After exploring of the Canyonlands National Park, we decided to spend another night at Horsethief Campground and head down the mountain closer to Moab and check out Arches National Park.
Entry Fee: $30 🇺🇸 / $39 🇨🇦 per vehicle.
We have the National Park Annual Pass we purchased when we went up to Canyonlands for $80 🇺🇸 /$104 🇨🇦. One more National Park and we are ahead.
32 km/20 miles
The first stop for us was the Las Sal Mountains Viewpoint. It loops around and has parking for an approximately a dozen vehicles.
Courthouse Towers Viewport
Just a short drive from La Sal Mountain Viewpoint is Courthouse Towers Viewpoint.
The Great Wall
Petrified Dunes Viewpoint
Ancient Sand Dunes: This vast area was once covered by extensive sand dunes. Some 200 million years ago, winds from the northwest carried tons of fine-grained sand into this area, creating an immense desert. Over time, the sand drifts were covered by other layers of sediment, compressed and cemented by quartz and calcite into Navajo Sandstone.
Rock Pinnacles
Balanced Rock
Just a short 0.5 km/0.3 miles stroll around the Balanced Rock.
The slick rock boulder of Entrada Sandstone sits attached to its eroding pedestal of Dewey Bridge mudstone.
Balanced Rock defies gravity but this won’t always be the case. Eventually, the 3,600 ton (over 4 million kg) boulder will come tumbling down as the erosional process continues to shape the landscape. ( quote from Arches National Park website)
The Balanced Rock would be amazing to see in the evening, as the deep red-orange colours would come to life with the sunset. Maybe even some star gazing from the base of the rock.
Double Arch
Early morning or late afternoon would be the best time to visit. We were lucky enough to find a parking spot first try. The parking area was packed.
The Double Arch trail is a short hike of 0.8 km/0.5 miles.
Double Arch is the tallest (112 ft/34 m) and second-longest (144 ft/44 m) arch in the park.
The Window Section
Back at the parking area from the Double Arches we following the trail climb stairs to the upper parking area and make our way over to the Window Section.
We decided to explore the Window Sections on our next visit, but we did take a quick pic of the North Window.
I will do another post of Part 2 of our Arches Exploring