Trip Date: November 10, 2020

2020 CALIFORNIA & UTAH ADVENTURE VACATION

Devil’s Garden Loop Day Hike

Tunnel Arch
Pine Tree Arch
Landscape Arch
Partition Arch
Navajo Arch
Double “O” Arch
Dark Angel
Private Arch

Trip Report Summary

Region: Utah

Sub-Region: Southeastern Utah

Area: Arches National Park

Starting & Ending Point: Devil’s Garden Trailhead on Main Park Road (Elev. 5230 feet)

Way Points: Tunnel Arch Viewpoint & Pine Tree Arch & loop junction & Landscape Arch Viewpoint & Whaleback Point & Partition Arch & Navajo Arch & Black Arch Overlook & Double “O” Arch & Dark Angel & Private Arch & Fin Canyon & loop junction (trail hike & rock scramble)

Approximate Stats: 8 miles traveled; 800 feet gained & lost; 4.8 hours elapsed.

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Full Trip Report

The signature hike in Arches National Park is the Devil’s Garden Loop, an established route that combines wide, manicured trail segments, primitive bootpath segments, and marked scrambling segments.  The basic loop has the shape of a lollipop and covers a distance of about 5 miles; along the way, there are several out-and-back spur trails that add another 3 miles.  The total 8-mile trek dishes up seven remarkable arches, one stunning pinnacle, and a host of other impressive sandstone formations.

Eileen, Brooke, and I completed the loop in a clockwise direction on a cool, partly cloudy day.  In the first mile of manicured trail, we ogled three arches: Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch, and Landscape Arch. 

Landscape Arch is renowned for being incomprehensibly slender and—with a span of 290 feet—for being the fifth-longest natural arch in the world. According to geologist Doug McKeever, this arch was originally called “Delicate Arch,” and the uber-famous Delicate Arch nearby was originally called “Landscape Arch.” However, the names were inadvertently switched on a map many years ago, leaving us with the current nomenclature. It’s easy to see that the original names would be more fitting.

Beyond Landscape Arch, the trail becomes more primitive and crosses over a sandstone whaleback.  An adjacent buttress here resembles the prow of a sinking Titanic.

Two separate spur trails led us uphill for a hands-on look at Partition Arch and Navajo Arch.

In another mile, we came to the crowd-pleasing Double “O” Arch, which comprises a medium-size arch window over a smaller porthole.

Next, a ½-mile-long spur trail took us out to Dark Angel, a jaw-dropping pinnacle of dark, varnished sandstone.  This pinnacle has the appearance of a standing angel with folded wings and is visible from many areas within the park.

The final notable feature on our loop was Private Arch, a large and nearly hidden window reached by a crude spur trail.

After returning from Private Arch, we began working our way through Fin Canyon—named for the hundreds of narrow sandstone fins.  This involved lots of Class 2-3 scrambling and is the most difficult portion of the loop.

We finished the return leg of our loop on sandy trail and arrived back at the bustling trailhead in mid-afternoon (4.8 hours + 800 feet total)

Photo Gallery

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