | It’s pretty standard American fare, but they have a decently large selection of sandwiches and wraps that can be taken to go. They’re pretty good! I did order a chai latte from them as well and that tastes pretty standard, but for fast to-go service to bring on the trails, it’s a pretty good choice. |
| Verdict: 4/5 — We got sandwiches here for lunch each time. | |
| Thai Bella @ Moab, UT 218 N 100 W, Moab, UT 84532 |
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|---|---|
| Review | On our first night, we tried to come here, but the wait without a reservation was nearly an hour - probably because the space itself is so small. Compared to Thai Bella, the food tastes about the same (which is good!), but the price is a tad more expensive and there is the whole process of calling in a reservation beforehand. |
| Verdict: 4/5 — Delicious, if a bit of overhead involved | |