Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint Trail

Dogs No Dogs

Features Views

This is the trail for you if you want good views of Delicate Arch, but don't want to run the full 3 mile trail to the arch. To access this trail, go to the parking lot at the very end of the Wolfe Ranch/Delicate Arch Road (drive past Wolfe Ranch - it's the Delicate Arch Trail trailhead for folks going to the base of the arch).

From the parking lot, take the initially paved trail east/northeast and follow the left fork when the trail branches. The trail climbs gently at first over open desert scrub before paralleling a wash with larger bushes. Surmount a steep, rocky outcrop using stairs and rock slabs. After a sharp turn to the east, the grade eases considerably and the amble up tan slickrock slabs commences. Turn back to the north following rock pile cairns up and over crevassed rock scattered with shrubs.

The trail ends at the rim of a steep canyon that separates the viewpoint from the arch. Pick your favorite vantage point- the cliff stretches for nearly half a mile to the east, giving many points from which to capture the perfect photograph. You are only half a mile as the crow flies from the famous arch itself, just across the Winter Camp Wash down below.

Note: there is no way to access the base of Delicate Arch from this viewpoint trail - to access the base, use Delicate Arch Trail from Wolfe Ranch instead.