Walter and I are aiming to do the big 63 of National Parks. It's slow going, but we ticked off two this spring. Sharing our experiences at Arches and Canyonlands below:
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We decided to stay in Moab at a hotel with an apartment suite for the simple reason that we'd be in walking distance for meals and shopping when we weren't in the parks. Most of the air bnb's or bed and breakfasts are outside of town, opposite the parks and the last the thing legs feel like doing after a long day of hiking is climbing back into a car to drive to eat. We were happy with our choice and settled into our home away from home with our own coffee gear, lots of snacks and I brought my weighted blanket. We stayed in Moab for seven nights.
We ended up spending three days at Arches, two at Canyonlands and one outside of Moab on a scenic road with petroglyphs and dinosaur track fossils. We could have stayed longer and seen even more. I think two full days at Arches and one at Canyonlands would be the absolute minimum for seeing the parks and with that one would have to make choices about what to see and what not to see.
Both parks were extremely crowded and often reached capacity by 9am causing closures. We had to get up and at 'em to enter the park before the lines started backing us. We bought a Southeast Utah National Park Annual Pass for $55.00.
We were there May 31-June 7th and as weather would have it, Moab was having record high temps. In the daytime it got as high as 98 or 99 degrees fahrenheit and evening temperatures fell into the 70's. As a result, we tried our best to get up early and hike before the heat of the day, rest/nap in the afternoon before going back out for an evening hike or sunset viewing. Again, very thankful for our air conditioned suite and glad we weren't camping.
The environment is definitely high altitude and very arrid so we had to adjust. It is good remember that if you aren't from a similar climate...the area is essentially a desert so hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Also bring lotion, wear sunscreen, a wide brimmed hat and give yourself a day or two to acclimate before you engage in strenuous hiking/running.
We were surprised by how awesome the food was in Moab. From savory sandwiches, cheesy quesadillas (with green chili!) in the food truck park to fresh sushi, artisan pizza to fine dining- we loved eating in Moab.
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| Food truck park was smack in the middle of Moah. Can't miss it. |
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| Sabaku Sushi was so good and an easy walk from our hotel. |
For fine dining experiences we loved the Desert Bistro and Josie Wyatt's. Both required reservations, a shower and fresh clothes following a day of hiking.
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| Steaks from Josie Wyatt's |
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| Ahi Tuna with edible pouch of flowers and rice |
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| Tenderloin |
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| Sea Bass |
Okay- enough about logistics and eats...now for the reason we came:
At Arches National Park we saw:
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| Sandune Arch (Just as we were leaving a bride, groom and photographer were tramping through the deep sand to get to this arch.) This arch is an easy .3 miles off the road...but you do walk through deep sand. |
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| Broken Arch 1.3 mile trail across an open field. |
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| Walter and I under Broken Arch |
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| Tapestry Arch This is after Broken arch...extends the hike to about 2 miles. Some moderate scrambling over sandstone. |
Skyline Arch
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| Skyline Arch |
This was a short walk just off the main road, .4 miles round trip.
Landscape Arch
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| Landscape Arch |
This maybe the oldest arch in the park and it won't be around forever. Very famous and beautiful. It was almost my favorite. The hike is a hard packed trail only about 1.8 miles round trip. Beyond Landscape Arch the trail becomes difficult with narrow ledges, sandstone fins with drop-offs and rock scrambling. The hike, is considered "difficult" but is spectacular and rivaled our amazing experience hiking the "Narrows" in Zion.
Black Frame Arch
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| Black Frame Arch |
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| Tunnel Arch |
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| Pine Tree Arch |
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| Double O Arch |
The trail is called "Devil's Garden."
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| Long sandstone 'fins' that were part of the Devil's Garden hike |
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| Some of the fins had steep drop offs. |
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| A selfie with the Double O Arches behind me. |
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| Super cool rocks. Walter is barely visible in the left of the frame. |
Delicate Arch is probably the most famous Arch in the park. We hiked up to see Delicate Arch twice. Once early in the day and then we went back later at sunset. I recommend going at sunset. It was cool, beautiful and we experienced a soft, gentle rain as we came down. It is possible to photograph Delicate Arch through Frame Arch which is cool. The hike is 3 miles round trip and considered difficult due to no shade, exposure to heights, narrow ledges and sandstone scrambling.
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| Delicate Arch through Frame Arch |
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| Delicate Arch at Sunset |
Another area of the park one would not want to miss is called "The Windows." This area is very accessible. A one mile paved walk leads to the three arches below.
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| North Window Arch |
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| South Window Arch |
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| Turret Arch |
Double Arch, also in the Windows area, is a .5 round trip walk, very accessible and spectacular.
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| Double Arch |
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| This doesn't even look real! Double Arch. |
Double Arch was probably my favorite. It is possible to get right underneath for epic photographs.
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All said and done, we hiked nearly 20 miles in three days in Arches National Park. As a result, Canyonlands may have been short changed as our legs were pretty tired and the heat was getting to us. I understand there are more trails in Canyonlands than there are in Arches. We spent our time at Canyonlands in an area called Island in the Sky and did lots of sight seeing, overlooks and only a few hikes.
Mesa Arch
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| Mesa Arch shortly after sunrise. An easy .5 mile walk to this cliff edge arch. Great for sunrise! |
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| Green River Overlook at Canyonlands |
Upheaval Dome- This area was really cool. The park considers it a 'moderate' hike of 1.8 miles round trip with some heights, sandstone scrambling leading to an overlook of pure blue peaks. My pictures didn't turn out...will add one here later when Walter gets his photos edited.
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| Islands in the Sky Overlook at Canyonlands |
We did not make it to the south area ""The Needles" which is an hour away and a different entrance from "Island in the Sky". Nor did we go to the area called "The Maze" which is all unpaved roads where a back country permit is required.
On this trip we also visited several National Monuments including:
Hovenweep, Bandelierand and the Valles Caldera National Preserve. I'll try for a separate post on these.
Lots of stamps for our passport books!
Happy Trails.
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