Arches National Park with Kids
When I named this space Little World Wanderers 3 years ago, it was a whisper of hope over our family. That one day we would start out on adventures and wander the world together. Alas, we were in the middle on an adoption process, then we brought home a new baby, and suddenly our time was marked by the passing days of a global pandemic.
At the end of January my husband and I decided to plan a trip to Arches National Park. Surprisingly, this was our first family trip that didn’t include seeing family or going to a friend’s wedding. We booked an airbnb, packed up the car, and headed out on the 6 hour drive from our Denver suburb.
None of us have ever been to Utah so having a trip where it was new for all of us was a fun experience. We stayed about 20 minutes from Arches, just outside Moab. Since we had time the first day we went to the visitor center at Arches and got N (age 8) and E.J (age 2) their Jr. Park Ranger booklets. We also purchased the America the Beautiful Park Pass for $80, which will give us access to all the National Parks for a year.
Our first full day in Moab we ventured back to Arches for our planned hikes.
Delicate Arch: Delicate Arch is THE Utah arch. It’s the one on the license plate, the arch that pops in your mind when you think about Utah, so of course we had to hike it. The trail is 3.2 miles out and back. In preparation for the hike we packed yak tracks in case the last bit up to the arch was ice packed. Thankfully there was enough sun and warmth that melted the trail.
The hike is a steady incline up to Delicate Arch, much of it is up a up a rock face. There is no shade for most of trail so it warms up pretty quickly. While challenging, hiking Delicate Arch was worth it for the views. Our daughter loved being able to stand under the arch and our son is convinced that that this single arch is all of Utah, so of course he had to touch it. We thought that all the hikers at the top were extremely kind and everyone waited their turns for others to have photos taken under the arch by themselves.
Double Arch:
Double Arch was an incredibly easy hike. It’s about a half mile out and back with a paved trail and sand. The trail up to the base of the arch is flat enough for smaller hikers to handle. Double Arch features the tallest arch in the park at a little over 112 feet; there just so happens to be two of them connected. N loved being able to climb into one arches. There are several pathways for climbers access the arches safely.
Balanced Rock:
Balanced Rock was a mostly accessible, less than half a mile trail around a 3,600 ton, 128 foot tall bolder. We found the trail to be empty about the time we went over to hike and it made the perfect slow walk for E.J. Who was getting a little tired at this point.
Garden of Eden:
In the evening, we decided to have a picnic dinner and watch the sunset at the Garden of Eden lot. This area has no facilities so it’s best to stop over at Balanced Rock for a bathroom if you plan to stay a while. We were able to have plenty of room to explore and hike together before watching the sun go down over the park. Off in the distance you’re able to see the windows section of arches and there is a beautiful view of the La Sal mountains. As the sun sets, the sandstone formations glow red. It’s a pretty incredible experience.
Night Time Stargazing:
Since we live in a city, we don’t get a full view of the night sky. We decided to go to the park at night and get a better glimpse of the stars. Balanced Rock is an excellent place to stargaze if you don’t feel comfortable hiking a trail at night. We felt safe with the few other people there and it was dark enough to have a good view.
One of the benefits of going to Arches in February is the lack of crowds. Since it’s still winter, we didn’t need a reservation to get into the park and the parking lots weren’t full yet. It was warm enough during the day that we didn’t need all our gear but still cool enough to prevent overheating in the desert sun. The airbnb was also much cheaper than during the peak parts of the season
