Arches National Park,
is situated in Utah’s Canyon Country, a scenic four-hour drive south-east
from the state capital, Salt Lake City. Most folks kick off their adventure
in the legendary outdoor mecca of Moab, which sits amid some of the most
rugged, awe-inspiring landscapes in the USA. Just 5 miles north of Moab
is the turnoff to Arches National Park, which contains the largest
concentration of sandstone arches on the planet. But you’ll find more than just
arches, slickrock and canyons here, you’ll find a geological story
millions of years in the making. Venture back through the park’s early chapters and you’ll discover a land submerged by ocean, cleaved open by ice, and burnished by wind. Wander back through more recent pages, and follow the footprints of America’s First Peoples, who formed a special kinship
with these towering monoliths and arches. Today, the seventeen-mile Arches Scenic Drive, makes it possible for visitors
to breeze through the park’s main sites in as little as two hours. But to truly experience the gifts and grandeur of Arches, slow down, and get out of your car. As early park ranger and
wilderness writer, Edward Abbey, once implored, “you can’t see the desert, if you can’t smell it”. The trails in Arches are easy to follow. But remember, the stone cairns
you’ll seealong the slickrock sections are there to help you find
your way, so don’t go building new ones. Just a five-minute drive into
the park, pull into the Park Avenue Trailhead, and mosey beneath the
shadows of towering canyon walls, which evoke the early skyscrapers of New York City. Another 15 minutes into the park,
marvel at the spectacle of Balanced Rock, then, turn into the Windows Section, where arches dramatically frame this timeless land, and our own fleeting presence here. The park contains over 2000 sandstone arches, and just a ten-minute drive
further up the main scenic road, you’ll find its star attraction. Pull over at Delicate Arch
Viewpoint to see this geological marvel stride like a pair of
cowboy chaps across the far-off mesa. But to get up close to
this Utah icon, you’re going to have to hike. The one-and-a-half-mile trail to
Delicate Arch has some challenging sections so wear sturdy shoes,
bring water, and set aside two or three hours… it’s a hike you’ll remember forever. After Delicate Arch,
many visitors turn around and head back to Moab, which is a shame,
as the park rewards those who venture a little further. Take a ranger tour into the labyrinth of Fiery Furnace. Escape from the sun amid the cool
slot canyons of the Sand Dune Arch Trail. Then, follow the road north to
the park’s grand finale, Devil’s Garden. The park’s scenic road may end here, but at the Devil’s Garden
trailhead, miles of more adventure awaits. Take the easy one-mile
hike to incredible Landscape Arch, the longest arch span in North America. Then, if you’ve got the legs,
head deeper into Devil’s Garden, where visitors having been finding solitude, shelter, and spiritual sustenance amid
the spires, fins and arches for millennia. Arches National Park is
one of the planet’s great geological stories, a land cleaved open by ice,
burnished by wind, and baked by the sun. And for those who slow down and listen to this story, they too will be forever shaped by this place. For that is the reward of time
well spent, and this is the gift of the arches.
