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Friday, November 14, 2014

Arches National Park. Part I

MOAB, Utah
  Arches National Park
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Welcome to PART I
Featuring:  Devils Garden, Pine Tree Arch, Tunnel Arch and overlooks


  The entrance to the park is found 5 miles north of town via US 191.   Being so close to town, and also very close to Negro Bills Canyon (our last hike/park) it made sense to knock off these two parks in one day.  If you are planning to do a lot of hiking in Arches, I would definitely dedicate the entire day to this park.  We had the dog and another park to see so we had an 8am to 12pm time slot to see Arches.  

We drove up to Arches National Park at about 7 pm Saturday night after dinner.  It was a dark starry night and it was a beautiful drive seeing the silhouettes of the rock structures and the full moon.  Hotels were booked for the weekend, the campsites were full, and it was dropping to the low 40's that night, so we settled for some good ol' fashioned car camping.   No need to pitch a tent in the middle of the night and a much warmer option for November in the high dessert at night. 



We stayed at the Devils Garden Campground (very cute very primitive- no showers but bathrooms and drinking water were available) and woke up to sights like this.  There is a 20$ fee and it is first come first serve basis starting November 1st.

  The campground is at the very end of the park so the plan was to slowly drive out, stopping at all the sights.  Everything was new and so surprising because we had driven into the park at night. 








Some of my favorite pictures-  Devil's Garden! 



We started off the day with a quick hike to Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch 





Tunnel Arch 



Pine Tree Arch 



Trail back from the arches. 



The scenery at arches was beautiful and very different from the last two parks we were at.  



The landscape.. the shadows... the valley.  
Yep my favorite park! 




Below is the Fiery Furnance viewing area.  You need a permit/guided tour to hike the fiery furnance.  "The Fiery Furnace offers a labyrinth of narrow passageways and abrupt dead-ends among a series of sandstone fins. Though it does not encompass a very large area, it is easy to become disoriented or lost. For this reason, and to protect native plants and soils, visitors must join a guided hike, or obtain a special permit, in order to enter the Fiery Furnace."  More info here!



A lot of the sights were aaccessibleby car and over looks (what we did with the dog) but there were a few chances for hiking in the park 

TRAILSMILES/KMAVG TIMEDIFFICULTYDESCRIPTION
Balanced Rock.3 mi/ .5 km15-30 minEasyRock formation, loop
Broken Arch1.3 mi/ 2.1 km30-60 minEasyArch
Broken Arch with Loop2 mi/ 3.2 km30-60 minEasyArch, sand dunes, slickrock
Delicate Arch Viewpoint100 yards10-15 minEasyViewpoint of Delicate Arch
Desert Nature Trail.2 mi/ .3 km10-15 minEasyNature Walk, Trail Guide
Double Arch.5 mi/.8 km15-30 minEasyTwo giant arches
Landscape Arch2 mi/3.2 km30-60 minEasySpectacular ribbon of rock
Sand Dune Arch.4 mi/ .6 km15-30 minEasySecluded arch/sandstone fins
Skyline Arch.4 mi/ .6km10-20 minEasyArch

The Windows
1 mi/ 1.6 km30-60 minEasyNorth, South Windows, Turret Arch
Park Avenue1 mi/ 1.6 km30-60 minModerateCanyon, Courthouse Towers

Tower Arch
3.4 mi/ 5.6 km2-3 hoursModerateRock wall, dunes, sandstone fins
Delicate Arch3 mi/ 4.8 km2-3 hoursStrenuousSlickrock, arch
Devils Garden7.2 mi/ 11.5 km3-5 hoursStrenuousEight arches
Double O Arch4 mi/ 6.4 km2-3 hoursStrenuousScenic, Navajo Arches
Fiery FurnaceNo marked trails, permit required, guided tour available
http://www.moabadventurecenter.com/sightseeing/arches.php

Check back in for part II of our day in Arches National Park! 
Featuring the famous Delicate Arch :) 

2 comments :

  1. That looks amazing, especially Fiery Furnace. I would love to hike through there (with a guide, as I have no sense of direction).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah i get lost all the time- navigation is not my forte! I am pro guide as well ;) definitely on my list next time i am there!

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