Arches, UT
Arches is easily one of my favorite National Parks, surprisingly diverse, and obviously the greatest concentration of natural arches in the world. If you visit, please do the park justice by spending as much time as you can. My first visit to the nearby town of Moab was only 5 days and I found myself wishing I could stay longer, in part because Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point are so close as well. That's why I returned just one year later.
The most iconic landmark here is Delicate Arch, earning it a place on the Utah license plate. This hike is more strenuous than some others that I feature. At 3 miles roundtrip with decent elevation gain, be sure of your fittness level before attempting it. If your plan to hike up for the sunset as I did on my first visit, bring some form of lighting to aid in you return trip.
And here's that sunset...
Landscape Arch stands at a span of 306 feet, and in 1991 a large slab dropped from the bottom of the arch, resulting in the very thin (6 foot) portion to the right of center. So amazing that it can still support itself. The hike there is quite easy with little elevation gain, about 1.9 miles roundtrip from the Devil's Garden Trailhead, well worth the trek.
One of the most accessable wonders at Arches is Balanced Rock, right on the main park drive. At 128 feet tall, B.R. is another must see since there is virtually no hike to get there. If you are driving by and think the view from the road is good enough, think again. The path around the formation gives you so many different views and photo ops.
