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    Home » Travel » Rocky Mountains

    How to Survive on the Delicate Arch Trail

    Published: Sep 25, 2018 · Modified: Jan 19, 2024 · by Renée B. · This post may contain affiliate links.

    How to Survive on the Delicate Arch Trail -- The Delicate Arch Trail is challenging, and totally worth the effort! Go early, take your time, and bring twice as much water as you think you need. | The Good Hearted Woman

    Hiking the Delicate Arch Trail is challenging - and totally worth the effort! Here's what you need to know to check this amazing hike off your bucket list; including preparation and hike essentials, and tips for what to look for when you hit the trail.

    Delicate arch in the morning sun. Hikers at the base.

    Iconic to Utah, Delicate Arch is the most famous – and most photographed – natural arch in the world. Mr B and I recently braved the three-mile desert hike to get up close and personal with Delicate Arch, and Wow! The payoff was totally worth the effort!

    The term "Delicate" first appeared in a January 1934 article about the Arches National Monument Scientific Expedition, which described it as "the most delicately chiseled arch in the entire area.

    National Park Service

    Hiking the Delicate Arch Trail

    • Trail Details
    • Delicate Arch Hike Difficulty
    • Hike Essentials
      • Water
      • Shoes
      • Sun Protection
    • Hiking Delicate Arch
      • When to Hike
      • Delicate Arch Trailhead
      • Hit the Trail
      • Follow the Cairns
      • The Giant's Grin
      • The Delicate Arch
    • More Rocky Mountain Travel

    Trail Details

    • Distance: 3.2 miles (4.8 km) roundtrip
    • Elevation Gain: 480 feet (146m)
    • Difficulty: Moderate, but may be strenuous on a hot summer day (or a cold winter one)
    • Trail: Well-maintained, mostly slick rock
    • Maps: USGS Arches National Park; Trails Illustrated Arches National Park

    Delicate Arch stands about 60 feet tall at its apex. The light opening beneath the arch is 46 feet high and 32 feet wide, making it the largest free-standing arch in Arches National Park. Historically, this arch has been given many names, including a couple of my personal favorites: "Cowboy's Chaps" and "Old Maid's Bloomers.”

    It is critical to consider weather conditions no matter what time of year you plan to hike the Delicate Arch Trail. Take into consideration summer heat, winter ice, and your own health and fitness before embarking on this hike. Rangers frequently rescue people who underestimated the trail's difficulty.

    National Park Service

    Delicate Arch Hike Difficulty

    You may be asking, "Can I survive this hike?"

    I'm not gonna lie: the Delicate Arch Trail can be challenging. It was for me. However, if you are hesitant about whether or not to go, let me offer this by way of encouragement: As Peter Pan’s Wendy so delicately puts it, I am “ever so much more than twenty,” and I carry significantly more weight than I should. And...

    I made it! Totally worth it!

    Proof of Life on Delicate Arch - "Mom, hold your hat and pose like a blogger!" [Olivia Huskey Photography]

    It helped immensely that I had an awesome cheering section to keep me motivated and hydrated. (Thanks, Livy, Ben & Em!) However, if you are in good health and can walk three miles without issue, this is a hike you should definitely put in your back pocket.

    Hike Essentials

    Water

    Take water. Lots of water. More water than you think you will need.

    It should come as no surprise that hiking in the desert is entirely different from hiking through a forest. After just minutes on the sandstone trail, I found myself already feeling parched as the dry Utah air sucked all the moisture from my body.

    Water is not available anywhere on the trail, so be sure to bring plenty or fill up at the Visitors Center before you set out. Even when temperatures are moderate, the park recommends taking 2-3 quarts of water per person.

    I feel as though I need to emphasize this point more zealously, because I know we see warnings like this all the time, but sometimes we take them for granted. As in, oh sure, of course I’ll bring plenty of water. What kind of a trail-donkey do you take me for?!

    Well folks, I’ve been camping and hiking since before I could walk, so taking an ample supply of water on the trail is second nature. However, this was my first real desert hike in the summer, and less than halfway into the hike it was apparent that I did not bring enough water.

    The truth is, if it hadn’t been for my traveling companions, I might have had some serious trouble. Under the circumstances, the experience was merely humbling and instructive: had I been alone on the trail, it could have been disastrous.

    My Cheerleaders! Three twenty-somethings walking toward me on the path.
    My Cheerleaders!

    Tip: The NPS suggests taking 2-3 quarts of water per person on this hike, and one gallon of water per day in the park, even when temperatures are cooler.

    Shoes

    This is not a “flip-flop” hike. The trail is wide and flat, and we found the sandstone surprisingly “grippy": walking on it was a bit like walking on a path made of medium-grain sandpaper. Nevertheless, it is crucial to wear solid, supportive shoes with good traction.

    That being said, I am well-known in our family for my ability to trip over invisible cracks in the sidewalk, and I did just fine in my tennis shoes. I did, however, use my daughter's camera monopod as a walking stick much of the time, which was especially useful as we were crossing the vast, flat sandstone slab. If I were to do this hike again, I would definitely bring a walking stick or trekking poles with me.

    Note that the NPS recommends traction devices (i.e., ice cleats) during the winter months, as the final 70 yards of trail are often ice-covered.

    Grippy sandstone is relatively easy to walk on. Wear solid, supportive shoes with good traction.

    Sun Protection

    Desert. Sun. No Shade.

    The sun on the Delicate Arch Trail trail can be blistering and unrelenting. Shady spots are few and far between.

    No matter what time of year you hike the Delicate Arch Trail, it is critical to protect any exposed skin with sunblock and wear a brimmed hat to keep the sun off your face and prevent your head from burning.

    Shade break in the trail
    One-third of the way into the hike, we desperately needed a shade-break.

    Hiking Delicate Arch

    When to Hike

    We recommend going at sunrise to avoid the crowds.

    Sunrise is just as beautiful as sunset, much cooler, and always less busy. You might find several hundred people at Delicate Arch for sunset, but just a handful for sunrise. Try to enter the park before 7 am. Get an early start and beat the crowds.

    National Park Service

    According the the National Park Service, the best months to visit Arch National Park are April, May, September, and October. We visited Arches mid-summer, which isn't optimal: it's a little on the scorching hot side that time of year.

    We set out from the Park Visitors Center and arrived at the trailhead just before 8:00am (about an hour later than we had hoped). The Delicate Arch hike took about an hour and twenty minutes, going slow and steady. I'm sure younger, more sure-footed hikers could make it in far less time.

    People in the distance near the base of a large sandstone arch.

    By the time we reached Delicate Arch at about 9:30am, the heat was already quite uncomfortable, and the crowds were starting to get heavy.

    Arriving at the Delicate Arch, there are number of people near the bse of the arch. They help underscore its scale.

    If you want to photograph Delicate Arch in all its glory, with the sun hitting all those amazing bands of red and rust just right, you’ll have to brave the crowds at sunset, which I’m told can be ridiculously huge.

    Delicate Arch Trailhead

    To get to the Delicate Arch Trailhead from the Arches National Park Visitor Center, drive 12.3 miles up Park Avenue and turn right. Continue an additional 1.2 miles and turn left into the parking area for Delicate Arch Trail.

    • Trailhead address: Arches National Park, Moab, UT 84532
    • Trailhead coordinates: 38.73565, -109.5206 (38° 44′ 08.35″N 109° 31′ 14.13″W)

    Hit the Trail

    The Wolfe Ranch marks the beginning of the Delicate Arch Trail. This homestead was built and used by Civil War veteran John Wesley Wolfe and his family of five from 1898 to 1910, when they packed up and returned to their home in Ohio.

    The Wolfe Ranch that marks the beginning of the Delicate Arch Trail Image Credit: Don Graham (CC BY-SA 2.0)

    Just beyond the Wolfe homestead, a bridge takes you across the Salt Wash and onto the main trail.

    At one point, the trail becomes a huge flat slab of sandstone, and you will have to follow the cairns (or the crowds) to find your way.

    Trail winding upwards through scrub brush and sandstone.

    As you make your way across this wide, shadeless span, the heat can become almost unbearable by midday.

    Trail winding upwards, cairns dotting the way.

    See that big flat rock face in top third of the image above? See those teeny-tiny dots on it going from the bottom to the top? Those are People! TONS of People!

    Follow the Cairns

    Along the Delicate Arch Trail, you will notice a number of strategically placed piles of rocks. These “cairns” have been placed there by National Park rangers to mark the way to go. If you are unsure of where to go on the trail, just look for the next cairn and go in that direction.

    Under no circumstances should you build your own cairn or knock an existing one down.

    A Cairn, marking our way
    Best Tips for Hiking Delicate Arch Trail | The Good Hearted Woman

    We thought these looked like elephant toes.

    Formation that looked like elephant toes
    Me & Mr B on the trail.

    The Giant's Grin

    A little more than three-quarters of the way up the Delicate Arch Trail, you will find what I am calling Giant's Grin. (Totally made that up: I have no idea what it is really called.) I couldn't find this listed in any of the Arches National Park literature I could find, but it it one of the coolest places we saw at the park.

    "Giant's Grin" on the trail to Delicate Arch.

    Once you arrive here, you can breath a sigh of relief, because your destination is just around the corner! Before you continue though, take a minute to enjoy this mammoth formation and the stunning photo op it offers.

    Kids standing in the mouth of the "Giant's Grin," on the trail to Delicate Arch.

    Just beyond the Giant's Grin, the trails begins to narrow and hug a towering vertical ridge. The views as you make your way around the ridge are stunning.

    Two people from the back in silhouette, rounding the corner of a large outcropping to the Delicate Arch.
    Many thanks to Olivia Huskey Photography for taking this epic shot. It's my one of my very favorites from our time in Arches National Park: I love the story it tells.

    Then you round the last curve, and just like that, Delicate Arch is in front of you.

    The Delicate Arch

    You know that sensation you get when you take a cold drink on a hot day and the liquid flows down your throat and splashes into your empty stomach, and for just a second, the cool washing through you is pure bliss?

    Rounding that ridge and seeing Delicate Arch right there in front of us was a lot like that.

    Delicate Arch in all its glory. Sun shining, clouds in the background.
    Hikers resting near the Delicate Arch before starting back down the trail.
    Our Em, wearing sunglasses and smiling, with the Delicate Arch in the background.
    Our Em.
    Rick resting on the sandstone plateau above the Delicate Arch.
    Best Tips for Hiking Delicate Arch Trail | The Good Hearted Woman

    More Rocky Mountain Travel

    If you're visiting Moab, be sure to check our favorite, must-see places in Arches National Park, and tips for photographing Mesa Arch at sunrise at Canyonlands NP, just a short drive from Arches. 

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    • Shoshone Falls from one of the oobbservation decks across the river.
      Shoshone Falls (Twin Falls, Idaho)

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    More Rocky Mountain States

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      Photographing Mesa Arch at Sunrise (Canyonlands NP)
    • 7 Must See Places in Arches National Park
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    About Renée B.

    Renée is self-taught home chef with a penchant for creating healthy(ish) comfort food recipes, and adapting vintage recipes for the 21st century cook. In her spare time, she writes unfinished novels and songs about cowboys.

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    1. Ashley says

      June 12, 2023 at 12:12 pm

      Thanks for sharing your experience! As someone with a solid 50 pounds more on me than I would like right now, your post gave me the confidence I needed to give the hike a go. We hit the trail at first light, took lots of water and several breaks along the way and and loved this hike! It was very do-able. We saw many ages on the trail as we hiked down and plenty of people not prepared.

      Hubby and I both agreed this would be challenging in the direct sun and miserable without plenty of water. The cool of the morning is the way to go with this one.

      Reply
      • Renée B. says

        June 12, 2023 at 4:28 pm

        Thanks so much for the great feedback. I'm so glad your hike was such a success!

        Reply
    2. Kate says

      July 06, 2021 at 8:41 am

      Thanks for all the tips. As a over 50 but feeling 30 most of the time, the reality of what I can do and what I want to do are different. So with your tips maybe I can still do this and not feel 50+ in the process! Lol

      Reply
      • Renée says

        July 06, 2021 at 1:59 pm

        I hear you! (Oh, to be 30 again.) I hope you have a great time!

        Reply
    3. Maheshwaran Jothi says

      October 01, 2018 at 12:22 pm

      Beautiful location. Next month I should be in Phoenix. Tried to combine with this, but could not make it. Still waiting to see if I get to escape and reach here.

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        October 01, 2018 at 12:27 pm

        If you can make it, it is so worth the effort. I have to admit that Arches NP kind of blew me away - I really did not expect it to be as magnificent as it turned out to be.

        Reply
    4. Cindy Ingalls says

      September 27, 2018 at 12:37 pm

      Hiking is always worth it, in my opinion at least, if you get to see such a beautiful site as the arch. It makes me long for the days when my family would visit national parks and go on our own hikes. It was fun and great exercise.

      Reply
    5. Brianne says

      September 27, 2018 at 12:14 pm

      Such a beautiful hike! I've never been, but appreciate your real-life feedback! (I normally just see gorgeous photos of this hike, none of which hint to it's difficulty). Great tips!

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        September 27, 2018 at 12:24 pm

        Thank you, Brianne! I'm all about real-life feedback!

        Reply
    6. Evelyn Hernandez says

      September 26, 2018 at 4:29 pm

      Utah is gorgeous. We visited Park City for the holidays last year and it was amazing. I would love to visit the arch trail too.

      Reply
    7. Kasey Ma says

      September 26, 2018 at 6:14 am

      Wow what an awesome trip! Looks like you guys had an amazing time!

      Kasey Ma
      thestylewright.com

      Reply
    8. Stine Mari says

      September 26, 2018 at 1:12 am

      What a great post! When I was in Utah I didn't have time to visit the Arches National Park and it's only an excuse to go back!

      Reply
    9. MAYSZ says

      September 25, 2018 at 10:32 pm

      I love outdoor adventure. This place is perfect for Arch trail adventure looks like perfect for hangout. Love your photography.

      Reply
    10. Heidi Roberts says

      September 25, 2018 at 1:13 pm

      What a great outdoor adventure - I don't think I could hike that far but I would certainly love the scenery.

      Reply
    11. Erin Gill says

      September 25, 2018 at 10:17 am

      I envy your stamina...and your photography skills! These are some beautiful shots!

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        September 25, 2018 at 10:21 am

        Thank you! It's such a beautiful location!

        Reply
    12. Christina Ropp says

      September 25, 2018 at 9:37 am

      It looks so beautiful there! A friend of mine lives nearby and hikes there often, she said it's a great workout! It reminds me a little of Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas, however, Red Rock is missing those gorgeous arches!

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        September 25, 2018 at 10:08 am

        Arches NP is truly unique in its beauty! And yes, this hike is definitely a "great workout"... which is something people far younger and fitter than me say instead of, "I almost collapsed in a pile of dust." ? ?

        Reply

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