Arches National Park
The 76,518 acres that are the home of over 2,000 sandstone arches were established on April 12th, 1829, as Arches National Park. And there is no way of seeing all the famous arches in one day. Our family took two days, and we didn't get to explore everything we wanted to see.
On June 5th, 2020, Skip, Ezra, Skips father Doyle, stepmom Regina, and I adventured over to Arches National Park to explore what we could before a massive storm rolled in.
We started by exploring three of the six arches within Devils Garden. The name originated from the locals believing there was an evil forest spirit that lived within the area. It is an 8.1-mile loop that consists of six arches:
Landscape arch (1.6 miles)
Tunnel Arch (.4 miles) Pine Tree Arch (.5 miles)
Partition arch (2 miles)
Navajo Arch (2 miles)
Double O Arch (2.3 miles)
Dark Angle Arch (2.5 miles)
The first arch we hiked to was the Landscape Arch. Frank Beckwin Named the arch in the winter of 1933. He was the leader of the Arches National Monument Scientific Expedition. The arch is the longest in North America, reaching 290.1 feet wide and 77.1 feet high. The narrowest section is only 6 feet in diameter, and in the 1990s, the most significant area fell off.
On the way back to the truck, we stopped at the Pine tree Arch and the Tunnel arch. There was no information on these two arches. If you know the dimensions or any of the histories on them, please leave a comment.
Before heading back to camp, we decided to stop at the lookout for The Delicate arch. Unfortunately, it started to storm, so we had to head back to the truck. Skip, and I decided we would hike up to Delicate arch another day.
The storm was severe, and we had to evacuate our campsite because it started to flood, plus rocks from the mountain were starting to roll into our campsite. We were camping at Williams Bottom Campground. The campsite is on the other side of the road from the Colorado River, and we did not want the road to wash out. Eventually, the storm cleared up, and we could return to our camp for the night.
Click HERE to explore the campgrounds and reserve your site.
On June 8th, 2020, Doyle and Regina headed back to Idaho, so we made our way back to Arches National Park to hike to the famous Delicate arch.
In 1934 the arch was described as the most delicately chiseled arch in the area. You may have also heard of Cowboy Arch because it looks like a pair of chaps. The 3-mile round trip has a 480 feet election all on sandstone pavement and dirt.
The trail is marked with arrows on the ground, making the path easy to follow. The arch is the most visited and famous in the park. It is the largest free-standing arch in the park standing 46 feet high and 32 feet wide.
Plus, it is an arch you can get close to and take photos of it. We were told the best time to visit the arch is at sunset. We will be making that hike for the sunset once Ezra is older and can withstand the wind.
The second stop we made was the Windows arch on the same mile loop as the 35 feet wide, and 68 feel heigh turret arch. I could not find any measurements on the Arch Windows. Please, if you know any information on the arches, comment below.
The third stop and my favorite arch in the park were the third largest arch within the park, the Double Arch. The bigger of the two openings measures 144 wide and 122 high. The smaller opening measures 64 feet wide and 86 feet tall. The hike from the parking lot is only half a mile, and on pavement, so it is easy in and out arch to see.
