Arches National Parks

“Looking for a good backpacking loop in or near arches national park. I would like between a 3-5 day loop i'm not finding much on-line and wanted to see if any of you a knew of a good hike. It a bunch of my friends and i are starting to plan a spring break trip and we want to keep it cheap and we think that backpacking would be fun we all love to hike but we aren;t super familer with trails and were hoping to just backpack and not car camp but whats the best.........”

“Kolob Plateau”

“oh one more then, how is the water issue in this area do you have carry all your water in or this time of year could you find water.”

“Photoguy, Arches national park really isn't a very practical backpacking destination. First off, there just isn't any water there any time of year. Secondly, it's comprised mostly of a couple of main paved roads with day-hikes that go out to several of the arches. There is a campground, but really no backpacking to speak of.

The areas surrounding have some backpacking, mostly in Canyonlands National Park. Or you could go up into the La Sal mountains. Personally I would either change my trip to a mountain biking trip, or plan to backpack in Canyonlands. Spring break is a perfect time to go there. Any later and the temps make the area pretty miserable for backpacking.”

“yes, arches is beautiful, and has some fantastic day hikes, but I dont think there are any bpacking trails. Canyonlands has some, but you also may want to check out southern Utah....lots and lots of backcountry trails.”

“Any good trails in cayon lands, loops is what we want. But what would be a pratical leaght for a trip witht the water issue. thanks for all your help, we are thinking that backpack my not be the way to go we want to hit cayon lands and arches so we are thinking of car camping and day hiking to everything we want to see”

“photo....i'm not sure about specific trails. you can prolly find some info online. I went back in November, and there are lots of free campsites outside of the parks near Moab. Yes, water is hard to come by, so i would suggest just doing some carcamping and dayhikes. You into rock climbing or mtn biking? Moab is the mecca for that stuff. Here are some pics from my trip to Arches and cayonlands back in November....

http://community.webshots.com/album/504411668FUxEyC”

“You could do the White Rim Trail at Island in the Sky part of Canyonlands.

Backcountry permits (might be too late to get reservations, I dunno):
http://www.nps.gov/cany/permits.htm

Backpacking:
http://www.nps.gov/cany/backpack.htm

Hiking:
http://www.nps.gov/cany/hike.htm

Mountain biking:
http://www.nps.gov/cany/bike.htm

4-wheel-drive trips:
http://www.nps.gov/cany/drive.htm

Camping:
http://www.nps.gov/cany/camp.htm

And here's a place I think is cool on the way to the Needles District, plus there's a small campground by it:
http://www.desertusa.com/newut/du_newut_vvc.html”

“Thanks all”

“Photo, try a trip into the canyons of Cedar Mesa. It's about 1 1/2 hours south of Moab. Great canyon country with good reliable sources of water in the spring time. Fish and Owl Creek loop or Slickhorn Canyon are a couple of great hikes. Grand Gulch is awesome but it can get crowded in the spring. Just a thought.”

“oh my goodness i must have been sleeping
the kolob is not in arches. sorry”

“thats ok
we are trying to decied if it is worth the extra time to go to zion. We aren't sure if we should spend lots of time at arches and cayonlands and see a lot there or quick do them then head on to Zion. What do you think spend lots of time in arches and skip zion or is it worth the extra time and money”

“lol, I was thinking the Kolob Plateau was with Zion. Phew.. not going nuts!

photoguy, you guys driving from Lincoln? If so, you can spend time wisely by hitting those spots on the eastern/SE side of Utah that will be closer. Arches, Canyonlands, all kinds of BLM land and the Manti-LaSal mountains. Cedar Mesa sounds good, too.

However,if you're flying into Vegas and renting a car, Zion is 2.5 hours. Bryce is maybe another hour or so... and Capitol Reef is around 5 hours from Vegas, if I remember right.”

“going from lincoln and not sure if it worth the extra five hours to get to zion and not sure if we should spend more time in arches. We have 10 days and want to know if we can see a lot of arches in like 4 days and then spend more time in zion or with we could use the 10 days in arches and the area around it.”

“photoguy, here's my suggestion: Spend a couple of days in Arches/Moab area. That's plenty to get your fill of holes in rocks. Don't forget to drive up to the Dead Horse Point lookout, just to say you did. Then head back up to I-70, over to the western side of the state, and spend a couple of days exploring Zion National Park. After that, you can go hit the Escalante region for a couple of days, then over to Bryce Canyon before you head home. I mean, after all, why drive that far only to see a small portion of what Utah has to offer that time of year?”

“I don't know your experience level but you picked a great time of year to visit. I did a 3 day backpack in the Needles of Canyonlands in March. There was some water so we didn't have to carry much. You could car camp at Squaw Flats CG or go backcountry (Druid Arch, Chesler Park).

The Dark Canyon Primitive Area (62,000 acres) is just south of Canyonlands. You'll have to access down by Lake Powell as I think the road through Bears Ears Pass will still be snowed in. This would be a good multi day trip, though I never made it over there.

A good day or 2 could be spent at Natural Bridges NM. There is a NPS CG. Also Navajo NM with some bckcountry hiking or overnight.

I have dayhiked in the Grand Gulch but a good 2 day trip would be Grand Gulch/Bullit Canyon. Its 22 miles but you'll need a car shuttle(or hitchhike).

An awesome trip would be a 3 day circumnavigation of Navajo Mountain (Rainbow Lodge Ruins to Navajo Mt chapter house) with a side trip to Rainbow Bridge. I have done the hike from Rainbow Lodge Ruins (south TH) to the bridge. I would love to complete the loop, from Bridge Canyon to Navajo Mt Chapter house. You will need a Tribal permit. You will see NOBODY on this hike, ie help is a LONG ay away. (Friday when we left our car at a Navajos house, offer some parking $ strongly advised, the young man said if we weren't back by Monday they would probably come look for us) If you could get a Navajo to shuttle you, you would have 3 glorius days; arches, petroglyphs and silence. There is water also. Out and back from Rainbow Lodge was 26 miles, the loop would be 27 miles. Take the topos, Navajo Begay and Rainbow Bridge (UT), very important! The hike out of Cliff Canyon is way steep (southbound).

Zion is way cool but snow prevents access to upper reaches. I have dayhiked and done multiple technical slots there (Pine Creek, Middle Echo, Spry, etc)Be careful and don't get caught in a slot, you could very easily die from a flash flood or hypothermia.

I'm not sure what you should see and how much driving to do. There is so much to do/see in southern Utah; the Paria Canyon, Zion, Bryce, slots and wide canyons down all over(Jackass, Cathedral Wash,Waterholes etc; some require tribal permit-depends on which side of river you're on) Some are easy day hikes, others more technical. I guess if you want to maximize exposure drive more; with less driving you could spend more time hiking. I personally would concentrate on SE Utah to maximize out of car.

I have been to all the places above (and Zion twice) except Dark Canyon. I suspect most roads >7000 feet will be snowed in. I strongly suggest Kelseys book on Canyons in the Colorado Plateau. His book describes easy hiking to technical slots, from Zion to Durango. Have a great time and be safe. If you need more info drop me a line. ppcraft@comcast.net”

“Don't miss Grand Staircase Escalante. Hole in the Rock Road has some great slot canyons.

Here are some great websites to explore:

http://www.discovermoab.com/
http://utahcanyons.com/index.htm
http://www.ut.blm.gov/monument/
http://www.travelwest.net/parks/grandstaircase/”

“lol@tango.....I knew you would mention that!

Zion is my favorite place in Utah, you should definately go there, as well as escalante!”

“wow, photoguy, had no idea you had 10 days!

>8-O

Aaah to be young with time and no obligations. :-)

Oooh oooh! Go to Navajo National Monument. There's an overnight trip offered by the park to Keet Seel, a cliff dwelling. Would love to do that. Oops, the hikes to Keet Seel don't start till late May.
http://www.nps.gov/nava/ks.htm

Am reading a book on Evertt Ruess, a 20+ year old who became lost in the canyons of SE Utah after wandering them a while in the 1930. He stopped at Keet Seel and walked away with some pot shards, a piece of jewelry and a part of a human jawbone. WOW! That wouldn't fly today!!!! Fun to read the letters of his travels. Got the book at Barnes & Noble.

As far as things to hit, a friend and I hit 23 parks, monuments, etc. in 2 weeks in October of 2000. That was no backpacking, but lots of day hiking and camping.

Have fun! So much to explore in Utah!
last edited: 1/25/06 11:10:32 AM”

“well i think that we will be going to arches for about 5 days then down to canyonlands for like 4 days then back to school. We don;t want to spend tons of time drive, so is there anything that we should see in any of these parks”

“If you've got 5 days in Arches, don't worry about priorities. That's plenty of time to see it all. As for canyonlands, 5 months isn't enough. What will you be driving in? That will have a lot of bearing on what I suggest.”

“well there will be six people in my 93 buick centry, you know one of those big old boats”

“A sunset in Chesler Park.”

“I spent a month in Utah a few years ago. Hit and backpacked and/or day hiked in all of the national parks and drove in some unbelievable backcountry in Escalante territory. Recommend 4wd for that though, not a century 93. Though... we drove a 72 valiant on most of the 4wd roads in Utah with a little homework on the current conditions.
I could not get enough of Utah. LOVE Cedar Breaks and Zion. Just melted with delight at Delicate arch... without touristy folks there. Sort of all runs into one image. . . Some terrific state parks like Dead Horse Canyon come to mind too. Have fun.”

“I would not waste (so to speak)5 days in Arches. There is so much more to S. Utah to see.

Hiking I totally agree with you. I LOVE southern Utah!

You know me so well Embear!

Lizs, that sounds like an interesting book. I read a similar book that had letters from the wagon trains coming out west. They were so interesting and very descriptive.
last edited: 1/28/06 7:21:43 AM”

“A Buick Century will get you anywhere you want to go down there in Southern Utah, as long as you don't want to leave the pavement. Skip the 5 days in Arches. 1-2 days there is enough. If you had a 4x4 with some clearance, I could recommend many many places for you to go. Stick with my original suggestion, i.e. Arches, Dead Horse Point, Zion, and Bryce. Maybe a day in Snow Canyon State Park. Yeah, it's a lot of driving, but you're in a touring machine, not a backcountry machine. Skip Canyonlands or we'll be reading about y'all in the news. Oh, and skip the Hole-in-the-Rock Road south of Escalante as well..... it'll cost you a fortune for towing that far from anywhere.
last edited: 1/28/06 10:45:12 AM”