Delicate Arch is a feature at Arches National Park, which is five miles north of Moab in Utah along Highway 191. It is approximately four hours from the international airport at Salt Lake City. The Greyhound bus service travels along Interstate 70, making stops at Grand Junction, Colorado and Green River, Utah, whilst commercial van services operate between Moab and Salt Lake City as well as Grand Junction.
The park has over 2,000 cataloged natural sandstone arches including the famous Delicate Arch, as well asmany other unusual rock formations. Arches are defined by having an opening measuring at least three feet in any direction caused by the forces of nature, which in Arches National Park has exposed millions of years of geological history. Visitors here can see a landscape of varying colors, landforms and textures that cannot be seen anywhere else in the world.
Delicate Arch is the most famous landmark at the park and stands 16 meters tall offering a magnificent picture particularly at sunrise and sunset. It is made from Entrada Sandstone, with the original sandstone fin gradually wearing away through erosion and weathering helping to create the arch shape. Its fame is enhanced by its depiction on Utah license plates and the torch relay for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games passed through the arch.
The arch frames the Le Sal Mountains to the southeast offering great photo opportunities and visitors should note they must not climb the arch. There are unguarded cliffs with a drop of at least 100 feet around the arch, but it also offers wonderful views of the southern side of the park. During the summer White throated Swifts nest in the top of the arch.
There are several trails to the Delicate Arch with the longest almost a five kilometer round trip starting from Wolfe Ranch parking area. The first half a mile of the trail is a wide track easy to follow but it does have a gradual climb before leveling out towards the top of the rock face. Just before hikers reach Delicate Arch, the trail goes along a rock ledge for about 200 yards and all in all the walk will take between two and three hours.
An easier and much shorter walking trail starts at the Delicate Arch Viewpoint parking area and is a less than one hundred meter round trip taking less than 15 minutes. In addition to the short accessible trail, a slightly more strenuous hike climbs less than a kilometer towards Delicate Arch. This ends at the edge of a steep canyon separating the viewpoint from the arch and as with all trails offers great photographic opportunities.
The parkis open throughout the year for 24 hours a day and includes a Visitor Center, which only stays closed on Christmas Day. The opening hours of the visitor center are 7.30am to 6.30pm between April and October and 8am to 4.30pm between November and March. Here visitors can find out about tours and programs at the park, and rangers are located throughout the site to provide assistance and answer questions about the amazing landscape and arches.
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