Arches Area Hiking
| Arches Area Hiking - The Narrows |
 Distance:
7.6 miles (loop)
Walking
time: 4 1/4 hours
Elevations:
280 ft. gain/loss
Devils Garden Trailhead
(start): 5,180 ft.
Landscape Arch: 5,320
ft.
Dark Angel: 5,460 ft.
Trail:
Generally easy, well used trail
Season:
Spring, summer, fall, winter. The trail is quite hot
in summer, so carry plenty of water. For more information
call the Visitor Center, Arches National Park, at
(801) 259-8161.
Vicinity:
Arches National Park, near Moab
If
the strange and wonderful rock formations of southern
Utah interest you, you will love this hike. Devils
Garden contains eight of the best known sandstone
arches in Arches National Park, including Landscape
Arch, the park's longest span. The area is a particularly
good place to study the life cycle of natural arches.
You will see many spans of different ages as you wander
through the jumbled canyons of stone. On the return
portion of the loop you will pass through a giant
maze of long vertical sandstone fins, all parallel
to one another with narrow canyons between. These
fins are the raw materials from which future arches
are being made. In another million years, when all
of the present arches are gone, there will be many
new ones in these canyons to replace them. Some of
the new arches might even be more spectacular than
the present ones. Although we mortals are allowed
only a fleeting glimpse of her current display, Nature
is continually modifying and replacing her artwork.
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From
the trailhead the path goes for only 0.3 mile before another
spur trail leaves on the right to Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel
Arch. Both Pine Tree and Tunnel are very young arches
with relatively small openings surrounded by large masses
of rock. They are not as impressive as some of the other
arches, but as a prelude to the next arch-one of oldest-you
should take the time to see them. The side trip to these
two arches will extend your hike by about 0.6 mile.
Continuing northward on
the main trail for another 0.6 mile will bring you to
another junction. You will be returning on the path to
the right, so for now bear left toward Landscape Arch.
Soon you will see a short loop trail on the left leading
to this well known landmark.
For most people, Landscape
Arch is the high point of the Devils Garden hike. The
arch is so improbably long and slender its span seems
to defy the laws of physics. The slender ribbon of stone
extends for some 300 feet from base to base, and rises
105 feet above the sandy desert floor. Landscape is a
very old arch, definitely in the last stages of its existence,
but how much longer will it endure? Maybe another century,
maybe several, but certainly not more that a thousand
years. Because of its size it is difficult to photograph
Landscape Arch. But if you want to try plan to be there
in the morning, and make sure you bring along a wide angle
lens.
From Landscape Arch the
trail continues northward, past Wall Arch, to another
short spur trail leading to Navajo and Partition Arches.
Navajo Arch, on the western edge of Devils Garden, is
the larger of the two. Visiting these two arches will
add about 0.7 mile onto your hike.
The main trail ends at Double
O Arch, 2.2 miles from the trailhead. From here another
short trail on the left goes to the base of the Dark Angel.
Dark Angel is a sandstone monolith, about 150 feet high,
that stands prominently on the edge of a long narrow bench
overlooking Salt Valley. It commands a nice view across
the valley of the Klondike Bluffs, on the western edge
of the national park. The round trip to Dark Angel will
add another 1.0 mile to your hike.
When you are ready to return,
you should turn north from Double O Arch, and take the
loop trail that goes back through Fin Canyon. This trail
is what the Park Service calls a “primitive trail”.
It is not as well developed as the main Devils Garden
Trail, but it is quite easy to follow and, in my opinion,
it is the most interesting part of the hike. The trail
wonders through an intriguing collection of thin stone
fins, all aligned in a northwest-southeast direction.
The fins were formed millions of years ago when the ground
rose beneath a solid block of sandstone, causing it to
fracture and separate into long, parallel vertical sheets.
The existence of these large fins is the primary reason
why so many arches have been formed in Arches National
Park.
After spending about a mile
in Fin Canyon, the trail breaks out on the eastern side
of Devils Garden and eventually meets the main trail again
just east of Landscape Arch. From the junction it is an
easy 0.9 mile walk back the trailhead. |
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Content
from the book
Utah's Favorite
Hiking Trails
by David Day |
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Utah's
Favorite Hiking Trails
access
info for 113 trailheads
75
detailed trail maps
250
photographs
loads
of hiking tips
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more information?
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