Go Explore: Arches National Park

Where to Go

The season’s chillier temperatures present a great opportunity to visit the highly popular Arches National Park, which is less frequented this time of year, but just as beautiful. Meticulously carved by the hands of nature, Arches is home to a landscape of contrasting colors, landforms and textures unlike any other in the world. Millions of years of erosion crafted stone bridges, gossiping monoliths and city-sized sandstone pipe organs amid 2,000 natural sandstone arches—the largest concentration in the world—and hundreds of soaring pinnacles across its 76,519 acres. A red rock wonderland, Arches will amaze you with its formations, refresh you with its trails, and inspire you with its sunsets.

What to Explore

With so much natural beauty throughout the park, it can be tough to know where to begin. You really can’t go wrong with your exploration, but here are some landmarks you don’t want to miss:

• The Windows—Also known as the “Spectacles,” these are two stand side-by-side arches cut from the same sandstone fin. A large “nose,” made of a gigantic fin remnant over 100 feet wide, separates the Spectacle arches visually from the southwest. The landmark is directly northeast from the Turret Arch with its vigilant tower standing beside. The whole Windows area is full of unique and captivating stone formations, with many arches among them.

• Double Arch—Part of the Windows are mentioned above, the Double Arch is an incredible formation named for the two arches sharing the same stone as a foundation for both of their outer legs. Double Arch is unique as it was formed by downward water erosion from atop the sandstone, rather than from side-to-side water erosion.

• Delicate Arch—Delicate Arch is the most recognizable arch in Arches National Park and perhaps anywhere in the world. The landmark is located along one of the most dynamic hiking trails within Arches National Park, hidden in a bowl at the top of one of the park’s famous sandstone fins. Delicate Arch stands magnificently alone in the natural sandstone bowl, contrasting against the multitude of horizontal planes around it. The arch was once part of the upper section of the fin until erosion took its toll upon the sandstone throughout the years; Delicate Arch is all that remains of that formation.

Where to Stay

Devil’s Garden Campground is where you’ll want to set up camp. Located 18 miles into Arches National Park, the campground is open year-round offers 50 sites with amazing views of the park’s geological wonders. Facilities include potable water, picnic tables, grills, as well as both pit-style and flush toilets, but there are no showers. Devil’s Garden gets booked quickly during peak season (March – October), but should be fine this time of the year. Other campground options are also available in the adjacent Moab area.

How We Set Up Kamp

The chilly desert nights call for extra layers, so we brought along the heavy duty Woods Ultra Sleeping Bag, which has a 0-Degree temperature rating. Devil’s Garden doesn’t have any showers, so we also made sure to pack the Privacy Shelter with Shower, as there is access to potable water. Below is our full campsite setup:

• Compact Tent Cot Double
• Woods Ultra Sleeping Bag
• Privacy Shelter with Shower
• Lounge Chair (perfect for stargazing)
• EZ Prep Table with Insulated Bag