Arches National Monument, Moab, Utah

Enter Arches, stop off at the Windows Area. 1 hour

Moab, Utah is the center of sports activity for Southern Utah. With famous mountain bike trails, white water rafting and Arches there is a lot to do around this town, no wonder Nike named a line of hiking shoes for this area. I could not find much difference in the motels, a nice assortment of local restaurants as well as the usual.

This entry includes an over view of the park covering the Windows area.

Once you are in Utah the mountains are behind you and trees are sparse.

Just a sampling of the views from the road as you drive.

There is a vast park network  filling much of south Utah and north of the Grand Canyon, this includes Canyon Lands, Capitol Reef and Grand Staircase. These parks are less developed than the parks I have driven through parts of these parks, but have not concentrated on them. These two views of of a giant boulder over an acre in size is from Canyon Lands.

Entering Arches, you first drive up onto a plateau that then leads into a vast basin.

These pictures are taken in the Windows area of the Park. This area has the most accessible arches many viewable from the car and fully enjoyed with a sort level walk from the parking area.

The two other areas of the Park I have explored are Wolf Ranch with the trail to Delicate Arch (Delicate Arch is the most famous arch in Utah) and Devil's Garden a great jumble of rocks and arches.