Devil’s Garden

Campsite 2, March 16 - After sitting in a tent all day, avoiding rain, we were ready for a hike! At the northern end of the main road in Arches NP is a rock formation known as Devil’s Garden.

A Series of Fins

It’s an an area of hundreds of fins spaced a few feet apart. Some of the fins have eroded to arches. Everything is made of Navajo sandstone, also called slickrock. There is a primitive 7.2 mile loop trail through the area. This trail was our goal for the day. We headed out on foot around 11:00am. From the parking lot, an easy gravel path passes all the main arches. Continuing on the main trail for about one mile, you reach Landscape Arch. This is the longest arch in the park with a span of 306 ft. 

Landscape Arch

When we arrived at Landscape Arch, we had a choice to take the loop in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The typical direction is clockwise, as it is the more direct route to additional rock formations. We chose the other direction as the clockwise trail leaving Landscape Arch was up a fin that was crowded. The hike took us through a desert area east of the fins. To our right, the view across the valley went on for miles.

Valley View

As we progressed, the terrain gradually changed, requiring some boulder scrambling and walking in washes. Eventually we were confronted with a row of fins.

Walking Along the Top of a Fin

We needed to climb up a steep fin. It was slippery rock (pun not intended) but luckily we had on running shoes that are pretty sticky. The trail meandered through the fins, sometimes between them, sometimes on top. The trail was not well marked and occasionally we needed to backtrack to find the trail. Every 5 to 10 minutes we would encounter other people headed in the opposite direction. This helped to relocate the trail. Over half way into the trail we took a side trail to Private Arch. This one was very hidden, as the name suggests.

Private Arch

Back on the main trail we encountered a side trail to Dark Angel. We didn’t take this trail as it was now approaching 4:00. Next came Double O Arch, which I think is the most impressive of the arches. We didn’t linger here long as it was getting windy and late.

Double O Arch

Heading back toward Landscape Arch the trail took a sharp turn and began to climb the back of a fin. The area was high and unprotected with steep drops on both sides. It was also extremely windy. We decided to bushwhack along the side of the fin.  The fin gradually rose then began to descend in elevation. I’m sure the view from the top was spectacular but with the wind, not at all worth the risk of falling in the strong wind. After about 1,500 ft of travel off trail, we spotted a sign post on top of the fin which was about 7 ft above us. People coming from the other direction were sitting by the sign trying to figure out what to do, walk along the fin or turn back. When they saw us, they asked about the trail. We told them about the way we had come. Our problem was getting over the fin. They grabbed our hands and pulled us up before they dropped over the side to proceed the way we had come. If no one had been there we would have continued along the fin looking for a lower place to scramble over.

Continuing on, the trail branched off to Navajo and Partition Arches. We skipped those as it was getting late. As the trail climbed, we reached another fin that I recognized as the one leading back to Landscape Arch. This fin was well protected from the wind and wide enough to safely pass. This late in the day it was no longer crowded. After scrambling down. We had an easy walk down the well maintained path back to the Jeep. A fun day! We would have seen more of the Arches if we had taken the trail in the other direction but we might have turned back and missed the valley view, rather than completing the loop. We reached the parking lot around 5:30. Time to head home for dinner.

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