We put together this little video from the footage on our dashcam of the drive down Utah 313 near Moab.
Just click on the picture below to watch the video!
Scenic Mountain Drive Utah
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Arches National Park
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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
Canyonlands National Park, Utah—- Part 2
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We were amazed at how much there is to see and do in the Moab area. If you are a person who enjoys a good hike, some mountain biking, you could quite easily spend a week here and never be bored.
Since we are camping with our fur babies Bella and Rider, we are on a time limit and that we needed to be back by the 3 1/2 to 4-hour mark. That limited us to how many hikes we could complete.
We did manage to completed half the hikes. This gives us an excuse to come back to the area!
Grandview Point Overlook
Length: 2 mile round trip
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: 50 ft
If you love sunsets as we do, take in this hike late afternoon.
We stop in the parking area and grabbed a few pictures thinking we would be back in the late afternoon.
We never did make it back to Grandview Point. By 5 pm we were both exhausted and decided to add that hike to must come back to the complete.
Buck Canyon Overview
Shafer Canyon Overview
Exploring the Canyonlands Nation Park, Utah
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This morning’s temp was a tad chilly -2c/ 28 f.
Since we knew we would be hiking, we dressed in layers. Well, Myron dressed in layers, I only needed a bunny hug!
The entry into Canyonlands is $30/ vehicle. Since we will be visiting at least 5 National Parks this winter, we decided it would be cheaper to buy an Annual Pass for $80 USA/ $104 Canadian. This gives you access to all National Parks in the USA. 3 National Parks and we are ahead!
The first stop was Mesa Arch.
Just a short hike to a cliff edge arch. It’s a great spot at sunrise.
Next stop was Candlestick Tower Overlook
Orange Cliff Overhang
Amazing views, I will post more pictures tomorrow from Canyonlands Nation Park.