I showed pictures of Arches National Monument to the hubby and he said we need to go. While planning, I saw that we could hit Kolob Canyon section of Zion National Park since it is literally right off the interstate and skip Arches this time around. The hubby gave me that look that said "we aren't going to Arches?" So I planned on hitting both even if we got to Arches after the visitor center closed. We never made it to Zion because it was closed to an unexpected snow storm.
To get to Arches National Park, you get off 1-70 and travel 27 miles down a state highway towards the city of Moab. So not quite off the highway. It is a fairly flat stretch of highway with a few curves. If you are into hiking or camping, there are plenty of options along the route.
Once you get to Arches you will either need the National Park pass or pay $30 entrance fee. If you are traveling there between April and October, you will also need a timed entry pass if you are going to be there between 6 am and 5 pm. This is to avoid long waits to get in and avoid over crowding at the park. We had our national park pass and since it's March, no timed entry was needed.
Because we arrived after 4, the visitor center was closed. No stamp for me. I will write and request one.
This is where I nearly killed the hubby for the third time this trip. I failed to do proper research. I checked the roads to make sure no hairpin turns, bridges, etc and everything looked flat and an easy drive. What I didn't realize was into to actually see the Arches, you had to drive to the top of a cliff. It is narrow two lane road full of switchbacks. I told the hubby if he can make it up, I can get us down. He reluctantly agreed. There are pull offs on the way up to let faster traffic go by as well let the hubby calm his nerves. There are no pull offs on the way down. Once you get past the first of the four switchbacks on the way down, it is not so bad. I literally counted switchbacks to get down.
After making it to the top, we then followed the park road to see the park. Due to time, I know we could never see the entire scenic drive and opted to drive to the Windows Area to see the double Arch.
Our first stop was the Park Avenue Viewpoint. It was the only spot I actually got out. It was cold and windy. I did not have proper footwear (sandals) on. Besides the hubby was cranky due to his vertigo was acting up.
We then passed Balance Rock which is one of the more famous locations in the park.
We got to Windows and I thought about getting out but we could get a good view from the car so I did not. Besides parking is limited and there were people.
We saw a lot of Arches and rock formations on our way up and back down. I was perfectly happy with the amount of the park we saw. It is amazing to see what nature can do to a landscape.
Even though we only saw a small portion of the park and did not do any hiking, we did get to see a lot of arches and other rock formations. If we did not have the National Park Pass, it would not have been worth the $30 for what little we did but with the National Park pass, it was fine.
Hopefully one day, I will get back and be able to explore more. It is a great spot to hike and enjoy nature. It does get busy and hot in summer. So this would definitely be a spring/fall trip. I know the hubby would never make it up the switchbacks again so I would need to find another willing companion to join me.
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