Since we were covered new ground this morning, having just made the loop hike to Sand Dune, Broken and Tapestry Arches, we figured we should take in Skyline Arch as well, seeing as we have not made that short walk before. We (my wife, sister-in-law and I) made the short drive north along the park road to the pullout and were fortunate to find a place to park. The place was mobbed at 10:30, but I found a place to squeeze our SUV in and we hopped out to check the views. Skyline Arch is clearly visible from the parking area, and I think the best views are just a bit further up along the trail (a hundred yards or so), sort of the highpoint where you can take in the arch in the entire fin in which it resides. We read the signage about the huge boulder that fell out of the arch about in 1940, the debris of which still lies below the arch, so that gave us another reason to take the short walk to the base of the arch. Like most of the named arches in the park, Skyline’s moniker is well suited for this natural wonder. The arch is along the top edge of the tall fin, so certainly part of the skyline of the park. The trail to the arch is flat and over sandy terrain, but overall easy. Some of the folks we passed on the way to the arch reported a snake sighting in the rumble below the arch; OK, not that I was planning on climbing on the rock, but now I’ll certainly stay clear. The clouds were still breaking up, so there was more blue sky providing the background for the arch, so we had a very nice view of the arch and the surrounding area with plenty of light and color. We rounded the smaller fin that sits in front of Skyline Arch and found the large pile of rocks that used to be the huge boulder that fell from the arch. That would have been a bad scene if there were folks in the area when the rock fell. We were cautious around the rumble pile, but saw no snakes, which was fine by me. The roundtrip walk is 0.4 miles and only took us about 15 minutes. As mentioned, I think the best views of the arch are just a hundred yards from the parking area, but it is worth walking to the arch to get the up close perspective. I think this is an easy walk that almost anyone could make. But it is sandy in spots along the trail, so be careful. Note that the trail is exposed, so take the proper precautions, even if it is just a short walk in the desert.

Walking

Arches National Park, Moab, Hiking, Arch, desert, Utah, OhioHick

Utah, United States

time : Sep 22, 2014 10:23 AM

duration : 0h 16m 2s

distance : 0.4 mi

total_ascent : 295 ft

highest_point : 5200 ft

avg_speed : 1.6 mi/h

user_id : OhioHick

user_firstname : Allen

user_lastname : Arrington

Since we were covered new ground this morning, having just made the loop hike to Sand Dune, Broken and Tapestry Arches, we figured we should take in Skyline Arch as well, seeing as we have not made that short walk before. We (my wife, sister-in-law and I) made the short drive north along the park road to the pullout and were fortunate to find a place to park. The place was mobbed at 10:30, but I found a place to squeeze our SUV in and we hopped out to check the views. Skyline Arch is clearly visible from the parking area, and I think the best views are just a bit further up along the trail (a hundred yards or so), sort of the highpoint where you can take in the arch in the entire fin in which it resides. We read the signage about the huge boulder that fell out of the arch about in 1940, the debris of which still lies below the arch, so that gave us another reason to take the short walk to the base of the arch. Like most of the named arches in the park, Skyline’s moniker is well suited for this natural wonder. The arch is along the top edge of the tall fin, so certainly part of the skyline of the park. The trail to the arch is flat and over sandy terrain, but overall easy. Some of the folks we passed on the way to the arch reported a snake sighting in the rumble below the arch; OK, not that I was planning on climbing on the rock, but now I’ll certainly stay clear. The clouds were still breaking up, so there was more blue sky providing the background for the arch, so we had a very nice view of the arch and the surrounding area with plenty of light and color. We rounded the smaller fin that sits in front of Skyline Arch and found the large pile of rocks that used to be the huge boulder that fell from the arch. That would have been a bad scene if there were folks in the area when the rock fell. We were cautious around the rumble pile, but saw no snakes, which was fine by me. The roundtrip walk is 0.4 miles and only took us about 15 minutes. As mentioned, I think the best views of the arch are just a hundred yards from the parking area, but it is worth walking to the arch to get the up close perspective. I think this is an easy walk that almost anyone could make. But it is sandy in spots along the trail, so be careful. Note that the trail is exposed, so take the proper precautions, even if it is just a short walk in the desert.