If you are planning to make a big road trip to Southwest soon, this series of post about that exact idea may interest you.
30 hours maneuvering steering wheel and face glued on the sun gleaming road where speed limit signs are as frequently seen as rest area at every 50 miles or so between vast desert and epic monuments of rock formation; we were on the road for the trip of lifetime. If everything goes well, we will cover roughly 1,741 miles stretch of this beautiful country in 9 days. Some may say, for what purpose? I can reply to that question with big smile on my face. Well, looking back on this event in next 10 years I will probably not regret as much as I would if I hadn’t take the chance.
The plan (if you can even call it as one) came about randomly in the month prior and we basically had no concrete idea except for our desire to travel through the desert and chase the wild life in ever so expansive States of Utah and Arizona. Eventually, and rather naturally, that plan has extended to include 3 more States on our radar: Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. This plan was to cover all five National Parks in Utah and Yellowstone National Park as well as other essential sites that probably every avid traveler has pinned down on their travelers journal.
Idea was simple: Fly to Salt Lake City and pick up rental car and start from there. I have composed Google doc with daily summary, points of interest, basic driving direction, essential information about each park, and checklist of items to bring and shared the document among the group to view and edit. We all shared responsibilities to book accommodation and other tour services one week prior to departure.
Here’s our plan that was mapped out for 9 days:
The Beginning of Epic Road Trip
On Friday, we arrived at Salt Lake City close to 7:30pm. Picked up rental car at the airport and did grocery shopping at local supermarket and headed south on highway 15 to 70 to approach Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. If I may give you a quick advise, I would definitely recommend stocking up on water and food before starting the journey. We bought 4 cartons of 4L water as well as cookies, fig bars, and other hearty snacks to keep our fuels going.
It was past midnight when we reached the lodge near Monticello, UT (within Needles District in Canyonlands National Park) so the only available source of entertainment among us was the unfurling stars in pitch black skies. It was the perfect welcome gift from the land of great national parks! We had some trouble in the beginning though, the lodge got really cold (it was a tipi in the middle of desert) and the group was barely able to catch a sleep. Alas, we had to give up on the idea of resting and left the campground before dawn for Arches National Park to catch the very first sunrise of this road trip.
We entered Arches National Park before the break of dawn and headed to Delicate Arch Trailhead for sunrise hike. Delicate Arch is one of the most famous arches in Utah, which also happens to be the trademark of Utah’s car plate. We took 1.5 mile trail that leads to the facade of symbolic arch formation.
Delicate Arch
Although the trail is only 3 miles out and back, the way to Delicate Arch involves many inclines. The trail is also quite wide and lacks clear trail marks so you can easily take the harder way than the others to the arch. The trail is very popular so there is probably no chance of getting lost but these are something to keep in mind. Also, bring at least 2L of water and stay hydrated.
The sun was already out when we got to Delicate Arch which made the photography easier and gave us opportunity to adjust camera setting proper for the light.
Delicate Arch hike is one of the must-do activities in this beautiful national park full of amazing rock formation. There are many other appealing landmarks within the park such as Balanced Rock, Double Arch, and Elephant Butt which are easily accessible via vehicles and least amount of walking. However, the best one is tucked away in the northern end of the park: Landscape Arch and Double O Arch!
Landscape Arch and Double O Arch
(4.5 mi. Out and Back from Devils Garden Trailhead / 2.5 Hours)
First and foremost, bring lots of water. Each hiker should carry at least 2-3L. If you only have half a day in the park, then this hike is probably the best one to commit to. This trail offers many unique characteristics of this park: (1) Amazing red rock formation and slot canyons to peel your eyes, (2) dramatic semi-rock climbing adventure with breathtaking panorama views, (3) awesome lunch spot on top of rocks with perfect view of Landscape Arch in front of you! and of course, (4) arches and more ARCHES!
Hike to Landscape Arch is rated easy on the park’s website, and it is reasonably so because you will be walking mostly on flat ground until the trail starts to go up on thrusting red rocks towards Devils Garden.
After passing through Landscape Arch the hike to Double O Arch suddenly becomes difficult as you will be forced to switch on Indiana Jones mode to climb up rocks and face the fear of height (just kidding, it’s not that bad). The reward of braving up on towering rock is priceless as you can see from these pictures. You can see the world in distance from the summit and it will surely give you undisturbed moment of peaceful silence to ponder upon your small existence. It’s truly reflective stuff.
Double O Arch is technically not the end of this trail and it can be made into longer loop, but we decided that getting to the arch was already an amazing accomplishment. Double O Arch is unique formation of two separate arches that complement to create one perfect circle. Find the good spot to take the portrait inside the circle.
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The way back from Double O Arch to the trailhead also offered different view. Interestingly enough, even the same path we came from looked quite different and fresh. We are now facing downwards and seeing more details on rocks below. One big impression I had from Arches National Park was the detail and color of rocks that appear differently from the way sunlight hits the surfaces. I am no geologist but can definitely appreciate this nature’s magic.
So we had pretty amazing day at Arches National Park and headed to the neighboring Canyonlands National Park for more goodness and sunset to close the day.
Island in the Sky :: Canyonlands National Park
Drive from Arches National Park to Island in the Sky Visitors Center (how cool is the name of this place?) only took us about 40 minutes and from there it took about another 20 minutes to Grand View Point that oversees the epic gorges of canyons. We got to the view point before sunset and spent good one hour to take photos of this mind blowing beauty of place.
The sun was slowly setting on the West side of canyons.
We drove to Mesa Arch to take a good looks at this popular site in time for sunset.
Mesa Arch is better known for the sunrise viewing spot which made total sense to me once I saw how the arch’s face is open to the East side. Nonetheless, it was still beautiful enough to set up tripod to record time lapse and gaze at changing colors of land formation.
Our first day on the road was very successful and my heart was soaring high for the anticipation to see what awaits in the next destination. The road story continues…
(to be continued)
★JUMP TO PART 2 :: ROAD TO MONUMENT VALLEY!★
★JUMP TO PART 3 :: LOWER ANTELOPE CANYON AND ZION NATIONAL PARK!★
★JUMP TO PART 4 :: BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK!★
★JUMP TO PART 5 :: CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK AND BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS!★
★JUMP TO PART 6 :: YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK!★
Useful Links:
Hiking Trails in Arches National Park
Activity ideas in Canyonlands National Park
“America the Beautiful Pass” AKA Road Trip Surviver’s Kit