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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
From the Visitor Centre close to the entrance in the valley, the park road climbs up and over into the main area of the park.
At Balanced Rock there is a short, almost level trail of less than half a mile right round the rock, giving various impressions of it from different angles.
Immediately beyond Balanced Rock a side road leads off on the right to the Windows Section. At the Windows Section there is a trail to the North and South Windows (natural holes in the rock) and Turret Arch.
At the Windows Section there is also a separate parking area (further round the one-way loop at the end of the road) and from there a short, level trail leads to a really superb view right underneath the magnificent and huge Double Arch. Photograph (64KB). If you do nothing else at Arches National Park, do be sure to walk the Double Arch trail if at all possible. It will only take you fifteen or twenty minutes to walk to the end and back, although you may well wish to linger at the end of the trail where the spectacular arch towers over you like the roof of a gigantic cathedral. Beyond the end of the trail the more courageous can climb up onto the rocks under the arch.
The main road continues to a junction with another spur road leading off, again to the right, to Delicate Arch, probably the most famous arch in the Park. At Wolfe Ranch, roughly half way along this spur road, there is a lengthy and strenuous trail of 1.5 miles in each direction to the base of Delicate Arch. At the end of the spur road there is a parking area and a viewpoint for Delicate Arch. However, the arch can only be seen in the distance from the viewpoint and therefore doesn't appear all that impressive - no doubt a close-up view is far better.
The main road continues to the Fiery Furnace viewpoint, where there is a view over some incredible rock formations.
The main road terminates at the Devils Garden trailhead. A lengthy trail leads through Devils Garden to numerous arches - you can decide how far you want to walk. The two arches closest to the parking area are Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch, reached via a short diversion from the main trail. Tunnel Arch is viewed from some distance, but you can get much closer to Pine Tree Arch. The main trail then continues, a little more steeply, to Landscape Arch, the longest natural arch in the world. There is an excellent view of this arch from the trail. The trail then continues to many other arches but is rougher and steeper from here on. I would highly recommend walking at least to Pine Tree Arch, and on to Landscape Arch if at all possible. From the parking area to Landscape Arch is 0.8 miles each way (plus maybe a quarter of a mile for the Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch diversion).
The soil at Arches National Park has a cryptobiotic crust, which means that it contains many living organisms. To avoid damaging this soil you should be sure to keep strictly to the established trails in the Park.
This part of Utah is often extremely hot in summer.
Whereas natural bridges, such as those at Natural Bridges National Monument, are created by the erosion of the stream or river which runs under them, often at the narrowest point of a gooseneck. Arches and windows are created by other processes such as the effect of frost. However, these other processes enlarge and eventually destroy natural bridges once they have been formed. Some natural bridges may no longer have their original streams or river running under them today.
The entrance fee for this park does NOT entitle you to entrance to nearby Canyonlands National Park or Dead Horse Point State Park.
Seven Wonders Of The USA And Canada
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Most recently modified 18-Feb-03