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Updated 02/11/23 7:04 PM
The Delicate Arch Hike is one of the most beautiful hikes you can take anywhere. It is a relatively easy walk through incredible scenery to the arch that has become a symbol of Utah.
Arches National Park, Utah
2003, 2008, 2012
The hike to delicate arch in Arches National Park is one of the most beautiful easy hikes in the national park system. It’s an out and back hike of roughly 3 miles. We’ve taken this hike twice and I wouldn’t hesitate to take it again -
Delicate Arch has become the symbol of Utah. In many places it’s on their literature and anyone who’s traveled out west has probably seen pictures of it somewhere. It’s even on their license plate.
As you near the end of the hike to the arch your walking on a ledge which is about 4 feet wide and a significant drop-
The arch itself is a stunning site. It sits on the edge of a large flat area with stunning views behind it. The pictures on Utah’s promotional literature don’t do it justice because, without something like a man standing beneath it, you don’t really know how large it is. At 65 feet tall it is a rather imposing sight. You also will notice how eroded it is at one point and understand why it is called ‘delicate’. Like all arches it is destined to fall one day and, when it does, all of us who have come to love it will feel the loss.
If hiking 3 miles is too much for you there’s another hike called the Delicate Arch Viewpoint hike. This is much shorter hike and also gives you a beautiful view of the arch. The difference is that you don’t get right up to the arch on the overlook hike. You’re looking at the arch from across a sandstone chasm, but it’s a gorgeous view nevertheless. What you will also see is the magnitude of the drop-
Arches National Park on the National Parks Service website -
Delicate Arch Hike -
National Parks Zone