Favorite Arch Trails

The Double Arch is one of the most spectacular formations in Arches National Park and is one of the essential arches to see in this area of unusual carved sandstone formations. Others arch trails not to miss include the Broken Arch Trail, Devils Garden, Tower Arch, Corona Arch and the famous Delicate Arch.

The Windows Section has several large arches with broad views and short trails. The Double Arch was featured in the opening scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The walk to Double Arch is only 0.8 miles but while in the area you’ll also want to visit the North and South Windows, Turret Arch, and a number of the smaller arches that are in the area. If you only have time for a short visit to Arches, the Windows Section is a good sample of what the area offers.

The Broken Arch Trail is an overlooked 1.3 mile loop route that often gets bypassed for the more popular Devils Garden. There are three good arches along this mostly level with Broken Arch easily visible from the trail head. Not mentioned at the trail head or on the park map is the large Tapestry Arch. Between the campground area and Broken Arch there is a side trail over to this hidden surprise.

Most visitors on the Devils Garden Trail stop at the long and slender Landscape Arch, the one featured on the front of the park brochure. After Landscape, the trail becomes more primitive and leads 2.1 miles to Double O Arch. There are side trails leading to several more large arches such as Pine Tree and Partition. Also this trail passes the site of the recently collapsed Wall Arch. After Double O Arch there is the option of returning the way you came or making a loop on the slightly trickier primitive loop.

The Tower Arch Trail is an overlooked hike as it is well off the main park road along the gravel Salt Valley Road. The route to Tower Arch passes through beautiful canyon country and there are several smaller arches to spot along the way. Next to Tower Arch is the small double arch called Parallel Arch.

While Arches Park has a high concentration of arches, there are many more in the surrounding area. One of the most graceful of all arches is Corona Arch at the end of a 1.5 mile trail that is west of Arches NP along Potash Road. There are two other arches to find on this moderate trail.

The most famous of arches is Delicate Arch. Besides the 3 mile round trip and spectacular views, the historic Wolff Ranch can be viewed near the trail head and there is a petroglyph panel along a side trail. Just before Delicate Arch comes into view, look for Frame Arch on the right and scramble up to view Delicate Arch framed by Frame.

Frame Arch Trail

The Frame Arch Trail is actually the famous Delicate Arch Trail in Arches National Park in southeast Utah. Most hikers on the 3 mile round trip to the Delicate Arch notice Frame Arch, but don’t climb up the short slope for the special view through it.

The Delicate Arch Trail starts near the historic Wolfe Ranch, the small cabin site of cattle ranchers here in the early 1900s. There is a new bridge crossing Salt Wash and a small petroglyph panel near the trail head. In early December there was flowing water in Salt Wash and a pair of Mallards. Most hikers remember the long stretch uphill over bare sandstone, the route marked with rock cairns.

The final section of trail runs along a ledge with the view toward Delicate Arch blocked. There is an arch down below across the canyon to the left, called Echo Arch and Frame Arch is on the right just before the view opens up.

After viewing Delicate Arch through Frame Arch I looked to see if it was possible to do the reverse, to view Frame Arch framed through Delicate Arch. It’s possible to stand under Delicate Arch, but the sandstone drops off steeply behind it.

There is a Viewpoint Trail for Delicate Arch, 1.1 miles past the trail head area. The parking area at the view point is much larger than the hiking parking area, with room for several busses. There is a view point that doesn’t require any walking and another view point at the end of a 0.5 mile trail. From the view point, Delicate Arch appears to be one of a row of several eroded fins, rather than an isolated formation.

The hike to Delicate Arch took me about 1:30 hours. I hiked on a 45 F degree blue sky early December day. I carried 1 liter of water but didn’t drink until the end under these comfortable conditions. The View Point hike takes about 0:30 minutes.

Pritchett Canyon Trail

The Pritchett Canyon Trail is an extreme 4WD trail a little west of Moab in southeast Utah. The Trail Head area is at the private Kane Creek Campground about 4.5 miles west of Highway 191 along Kane Creek Road. There is a $2 per hiker fee to pass through the private campground.

The route passes roughly between deep canyon walls with sparse vegetation. This canyon doesn’t appear to have very much water or riparian habitat, at least in the fall. A good destination for a hiker is the large Window Arch about 3.5 miles down the trail.

The road loops around the fin with Window Arch so it is visible from the north and the south. One of the major 4WD obstacles is on the north side of the loop with the Window looming overhead. At the 2.5 mile mark there is an east side canyon with short unmarked trail to the Troll Bridge Arch.

Past Window Arch the road climbs to a pass where I turned around. The climb up to the pass is the last of the major 4WD obstacles. These obstacles have colorful names like Rocker Knocker, The Rock Pile, and the last one is Yellow Hill. The overall route goes about 5 miles and connects to the Behind the Rocks Jeep Trail. Looking back toward the area below Window Arch, the reptile looking formation that contains the Halls Bridge arch is visible. This formation is not very clear from below. There is a 0.5 mile trail leading to a good view point of the large Halls Bridge.

Pritchett Arch is clearly visible from the area below Window Arch on the rim to the south. There is also a formation in this area that resembles the head and neck of an ostrich.

The hiking along the Pritchett Canyon Trail is fairly easy, the grade is gradually uphill and the footing is slightly sandy. There are rocky points that are easy to hike past that look impossible for vehicles. The trail head information advises that vehicles should have 2 locking differentials, 33” or larger tires and winches. There is a warning of high possibility of roll over, breakdown and body damage. I hiked the side trail to the Troll Bridge and arrived at the Window Arch after about 2:15 hours. I continued up to the pass and then returned below and hiked the side trail to large Halls Bridge.

The return hike from the Window Arch area without any stops took about 1:45 hours for the 3.5 miles. My total hike took 5:45 hours for the 9 miles that I hiked. It was an 80 F degree day in mid October and I carried 3 liters of water.

Troll Bridge Trail

The Troll Bridge Trail is a short side trail off of the Pritchett Canyon Trail near Moab in southeast Utah. About 2.5 miles along the difficult 4WD trail, a vague side road heads east up a side canyon on the left side of the canyon drainage.

The Pritchett Canyon Trail is mostly easy walking, slightly uphill, with sandy footing. There are several major obstacles for vehicles. The side road toward Troll Bridge is closed to vehicles.

The Troll Bridge forms a bridge over the drainage and is visible along the road, but not until you’ve walked past it a few feet. About 0.3 miles up the road there is a canyon junction, with the Bridge a little before the junction. The cliffs are steep in the vicinity of the Bridge and the easy views are from above. I didn’t look for a way to get closer, though it looks like an approach up the wash is feasible.

I looked for a second arch a few hundred yards past the Troll Bridge called Dead End Arch but didn’t see it. Dead End Arch is mentioned in the Chris Moore guide to arches in the Moab area but doesn’t appear on the Bob’s Arches web site. I saw a formation that looked like it might have been an arch but has collapsed. This short tour took about 0:40 minutes out of a total hike of 5:45 hours.

Halls Bridge Arch Trail

The Halls Bridge Arch Trail is a 0.5 mile side trail off of the Pritchett Canyon Trail west of Moab in southeast Utah. At about 3.5 miles up the very difficult 4WD route a closed side road leads to the west past a rock formation that resembles the head and long neck of an ostrich.

Halls Bridge is a large arch but it is not facing the area where the Pritchett Canyon Trail circles around the very large Window Arch and then continues east up to a pass. The west leading side road comes to an end and a trail continues along the rim of a canyon drainage.

The trail seems to end at a rock wall but there is a notch that allows an easy climb up through about 12 feet of cliff. The notch isn’t exactly at the end of the trail but about 20 feet before it. I had to look for a few seconds before seeing it. The Halls Bridge is a few hundred feet past the short climb. From a distance, the formation that includes Halls Bridge looks like a prehistoric reptile with a spike in the back of its head and a big eye.

The viewing area for Halls Bridge is somewhat narrow between the rock fins, only a few angles available. I didn’t try to get up closer. This side trip took me about 1:00 hour out of a total hike of 5:45 hours.

Behind the Rocks to Rim Arch

The Behind the Rocks Trail is a 4WD route in the rocky wilderness area about 10 miles south of Moab in southeast Utah. The turnoff is at mile post 112.9 on the west side of Highway 191. About 0.4 miles along the dirt road there is a turn off to the right that is the beginning of the route. It is easy to drive any vehicle to this point and the route gets rougher beyond.

The route is well marked for about 1.2 miles as it approaches an area with many conehead sandstone formations and arrives at a fenced vegetation restoration area where the main trail turns left. There is an old trail that continues north to the right toward Moab Rim Arch and Tukuhnikivista Arch.

About 0.5 miles along the side trail the Moab Rim Arch comes into view. I didn’t see any other hikers on this trail but met one couple exploring on an ATV.

There is a blue sky angle for Moab Rim Arch along the west side. This area has the typical canyon area vegetation of Pinon Pines and Utah Junipers with scattered small shrubs.

This trail also has many rim views toward the LaSal Mountains and the Spanish Valley south of Moab. About 0.4 miles past the Rim Arch, the rough road ends at a turnaround point with elevated good views to the east.

Back to the west the Tukuhnikivista Arch is visible high above on the upper rim. The climb up to the arch looked steep. I climbed part of the way to get a better view and saw some rock cairns along the way, so there may be a trail going up. I’ve seen pictures of this arch framing the mountains to the east so it is possible to make the climb. After getting closer view I returned to the trail head. My hike was about 4.2 miles and took 2:15 hours on a warm 85 F day in late September. I carried 2 liters of water and drank it all.

Hidden Valley Trail

The Hidden Valley Trail is about a 5 mile round trip that passes through a narrow elevated valley in the rocky terrain near Moab in southeast Utah. The trail head is about 3 miles south of the center of Moab off of Angel Rock Road on the opposite side of Highway 191 from the Moab golf course.The first part of the trail climbs with switchbacks 680 feet up through the jumbled sandstone cliff. From below the notch into the Hidden Valley isn’t visible. There are good views back toward the south part of Moab as the trail rises.

In Hidden Valley the trail is flat and smooth and surrounded on both sides by towering walls of rock. The valley floor is grassy with scattered Utah Junipers and scattered desert shrubs. This trail connects to the Moab Rim 4WD trail that starts along the Colorado River and the Kane Creek Road. It is about 2.4 miles to the marked junction of the two trails. Vehicles aren’t able to continue past the end of the Moab Rim Trail.

On the right or north side of the Hidden Valley Trail at the junction with the Moab Rim Trail there is a long cliff face that has several unpublicized rock art petroglyph panels. About 200 yards past the junction there is an unmarked side trail that climbs up to the base of the cliffs. The side trail runs both up and down the cliff face. Most of the five or six art panels are to the right and uphill spread out over about 200 yards.

There are a variety of images including many mountain sheep, human figures, geometric designs and at least two flute players.

The side trail also goes to the left, around a corner and up a short side canyon that is behind the main canyon wall. In the side canyon there is at least one more rock art panel that sits high above the floor and takes a little climbing to get up to. It is an interesting panel that includes a line of marchers wearing backpacks and led by flute players. It is somewhat similar to the Procession Panel in the Comb Ridge area of southeast Utah near the town of Bluff. There may be as many as six flute players in this panel.

The return hike has views of the LaSal Mountains to the east. It took me about 30 minutes to climb to the entrance to Hidden Valley and a total time of 1:15 to arrive at the junction of the Hidden Valley and Moab Rim Trails. I spent about 1:15 hours to view the petroglyphs and then 1:00 hour to return to the trail head. My total hike took 3:30 hours for about 5 miles. I carried 2 liters of water on an 85 F day in late September and drank it all.