Moab, UT to Bryce National Park, 300 Miles

Leave Moab, arrive Bryce Canyon, Tropic, Utah
Unlike most of the driving on this trip a large portion of this drive is on Intersate Highway. I took the east drive version with INT 70 West connecting to INT 15 South. This was all easy driving for about 4.5 hours. Just under 300 Miles. We slipped this in as an afternoon-night drive to save a day.

 

You get to see a lot of desert in this part of the country.

As you get near Bryce NP the country gets very interesting again.



Arches National Monument, Devil's Garden

An area of Arches to explore. 1-3 hours

The entrance to Devil's Garden gives little hint to to exciting terrain you are about to enter. After just a few turns of the trail you are fully enveloped in a land of fantastic shaped rocks and arches.

This area has designated trails, it is fine to climb on the rocks, but the park service dose not want the delicate plant life disturbed, so please stay on the trails.

The trails are a collection of loops, there are points where you can choose to circle back,or take on another section. Distances are clearly shown, so you have an idea what you are taking on.

 

As you get deeper into this section you work your way up to where you have some nice vistas back to the Rockies in Colorado.

 

From here we left the park, stopped for lunch in Green River to the west before leaving this area. You could return to Moab and explore other activties in this area. Many sports shops in town offer tours and options.

Arches National Monument, Ghost Ranch to Delicate Arch

Important hike up to see the famous Delicate Arch. 1.5 hours

The Ghost Ranch. Bellow are a collection of photos of the trail to Delicate Arch

The arrow points to people ahead on the trail. Clicking on the photo will expand the image.

Many people coming back will chat about how much further to go, if this park has a quest, it is going to Delicate Arch.

Stacks of rocks like this are called a blaze and are used to mark the trail.

It is important to stay to the trail there are no safety rails out here.

This view shows the way back down to the parking and Ghost Ranch.

After the big climb the trail levels out. The surface here is one big rock.

The trail here is this ledge carved into the right side of a huge rock the drop off to the left is very sharp.

Some people climb up this wall to get a peak through this hole in the rock, it is tricky to get back down.

The arch come into view as you come up over a ledge.

Note the person under the left butte for scale of the arch.

This View is the same trail ledge on the return with the drop off to the right now.

The hike up took us just under 45 Min, the trip back down to the parking lot was faster.

There is water in some parking loots where you can refill your water bottle.

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.