Waymark
Trek Utah — Arches National Park, USA

Delicate Arch — The Classic Half-Day Climb

A short but strenuous out-and-back from Wolfe Ranch, past a Ute petroglyph panel and up an open slickrock slab, to the most photographed arch in the American Southwest.

Delicate Arch — The Classic Half-Day Climb
Photo: Palacemusic · CC BY-SA 3.0
Duration
1 day
Distance
4.8 km
Walking time (est.)
1 h 30 min
Ascent
146 m
Difficulty
Moderate
Best season
Spring and autumn, when the desert is cool enough for an exposed slickrock climb; summer afternoons are dangerously hot

Walking

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    Getting there and back

    Start
    Wolfe Ranch trailhead
    Finish
    Wolfe Ranch trailhead (out-and-back)

    One-way: plan your trip back

    Directions to the start Back from the finish

    Delicate Arch is the landmark of Arches National Park — a freestanding sandstone arch about 16 m tall, standing alone on the lip of a natural rock bowl with the La Sal Mountains behind it. The walk to reach it is only about 4.8 km round trip with roughly 146 m of climbing, which makes it sound easy. It is not, and the reason is the sun.

    There is no shade whatsoever. Not at the trailhead, not on the slab, not at the arch. The middle of the hike is a long, steep incline over open rock with no trees, no overhangs and nowhere to sit out the heat. In summer the surface temperature on that slickrock can climb far beyond the air temperature, and rescues here are routine. Carry far more water than feels reasonable, and start at dawn or go late in the day.

    Timed-entry reservation. The park now requires a timed-entry reservation to drive into Arches during peak season, booked in advance online. Check the park’s current dates and hours before you travel — arriving without one during the reservation window means being turned away at the gate.

    Good to know:

    Elevation profile

    Highest point
    1475 m Day 1
    Lowest point
    1311 m Day 1
    Total descent
    58 m

    Point at the profile, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to see that spot on the map.

    Terrain heights along a straight line between each day’s stops, not along the footpath, so a pass or a switchback the path takes can be missing. Descent and walking times use the same line.

    Elevation data: Terrain Tiles (Mapzen, AWS Open Data)

    Day by day

    DayDistanceAscentDescent (est.)Walking time (est.)
    Day 1 Hardest dayWolfe Ranch to Delicate Arch and back
    Distance4.8 kmAscent146 mDescent (est.)58 mWalking time (est.)1 h 30 min

    Flights on Kayak Car rental on Localrent Travel eSIM on Airalo

    Day 1

    Wolfe Ranch to Delicate Arch and back

    Wolfe Ranch trailhead → Wolfe Ranch trailhead (out-and-back) 4.8 km 146 m 1 h 30 min
    Navigate this day

    A compact half-day hike that packs in pioneer history, Ute rock art, an exposed rock climb and one of the great views in Utah.

    Water and food

    No drinking water or food found near this day’s stops. Carry what you need for the whole day.

    Places mapped by volunteers on OpenStreetMap; opening times and taps change, so check before relying on one. © OpenStreetMap contributors

    Segments

    1. Wolfe Ranch and the Ute petroglyph panel
      Wolfe Ranch and the Ute petroglyph panel 0.3 km 10 m Map

      Wolfe Ranch trailhead → Ute petroglyph panel

      Flat gravel path and a short spur

      Start at the weathered log cabin of Wolfe Ranch, a homestead left from the turn of the twentieth century, cross the wash on a footbridge and take the short spur to a panel of Ute rock art carved into the cliff — horses and riders, so pecked after the Utes had horses. About 10 minutes.

      About this place

      The Wolfe Ranch, also known as Turnbow Cabin, is located in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, United States.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Mark Levisay · CC BY 2.0
    2. The slickrock slab
      The slickrock slab 1.2 km 110 m Map

      Ute petroglyph panel → Top of the slab

      Open, steep bare sandstone, cairn-marked

      The heart of the climb: a long, steady incline straight up an open slab of Entrada Sandstone, following cairns rather than a trail. There is nothing here to stand under — no shade of any kind — and this is the stretch that turns a short hike into a hard one on a hot day. About 40 minutes.

      About this place

      The Entrada Sandstone is a formation in the San Rafael Group found in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Colorado, northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona, and southeast Utah. Part of the Colorado Plateau, this formation was deposited during the Jurassic Period sometime between 180 and 140 million years ago in various environments, including tidal mudflats, beaches, and sand dunes. The Middle Jurassic San Rafael Group was dominantly deposited as ergs in a desert environment around the shallow Sundance Sea.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Carpenter, Kenneth · CC BY-SA 4.0
    3. The ledge traverse
      The ledge traverse 0.5 km 20 m Map

      Top of the slab → End of the ledge

      Narrow rock ledge cut into a cliff face

      The trail rounds the shoulder of the rock and becomes a narrow ledge blasted into the cliff, roughly the last 200 yards before the arch, with a wall on one side and open air on the other. Walk it, don't rush it. About 10 minutes.

      About this place

      Arches National Park is a national park of the United States in eastern Utah. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, 4 mi (6 km) north of Moab, Utah. The park contains more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the well-known Delicate Arch, which constitute the highest density of natural arches in the world. It also contains a variety of other unique geological resources and formations. The national park lies above an underground evaporite layer or salt bed, which is the main cause of the formation of the arches, spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins, and eroded monoliths in the area.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Palacemusic · CC BY-SA 3.0
    4. The arch and the bowl 0.4 km 6 m Map

      End of the ledge → Delicate Arch

      Sloping rock rim above a natural bowl

      The ledge ends and the arch simply appears — about 16 m of freestanding sandstone on the far rim of a smooth bowl of rock, the La Sal Mountains beyond it. Find a spot on the rim; the bowl itself is steep and slick. Stay as long as your water allows.

    5. Back down the slickrock
      Back down the slickrock 2.4 km 0 m Map

      Delicate Arch → Wolfe Ranch trailhead

      Ledge, then descending bare rock and gravel

      Retrace the ledge and pick your way back down the slab, which is harder on the knees and easier to lose than the way up — keep spotting the cairns. If you stayed for sunset you will want a headlamp for this. About 45 minutes.

      About this place

      The Entrada Sandstone is a formation in the San Rafael Group found in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Colorado, northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona, and southeast Utah. Part of the Colorado Plateau, this formation was deposited during the Jurassic Period sometime between 180 and 140 million years ago in various environments, including tidal mudflats, beaches, and sand dunes. The Middle Jurassic San Rafael Group was dominantly deposited as ergs in a desert environment around the shallow Sundance Sea.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Carpenter, Kenneth · CC BY-SA 4.0

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