The Evil Red Eyed Rabbit
Written: Dec 03 '03 (Updated May 18 '04)
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Pros: Easy to cover, variety of rock formations, scenic desert landscape, prices
Cons: Getting to it, hot during summer
The Bottom Line: Arches is a great park that you should make an effort to visit, as I've never seen anything else like it.
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| tch7's Full Review: Arches National Park |
I only spent a few hours in Arches National Park, but I covered most of it and it definitely made the drive with horrible scenery worthwhile. Coming from Vail, Colorado, we drove to it in a day with one stop at Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon, which was then followed by the worst scenery in the world until we arrived at Moab, Utah. I only wish we had time to also visit the nearby Canyonlands National Park, as Arches was a very interesting place. I doubt I'll ever make a return visit, but I'm incredibly pleased that I have been to it.
Approaching Moab
I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is the ugliest place on earth. Death Valley in California is like an oasis compared to the landscape of eastern Utah. Until you are actually in Arches National Park, you can't see much to it, so all that you get is a dry landscape with a few ugly shrubs covering the ground. Coming from the south I think is a little nicer, I don't see how it could be worse.
Moab
I only went through Moab at about 11:30pm in search of some fast food, but it seemed to be quite a nice place from what I could see. It is just south of the main entrance to Arches National Park, and is where we stayed for the night at the Super 8 motel on the northern edge of the town. We had considered camping, but unless you have an RV with air conditioning it's not really an option in the summer, plus we wanted to get up and out early in the day, so Moab was the best option. It cost about $60 a night, and it was a typical Super 8 - nice people, clean rooms, and nothing to really complain about. There were a number of other hotels and motels, but there wasn't anything too fancy. Other than a few occasions in winter (the high season), you probably don't have to worry too much about finding a place to stay.
Moab is fairly large, so it has a number of restaurants and most of the big fast food chains. I went to the McDonalds late at night, and it was actually quite busy and rather slow (still wasn't as bad as the 50 minutes it took at one McDonalds I visited...). Since it was nearly midnight, the real restaurants were mostly closed. The following morning my parents went to the Denny's next to the Super 8 for a "quick breakfast." After I had finished watching all of Forest Gump in the hotel room, they returned saying the service was terribly slow.
Although Moab isn't technically a part of Arches National Park, it is a vital part of visiting the region, as there isn't anywhere else nearby that provides more than a gas station.
Prices
Prices were generally good, with a $10/vehicle entrance fee. There are no services in the park, other than the primitive campground* that is about $10/night ($5 in the off season). In Moab, prices were all just like they would be in a major city. Lodging rates range from $50 - $200 per night, and keep in mind that spring/fall are the high season because of cooler temperatures.
The Night of Arrival
Since we had camping reservations in Rocky Mountain National Park, we only had one night to spend in Moab. We arrived at approximately 4:00pm and immediately found the Super 8 for a place to stay. Since none of us were hungry, we decided that we'd see as much of Arches National Park as we could in the night, and then catch what remained early in the morning. Using the information provided at the gate, we looked for which geological attractions looked best at night and headed for them. Given that we had limited time, it almost seemed like we were in the Amazing Race, and although we didn't have time to savour the moment, it was lots of fun running here and there. The Visitor Center wasn't open during either of our visits, so I have no idea how helpful it is.
Stop 1: Park Avenue
Having never seen like it before, the massive red-rock walls on either side were incredible. A short hiking trail goes through them and connects back to the road, but you get just as interesting sights by driving around. We just walked a few hundred meters in, and that was enough for me.
Stop/Drive-by 2: La Sal Mountains Viewpoint
Although it isn't a spectacular viewpoint or that much better than just staying on the road, it is worthwhile to do the quick little drive into it.
Stop/Drive-by 3: Courthouse Towers Viewpoint
This is where the Park Avenue trail comes out, and it doesn't really require a stop, unless you see something that you want to get a picture of. Features like the Three Gossips and The Organ are neat to see, but just driving along the road did a good job of giving interesting views.
Stop 4: Petrified Dunes Viewpoint
I suggest stopping here, as it only takes a few minutes to read the geological information and look at the interesting petrified dunes, and it also gives a good view of various things in the distance.
Stop/Drive-by 5: Balanced Rock
Although there are numerous places in the park where there are things that you would call a "balanced rock," but this is the largest. If you have time, drive into the area and walk around a bit; if not, just drive by and get pictures from the side of the road - it's better from a distance.
Stop 6: The Windows Section
This was my favourite area, as it had lots of nice arches in a close vicinity, and it all requires some walking. First we went to Turret Arch, but I think the best view you get of it is from the South Window Arch. It's hard to describe the differences between arches, so I'll just say that the North Window wasn't too great. Covering those three places took about 30 minutes, but we were moving quickly.
A short distance in the other direction from the parking lot is my favourite, the Double Arch. Walking to it was a bit difficult in the sand, but I really liked Double Arch, as it was very unique and different than all the other arches.
Stop/Drive-by 7: Panorama Point
A decent view, but nothing spectacular. Since it isn't really out of the way, making a quick stop/drive-by is worthwhile.
Stop 8: Wolfe Ranch
Other than having a very poor smelling toilet, there wasn't much to this spot. It is where a hike into Delicate Arch starts, but we didn't have time to do the hike as it takes over an hour one way.
Stop 9: Delicate Arch Viewpoint
For those that don't want to do the long hike, this is a shorter alternative that provides an okay view of the popular Delicate Arch. Delicate Arch is the arch which you typically see pictures of, and I do believe it is the one that is on Utah's license plates. It took about 20 minutes to reach the viewpoint, and we were there right at sunset, which is when it was supposed to have great lighting on it. However, nothing really happened and it was a disappointment - but it was still worth it.
Stop/Drive-by 10: Fiery Furnace Viewpoint
An interesting view that I don't know how to describe, but it was certainly worth the stop.
Stop/Drive-by 11: Salt Valley Overlook
We did not actually go into this stop, but just stopped on the road near the turnoff to it, as the sunset was at its peak and it provided an amazing view to the west. After stopping here, we went to Moab and got ourselves a dinner.
The Morning of Departure
Having covered most of the main attractions the night before, we only had a few more arches to visit. There were some places we just couldn't visit given our limited time, like Eye of the Whale Arch, as they required long hikes into them or we just weren't interested in them. Driving to the Devils Garden you pass a few not-so-spectacular arches and other formations, but nothing we bothered stopping for.
Stop 12: Devils Garden
Next to the one and only primitive campground in the park, is the Devil's Garden area, which has a number of arches, which took just under two hours to complete at a comfortable pace for us. Two arches which you can take a short side trip to are Pine Tree and Tunnel Arches, both which are okay, but nothing amazing. Further along the trail is Landscape Arch, which has the longest span of all the arches in the park, near the size of a football field. Just past that is Wall Arch, which is neat looking, but you never get a great view of it. Navajo Arch takes about 15 minutes round trip, and I thought it was neat, but it was hard to get a good picture of it. Another nearby arch is Partition Arch, which we didn't bother going to since we were starting to get tired of arches (just like I'm getting tired of writing the word arches in this review).
The final we saw was Double O Arch, which is a large arch on top of a much smaller arch, and it was as far as we cared to go. It is possible to go a little bit further to Dark Angel, but the sun was beginning to make it incredibly hot outside so we just didn't care.
This area was also the only place we saw any wildlife. During our walk, we saw a few deer, and the "evil red eyed rabbit."
In Conclusion
Arches was a great park, and although we were rushed with time, it was a lot of fun and a place I'm very happy I went to. I would go back some day if getting to it weren’t so annoying and ugly. We covered the majority of the park in all of 6 hours, but on a typical summer day, you wouldn't want to be out walking around as it just gets too hot, which is why things really worked out well for us with our timing. I recommend you visit Arches National Park, but also allow time to visit Canyonlands National Park, as I really wish we had.
For more information on Arches National Park, visit the National Park's website at:
http://www.nps.gov/arch/
If you're interested in the rest of my road trip, here are links to the other portions of it:
Montana
Wyoming
Yellowstone National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Colorado
The Vail Area
Rocky Mountain National Park
Arches National Park
Jewel Cave National Monument (South Dakota)
*There is some conflicting information about the campground, and when the high season is. From all that I've seen, it would appear as though the campground is occasionally what I'd call primitive, and occasionally isn't.
"Water and flush toilets are available mid-Mar through mid-Oct. At dates other than those listed, chemical toilets are available and water is available at the visitors center."
The above statement is what many sources state, but during my visit, in early July, the flush toilets were closed and you had to drive 18 miles to get water - both signs and the pamphlet we attained at the park entrance stated that.
The other issue is the high season - some places say Mar-Oct is the high season, others have said Oct-Mar. Most hotels were running reduced rates during the summer because they said it was the off season, and that during the winter there were many more visitors because of the cooler temperatures during the day. I would envision that the spring & fall would be the high seasons, while summer and winter are more of the low seasons.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: March-May
Review Topic: Overview
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tch7
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