Trail runs to arch nearly a football field long

Landscape Arch spans 290 feet in Arches National Park.

Landscape Arch Trail topo map

Day hikers can see the continent's longest natural arch – Landscape Arch – in east-central Utah.

The Landscape Arch Trail runs 2.5 miles round trip at the far end of Arches National Park. It includes two other smaller, “taster” arches.

To reach the trailhead, drive Arches Scenic Drive (sometimes referred to as "Arches Entrance Road" or "Park Avenue") to its end, where the Devils Garden Trailhead is located. Park there and follow the paved Devils Garden Trail northwest.

The hike begins by cutting between huge red sandstone fins that tower over the trail. Fins can be found all across this section of the park. They form as water fills fractures in the sandstone; when the water freezes in winter, the fractures expand until parts of a single sandstone formation break off, ultimately separating into long, high walls.

While much of the desert sand near the fins is red, you'll notice that clusters of black crust cover great swaths of it. This crust actually is a collection of lifeforms – green algae, lichen, microfungi, mosses, bacteria, but mostly cyanobacteria. This helps slow desert erosion, otherwise much of Arches would be covered in sand dunes. Because of this, always stay on the trail at Arches; if you step on the black crust, the pressure can cause it to break into pieces that rain and wind then scatter, exposing the desert floor.

Nearly a third of a mile in, as the trail swerves north, Tunnel Arch appears atop one of the sandstone fins. You can get a better view of it by taking the spur going to the right once past the sandstone fin. When the spur trail forks, head right to see Tunnel Arch. It is 101 feet long and 45 feet high with a significant amount of sandstone on the bridge; it's growing larger with each year. Continuing straight on the spur takes you to Pine Tree Arch. At 45 x 44 feet wide, it's also fairly stable, so the trail allows hikers to walk right up to it.

Landscape Arch
Returning to the main trail, go left/northwest. The trail passes between more sandstone walls before opening up the desert plain. At that point, you should see glimpses of Landscape Arch, which grows in size as the trail curls toward it.

Landscape Arch is a jaw-dropping sight, a stone ribbon spanning 290 feet, almost a football field in length. A mere 6 feet thick at its skinniest, chunks the size of automobiles have broken off and it still stands.

The trail used to run below the arch, but it was closed after a 60-foot long by 5-foot high slab – weighing 180 tons – fell from the underside of the arch's thinnest section in 1991. A wooden fence marks the trail’s end.

Landscape Arch started as a fin like those passed earlier on the trail. When a recess formed in the fin wall, the power of freezing water and blowing wind slowly carved a hole through the rock and continued to expand it.

World's fifth largest
The arch is the world’s fifth largest. For decades, it was thought to be the longest, but since 2009, four larger ones have been discovered in China.

Though Landscape Arch looks as if it's about to collapse, no one has a good idea when that might occur. Predictions range from at any moment to a few hundred years from now.

You can continue the walk by taking the significantly longer Devils Garden Loop Trail around Landscape Arch to other rock formations on that trail. Among them are Private Arch, Partition Arch, Navajo Arch, Wall Arch, Double O Arch, and the Dark Angel pinnacle. That adds 5 miles to the hike, though. A trail guide is available at the trailhead.

Be forewarned: This trail usually is very busy. Also, during summer, the trail will be very hot with average highs in the 90s; carry plenty of water anytime on this trail but especially in those hot months.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.

Video of Arches N.P.’s The Windows

Day hikers can walk across the remnants of dinosaur-era desert on The Windows Trail at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah.

About 180-140 million years ago during the Jurassic, shifting dunes of fine-grained sand covered what is now Utah and parts of Colorado and Arizona. Over time, as sediment filled over dunes, they hardened into salmon-colored rock known as Entrada Sandstone.

Fast forward to the modern day. Rain, wind and freezing has eroded away much of the rock covering the Jurassic-era sandstone and shaped it into interesting geological features. One common sight in the national park is an arch, such as The Windows:

More than 2,000 cataloged arches have been found in the park’s nearly 120 square miles. The Windows are among the easiest to reach by day hiking the 1-mile round-trip Windows Trail.

Also see:
• Children will love day hike on Windows Trails in Arches National Park
• Best trails for seeing Arches National Park’s numerous wonders

Learn about other great national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Arches National Park's Balanced Rock video

Day hikers can take a short walk to an astounding 55-foot tall block on the Balanced Rock Trail at Arches National Park in eastern Utah.

To reach the national park, from Interstate 70 take U.S. Hwy. 191 south. The park’s entrance is on the road’s left/east side. From the visitor center, drive up the cliff along Park Avenue. At 9.2 miles, you’ll come to the parking lot for Balanced Rock and the Windows arches.

The trail leads to a dinosaur-era rock that looks like a ball atop a pedestal. The sandstone spire technically is known as a hoodoo.

Here’s a video of Balanced Rock taken along the trail:

After taking in the geological wonder on the quarter-mile loop, visitors can continue via The Windows Trail to see The Windows arches. Here's an article more fully describing the trail.

Learn about other great national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Best trails for seeing Arches' many wonders

Delicate Arch, Arches National Park

Among the best ways to see Arches National Park’s best sights is via a day hike. Just four short trails will allow you to enjoy each of the park’s highlights – sandstone arches, spires and towers, petroglyphs, and smooth, slippery slickrock.

Sandstone arches
With more than 2000 arches in the national park, the one must-see is Delicate Arch. At 80 feet high, it’s virtually synonymous with the park if not Utah. Formed out of red sediment deposited by streams and wind some 140 million years ago, the geological wonder can be seen via the 3-mile round trip Delicate Arch Trail. The trail also crosses slickrock and passes the remains of the John Wesley Wolfe Ranch. A spur trail allows hikers to see Ute petroglyphs depicting a bighorn sheep hunt and horses.

Sandstone spires
The Balanced Rock Trail leads to an astounding 55-foot tall block of dinosaur-era rock that looks like a ball atop a pedestal. After taking in the geological wonder on the quarter-mile loop, visitors can continue via The Windows Trail to see The Windows arches.

Sandstone towers
The 1.5-miles round trip Park Avenue Trail heads down a gulch named for massive, skyscraper-sized formations. The towers, , most notably The Organ, are built from buff-colored Navajo sandstone deposits set down when the region was a desert during the Jurassic some 210 million years ago.

Devils Garden
The Devils Garden Trail rambles through a series of otherworldly rock fins and spires. You’ll pass several arches along the way as well. The trail is long, though, at little more than 7 miles one-way.

Learn about other great national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Kids will love hike on Arches' Windows Trail

Windows Trail (photo courtesy NPS)

For most visitors, Arches National Park appears otherworldy. The oddly shaped, red rocks strewn across a mostly barren landscape look like a science fiction movie set. The alien-like vistas are no small sound stage, however; the park stretches across nearly 120 miles of Utah with more than 2,000 cataloged arches.

A set of paths collectively known as the Windows Trails will give you a good sense of what the region is like without having to drive or traipse all over the park. You’ll pass a massive hoodoo and three impressive arches all in a matter of a couple of hours of walking.

From the visitor center, drive along Park Avenue. At 9.2 miles you’ll come to Balanced Rock. It’s worth stopping the car for a short jaunt around this hoodoo, atop of which sits a precariously balanced ball of stone. After you get your fill, drive another 0.3 miles and turn right. It’s another 2.5 miles to a loop at road’s end. Look for the trailhead on the parking lot’s southeast side.

The trails here are well-marked and fairly easy, which makes them ideal for children. At the group of rock formations, the main trail loops with spurs to each arch.

The first stop is North Window Arch. Stone steps lead about a tenth of a mile up to the arch’s base. Visitors have compared the approach to entering an ancient temple. The sandstone fin through which that the wind carved the arch is massive, leaving you with a real sense of nature’s awesome might.

You’ll also get a fantastic framed view of the of sandstone hoodoos that dot the desert beyond. Turn back for the main loop, and you’ll get a good view of Turret Arch.

Continuing onward, you’ll come to another spur that leads to South Window Arch. The two windows actually are formed from the same sandstone fin. South Window, however, is elevated off the desert floor.

The loop curves around to Turret Arch, which is a fairly young formation in a castle-like rock. You can step through the opening to see a framed view of the North and South Windows. A much smaller arch sits to Turret Arch’s right, and in a half million years the two probably will join, forming a much larger arch.

From the opening, simply return the way you came back to the parking lot.

If you have older children, however, consider taking a primitive trail back. Return to South Window and locate the trail that parallels the loop through blackbrush flats. It affords good views of the North and South Windows, which are commonly called “the Spectacles” – an apt name as this walk will attest. The terrain is a little rougher, though, and negotiates a small hill. It’s also not frequented as much as the approach you took; watch for the cairns, however, and you’ll be fine.

Arches National Park sits smack dab in the desert, so you’ll want to bring plenty of water and use generous amounts of sunscreen. April-May and September-October make for the most comfortable months to visit.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Photos/map of Arches’ Windows Trails

A set of paths collectively known as the Windows Trails gives day hikers a good sense of what Arches National Park is like without having to drive or traipse all over the desert. You’ll pass a massive hoodoo and three impressive arches all in a matter of a couple of hours of walking.

From the visitor center, drive along Park Avenue. At 9.2 miles, you’ll come to Balanced Rock. It’s worth stopping the car for a short jaunt around this hoodoo, atop of which sits a precariously balanced ball of stone. After you get your fill, drive another 0.3 miles and turn right. It’s another 2.5 miles to a loop at road’s end. Look for the trailhead on the parking lot’s southeast side.

Balanced Rock:

Windows Trail map:

Sunset bathes the North Window Arch in a warm glow:

North Window Arch up close:

Looking through one of the park's many arches:

Here's a full description of the trail.

Learn about other great national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.