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Hi. This is Evan from Within Hiking Distance and I'm going to talk about the
top five hikes in Arches National Park,
which includes Devils Garden, Park Avenue,
Sand Dune and Broken Arch, Delicate Arch, and the Windows Loop.
As well as three roadside attractions such as Balanced Rock, Double Arch, and Skyline Arch.
Arches National Park is located in the eastern part of Utah just outside Moab.
The national park covers 119 square miles
and has over 2,000 arches.
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Most of the hikes are family friendly it's an opportunity to see one of the
most unique landscapes on the planet
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Kicking off our top five hikes is number five with the Park Avenue Trail.
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The Park Avenue Trail is two miles round trip with 300 feet of elevation gain.
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This is one of the first hikes you'll come across as you enter the park.
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It is only 2.2 miles from the Arches National Park Visitor Center.
Starting from the Park Avenue parking lot follow the trail down several steps into the canyon.
From there the trail is flat and you'll
continue straight as the canyon walls tower above on each side.
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We enjoyed this hike because it was family friendly and it was a beautiful landscape.
You'll eventually reach the end of the trail near the courthouse towers.
From here retrace your steps back to the parking lot
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Next up at number four is the Windows Loop.
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This trail is 1.2 miles round trip with 187 feet of elevation gain.
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This is a very popular hike it's a nice introduction to the park.
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From the parking lot follow the trail to the North Window.
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North Window is the biggest arch in the Windows Loop with a span of 90 feet and a height of 48 feet.
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There's a lot to see in this area so be sure to take your time.
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From there you can go around a corner to see the South Window.
Then head over to see the Turret Arch.
Turret Arch is composed of a main arch and a smaller arch just next to it.
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If you're also doing this hike be sure to check out Double Arch which is located close by.
I'll discuss Double Arch in more detail later in this video.
Number three on the list is the Sand Dune and Broken Arch Trails.
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These trails are two miles round trip with 226 feet of elevation gain.
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The Sand Dune and Broken Arch Trail both start from the same parking lot.
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Start on the trail and veer right to go to Sand Dune Arch.
The trail will take you into a slot canyon with a sandy floor.
Not too far into the canyon is Sand Dune Arch.
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It's a popular attraction that offers shade in the midday sun.
Retrace your steps to the canyon entrance and follow the trail through an open area to Broken Arch.
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Broken Arch isn't actually broken and it's actually one of the nicer arches in the park.
This is a fun arch because the trail goes right through it.
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There are some great photographic opportunities of the arch from the other side.
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Next up at number two is the Devils Garden Trail.
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The Devils Garden Trail is one of our favorite hikes in Arches National Park.
This hike offers several trail variations and the opportunity to see several arches including Landscape Arch,
which lays claim to being the longest arch in North America at 306 feet.
Most people take one of these three trail variations and they all start from
the Devils Garden parking lot.
The first option is this hiking to Landscape Arch.
Taking that route is 1.6 miles round trip.
It's an easy trail and you're able to see a couple other arches on the way.
Be sure to check out Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch
on a short side pass near the beginning of the trail.
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After checking out those two arches walk a little further to Landscape Arch.
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Slabs of rock occasionally fall from landscape arch with the most recent being in 1995.
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The second hiking option would be to hike the Double O Arch which is 4.5 miles round trip.
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This trail takes some extra effort but is well worth it.
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We stopped by Partition Arch along the way.
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We didn't have time to see Navajo Arch, but it's close by Partition Arch.
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We also enjoyed walking along the narrow sandstone rock to Double O Arch.
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Double O Arch is one of the coolest arches in the park and is a great place to relax for a bit.
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The third hiking option would be to take the Primitive Trail which is 7.2 miles round trip.
I'd like to do this hike next time I visit Arches National Park.
And the number one hike in Arches National Park is the Delicate Arch Trail.
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This hike is 3 miles round trip with 610 feet of elevation gain.
The Delicate Arch Trail is a must do when visiting Arches National Park
and is probably one of the most well known arches in the world.
The trail does not have any shade so be
sure to bring plenty of water.
The trail covers several desert terrains
but there's a section where you'll need to ascend a slick rock slope,
which is fairly strenuous.
Eventually you'll approach Delicate Arch by walking along some sandstone rock.
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You can see Delicate Arch as you turn the corner.
Take your time photographing this arch from different angles.
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Also be sure to keep your eye on your surroundings as there are several steep drop-offs near the arch.
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There's also a viewpoint that you can drive to to see Delicate Arch.
It's worth the effort if you have the extra time.
The following are three roadside attractions that you can see inside Arches National Park.
The first is Balanced Rock.
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Balanced Rock can be seen along the road and the trail is short at 0.3 of a mile.
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You're able to walk around Balanced Rock
and see the large sandstone rock sit precariously on top of some mudstone.
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The next roadside attraction is Double Arch.
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There's a parking lot just next to Double Arch and the trail is a half mile round trip.
This arch is usually seen if you're hiking the Windows Loop.
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Double Arch gets its name because there are two arch spans that are joined at one end.
Double Arch South is the largest arch in
the park and has a height of 112 feet.
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Standing under the large arches is pretty impressive.
And the final roadside attraction is Skyline Arch.
Just down the road from the Devils Garden Trailhead is the Skyline Arch parking lot.
It is a short trail at 0.4 of a mile round trip.
The arch sits up high above the ground with its background against the sky.
So this concludes our Top 5 Hikes and roadside attractions.
If you've visited Arches National Park, be sure to list your favorite hike in the comments below.
Thanks for watching and be sure to hit that like and subscribe button
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