Coordinates: 38°41′00″N 109°34′00″W – Arches National Park is located in eastern Utah about 5 miles north of Moab, Utah. The park is home of over 2000 arches made up of sandstone rock formations. This place is really unlike any other national park in the US. It’s truly amazing and really worth spending a couple of days here if possible. Like most US National Parks, you will have to pay a fee to enter, but it’s good for 7 days. The crowds can be overwhelming if you hit the most popular vistas, however there are so many arches that you can find solitude very quickly. Many of the larger arches require a longer hike, but you can see a couple of really cool ones just around a mile or less hike, which brings you right up to the rock formation itself.
Skyline Arch is one of the easier arches to hike to in the park (in the photo above). It’s 0.4 miles roundtrip and the path is nicely maintained. It only gains about 50 feet in elevation to the arch. There’s a small parking area just outside the trailhead.
Pine Tree Arch is located near the Devil’s Playground (reference your park map). This arch is a 1.2 mile roundtrip hike that is mostly flat except for one steep descent right before you get to the arch. It’s called Pine Tree Arch due to the nearby pines that decorate it. It was a crowded day in the park and we were able to be alone for photos and video for about 10 minutes before anyone else walked up.
Below is a video showing a small glimpse of both. Sorry for the shaky camera-work. I’m actually looking into purchasing a better camera with image stabilization, though this isn’t too bad HD quality for a cell phone!
