This arch can only be reached by hiking. There is a gravel road that winds toward the parking lot. We parked in the gravel parking lot, opting to not take the technical 4-wheel drive road to the other parking lot. The gravel parking lot is the longer hike.
The gravel road looks like this:
The trail starts here:
It soon comes to the base of a cliff and turns into a rock scramble:
This rock scramble is easier to climb if you have gloves. The rocks can become hot during the day.
Cairns mark the trailParking lot from the top of the cliffThis spot is rather steep and will require good treads to climb.The park service did a great job marking this trail with Cairns. The trail is mostly smooth rocky areas, so it’s difficult to see where other hikers have traveled.This is the first overlook of the trail. The trail goes down from here.This is the view from the topFollow the trail down from here.This trail goes up again, and there is another edge where the trail goes down again.View from the second cliffClose up of second cliffDown the trail we go!It’s a bit of a climb down.The trail levels outCivilization is not visible from here. The scenery is spectacular.This trail continues into the bottom of the valley before going up again.This picture shows the scale of the rocks.Sometimes the trail is difficult to see. Just follow the Cairns.The scenery is excellent.Michelle was trying to hang back so she didn’t get into my pictures. Ha!Getting really hot. It was around 98 degrees by now.At the bottom was a dry river bed that we had to cross.The trail continues up from there.This is when I knew we were in for some pain. The trail is a sand pit for most of the hike from here.Michelle attempts to find an alternate route as I power up the sandy hill.There is no way around the sand.At the top, there was a small shady area to rest.Continuing on the path is more sand.Finally, a hard surface trail.The trail goes into an area with boulders, and you have to walk over this rock formation.This is where we first saw the arch.We made it to the point where the technical trail meets up.We trekked up to the inside of the arch. There is an official path. Go back down the path before the sign and there is a small branch toward the arch. This leads to a slot that gives an easier climb into the arch.We climbed over the giant rock formation and entered directly from the front.Here’s the view from inside the arch.View of the arch from under it.Time for a snack.Looks like a pair of hikers from the Jeep parking lot are coming.Here’s the easy way down.
If you hike this trail, do it when the temperature is below 90 degrees. Take lots of water. There are some trees along the path that you can use for shade. This helps, but most of the trail is out in the open, so be prepared. Wear sunblock. We wore SPF 100, and I still got a little burned. It’s probably best to wear a hat. Also, you might want to bring something to eat. The sandy parts of the trail will sap your energy. Last, but not least, bring climbing gloves so you don’t scrape your hands, and you can grab the rocks when you climb up the first part of the trail.
