Delicate Arch Trail

Hike to Delicate Arch, the real-life inspiration for Utah's license plate!

Trail description

In the late 1800s John Wolfe moved from Ohio to Utah and homesteaded the area surrounding today’s Delicate Arch Trailhead. All that remains of the Wolfe family’s time in what was then a truly remote area is the small cabin, root cellar, and corral a couple of hundred feet past the trailhead sign. Just past the cabin, the trail crosses Salt Wash, which provided water for the Wolfe ranch. You will most likely see water below as you cross a steel bridge above the creek and wetlands. Immediately after crossing the bridge, a trail to the left leads to a small petroglyph panel, most likely created between A.D. 1650 and 1850 by Ute Indians. The state of Utah derives its name from this tribe.

From the petroglyphs, return to the main trail, go right, and switchback up a low bluff. As the trail crosses the top of the bluff, look southwest and you can see one of the arches called the Windows on the skyline. In front of you, on the left side of the canyon, is a vast expanse of slickrock that the trail climbs on its way to Delicate Arch. Before reaching the slickrock, the trail drops into a small drainage and passes some large, rough boulders made up of chert (also called agate), a micro-crystalline quartz highly prized by prehistoric people for making arrowheads, spear points, and knives.

Up the slickrock

After crossing the small drainage, the trail leaves dirt behind and climbs up a broad expanse of Entrada Sandstone, laid down during the Jurassic Period 175 million years ago. The bottom of Cache Valley on your right is comprised of Mancos Shale, which is much younger (140 million years ago) than the Entrada. However, Cache Valley is a collapsed salt anticline (a domelike uplift) in which the top dropped some 2,500 feet, putting it below the older Entrada.

At the top of the slickrock slab, the trail crosses a series of small drainages with scattered junipers, blackbrush, and yucca. The trail then crosses a basin and curves to the right past rounded domes of sandstone on the left. Next comes one of the more fun and interesting spots on the hike; the trail climbs a sidewalk-smooth ledge that provides great views towards the northeast across a vast area of classic slickrock canyon country. There is an opening in the cliff face above the trail that provides a good view of Delicate Arch, but it’s best to save that for the walk back so the dramatic appearance of the arch is not diminished by a preview of it. The ledge wraps around the rock face until it reaches a saddle, where you scramble up a few feet. Suddenly Delicate Arch stands right in front of you with the La Sal Mountains framed behind it.

Spend some time here taking in views of the arch from many different perspectives, each presenting a different composition of the arch and the surrounding country. Also be prepared to share your experience with other people, who visit the arch any time of day (particularly in the early morning and late afternoon) and during any kind of weather. After soaking up one of the most famous views on the Colorado Plateau, return the way you came. 

Directions

Follow the main park road from the entrance station for about 12 miles, turn right at the sign for Delicate Arch, continue 1.2 miles to a large parking lot and the trailhead on the left. Continuing on one mile takes you to Lower and Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint. A 0.5-mile trail, accessible to wheelchairs, goes to the upper viewpoint.