Arches National Park - Devil's Garden Trails and Arches

Today we got an early start again to beat the heat, and returned to Arches NP to hike the 7 miles of trails at the Devils Garden section. Again today -- as I have noticed over the years at other national parks such as Grand Canyon -- the vast majority of hikers who venture miles from the trailhead are visitors from other countries. I'll leave you to draw whatever conclusion you wish from this observation.

The arches below are presented in order from the parking area, starting with Tunnel Arch...



... and then Pine Tree Arch, both just short walks...



Landscape Arch is the longest span at 306 feet, and it created quite a stir in 1991 when a 180 ton section measuring 60 feet long fell down. At that time, the trail looped under the arch and people were under it, so for safety, the trail has since been re-rerouted and going under the arch is now off limits...



Just beyond WAS Wall Arch until 3 weeks ago when it fell! The opening beneath the span was 71 feet wide and 33 1/2 feet high and it ranked 12th in size among the over 2000 arches in the park. Here's a photo of the debris pile...




Black Arch is seen from a viewpoint just off the main trail



After a hike up a steep, high rock slab you have access to Navajo Arch...



... which brings you alongside a cliff wall of Navajo Sandstone which has been weathered into unusual intricate patterns. Unfortunately, no explanatory sign has been placed there by the National Park Service, so I can't explain its creation...



Partition Arch is nearby on another spur trail and is really 2 arches, one still very "young" which will eventually merge with the larger arch...



Another mile which includes several hundred yards of balancing on a rock fin, with dropoffs of 20 feet on the left and hundreds of feet on the right, seen below...



... and then you arrive at Double O Arch, a long span over a shorter arch...



... and another half mile out is where the trail ends at Dark Angel rock spire.



Click here for photos of our Arches NP visit earlier this week.

The temperature was in the upper 70s when we began, and 3 hours later as we left, it was in the mid-90s, but at least there was a bit of a breeze today!