This is a bucket list trail that we attempted last year and failed. If you decide to hike this trail, follow it in the clockwise direction. After finally conquering this trail, we realized that the first slick-rock fin that we couldn’t get over was not the only rock that would have stopped us. My only regret with this hike was that I didn’t get enough pictures of that fin that we had difficulty getting up last time. There is a trick in descending that fin safely and I’ll describe it below. Bring gloves (the rock can be hot in the summer) and sticky soled shoes. This is a challenging hike, make sure you bring lots of water and some safety equipment. Be prepared for an emergency if you have an accident, there is no cell access.
With that said, this was a fun hike. There is a lot to see and the trail is full of discoveries.
As you can see above, this trail starts at the landscape arch, which is about a mile down the main trail from the parking lot. The main trail is where most of the crowds are. Next is the Partition arch. This is up at the top of the fin in the back. You can see some people sitting inside the arch. There’s a trail that wraps around the back-side that is easy to navigate.
Continue clockwise toward the double-o arch. This is a sandy trail (which is tough to walk through), but it soon turns into a rock scramble.
You have to walk up this rocky fin and it gets steeper as you climb. You’ll need gloves if it is hot out because the rock will be too hot to touch.
As you can see the trail turns into large boulders that you’ll need to use your hands to help climb up. The right photo shows the view looking back. You can see people below for an idea of how large this section is. Don’t let that stop you from going this far. It’s fairly easy to climb and part of the fun.
A lot of this trail consists of slick-rock. Michelle and I do the crab-walk to get down it. Some of the drop-offs can be eight feet or more (like this one). The rock will curve, so you’ll be able to walk until it gets too steep, then you have to slide down the rest of the way.
Then there’s more climbing. The photo on the right shows the view looking back from higher up. A lot of people climbed on the top of the fin on the right. It’s easy to get to, but it doesn’t really go anywhere. I suspect they saw other people up there and thought that was the trail and they were attempting to get to the Partition arch. This is not the way to the arch!
There’s a sandy trail that leads behind a large fin and you can easily get to the Partition arch. Then after the Partition arch, you have to detour off to the Navajo arch (well worth it).
As you can see in the photos above, the Partition arch is easy to get to. You can walk out onto the sloping shelf on the front of the arch (just don’t get too close to the edge). The last photo is looking across to that fin where we first ascended the rock scramble. You can see people out on top of the fin. Next is the hike to the Navajo arch.
The Navajo arch goes through a fin and comes out into a tiny slot canyon. The back of the canyon has a slope that is climbable if you want to get a higher view. Next, the trail continues for quite a distance to reach the double-o arch.
As you can see there are still a lot of people on this trail. My photos don’t really give the full perspective of how many people were on this trail in April. The trail is well marked, but some parts are slick-rock, so watch for the cairns. Next, we hike over the top of a very large fin. As you can see, I put my gloves on in anticipation of some rock scrambling.
As you can see from the photos above, the views from the top of the fin are spectacular. The last photo shows one of the gaps in the rock that you’ll need to hop across. They look huge, but they’re more of a trip hazard.
If you’re not familiar with rock scramble trails, the pictures above are the trail.
Once you come over the last rock, you’ll immediately see the double-o arch. You’ll still have to descend to the sandy trail to get to the arch. As you can see by the group of people, you can walk under and through the bottom arch. Next, we took a detour to the Dark Angle. Wasn’t sure what that was, but it was half a mile out, so only one mile out of our way. It’s an easy trail.
Yup. It was a large dark monolith sticking up at the end of the trial. Back to the split off!
You can get a view of the back side of the double-o arch from here. There was a group of people looking down the steep descent into the primitive trial and shaking their heads. Of course, the primitive trail was the reason we came, so we just skipped down the steep part until Michelle found a rock to sit on and empty the sand out of her shoes.
The best part about this part of the trail is that the crowds came to an end. There were probably about a dozen people that we ran into on this trail. Most were slowed by the big fin that is difficult to descend (coming up).
Eventually, you’ll reach the private arch (above).
As you can see, the trail just alternates between sand pits and rock scrambles. The rocky parts can get pretty steep and require you to use your hands to pull yourself up. The sand just makes the slick-rock slippery and after hundreds of people have walked this trail, the rock has a polished surface.
You can get an idea of what the fins are like up close from the above photos. The last photo shows the first high drop that you’ll need to slide down. It’s probably about twelve to fifteen feet (from that point of view). I found a spot that I could crawl down until I was about six feet off the ground and slid from there.
The last four photos above are the backside of the fin that kicked our butts the last time we tried the trail. Climbing up this side is easy, but you still have to crawl down to a tiny slick ledge (that curves downward) and shimmy over until you get to a spot that is only an eight-foot drop. Then you can kind of slide down that drop slowly. The next photo shows people who were navigating that tiny ledge across. Next time we hike this trail, I’m going to take pictures from the top of the ledge and how the drop looks from up there.
The rest of the trail is a piece of cake after the last fin. You just follow the river bed until you get to a sign that tells you that the trail continues up. Then follow the trail to the main sign where this all started. You’ll end up back on the main trail to the parking lot.
The temperature was in the upper 80’s when we hiked this trail and we both drank three liters of water, plus I drank a bottle of gatorade. If it’s in the 90’s (which is normal), plan to pack more water than that. Don’t forget the salty snacks and possible salt tablets.
Don’t plan on hiking this trail in the cooler months. Snow and ice makes it impassible. Signs warn about attempting this trail when snow or ice is present, but I would watch for wet days as well, since the slick-rock will be hazardous. Also, don’t hike this trail alone (unless you have a satellite phone). The most likely injury will be a broken leg or arm. We have a Garmin satellite device that we can send messages over and has a built-in SOS, search and rescue contact radio. There is no cell service in much of this park (only in some of the high spots).
Overall, this was one of the most fun trails we’ve hiked.