P.O. Box 907
Moab, UT 84532
(801) 259-8161
Arches National Park is located East Central Utah just north of Moab. The entrance to the park is off US 191 a few miles west of Moab.
Wind and water, extreme temperatures, and underground salt movement are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of Arches National Park. On blue-sky days, it is hard to imagine such violent forces - or 100 million years of erosion of sandstone - creating this land that boasts the greatest density of natural arches in the world. The more than 1500 catalogued arches range in size from a 3-foot opening, the minimum considered an arch, to Landscape Arch. This 105 foot high ribbon of rock measures 306 feet from base to base. All stages of arch formation and decay are found here. Delicate Arch, an isolated remnant of a bygone fin, stands on the brink of a canyon, with the dramatic La Sal Mountains for a backdrop. Spires and pinnacles and balanced rocks perched atop seemingly inadequate bases vie with the arches as scenic spectacles.
When we visited the park we saw a camera crew filming a Taco Bell commercial. We experienced temperatures that soared above 100 degrees. It felt as though we were in a frying pan when we hiked to a few of the park's arches. The highest elevation in the park is 4597'.
Other local attractions include Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park Southwest of Moab on SR 279 and SR 313. If you drive Northeast out of Moab along SR 128, you will see the beautiful Colorado River where we saw many mountain bikers as well as people rafting down the Colorado River. It was one of the best stretches of highway we have ever driven on.
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Last updated August 18, 1998