Travelling Utah with a Campervan – Arches National Park

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In the beginning of May last year, my parents and I flew to Salt Lake City, rented a 25-foot RV from Cruise America, and hiked three of the Big Five national parks. Our first stop was Arches National Park, home to the famous Delicate Arch that is on a lot of the Utah licence plates. It took me so long to get these posts together because I took over 2000 photos during our 9-day trip.

My parents and I stayed at the campground in the park, which offers 52 sites, 28 of which are able to be reserved ahead of time. To make sure we had a place to stay, we booked our spot back in December! National park campgrounds are famously low-cost but the sites here were large, well-spaced, and quiet. Each campsite was separated by bushes, shrubs, or rocks, so it felt quite private. We stayed at the Devils Garden Campground for three nights,and our lot was just a short walk from the all-important water tap. Staying here was rather cheap; it only cost $10 to bring the RV into the park, plus $15 per night for the camping site. The campground had toilets, a sink for doing dishes, and the water tap but no showers, RV electricity hookup or RV dump, which was fine because we were only there from May 3 to 6. Water conservation is especially important here because water has to be trucked in, so we were sure to not waste water. The Devils Garden Campground also had a group campsite where multiple parties could camp together.

Despite the park being in the desert, we experienced a few drizzly days. This was a nice respite from the hot sun, and thankfully we stayed in a campervan where we could cosily enjoy a cup of tea and read while the rain came down outside. Having lived in Saudi Arabia, my family especially loves the smell of rain on dusty, dry rock and sand.

My parents and I hiked the easy and moderate trails, but I’d love to go back and do some of the longer, more strenuous hikes. Arches National Park does indeed contain arches – more than 2500 natural stone arches, carved from the sandstone fins that dot the desert landscape.

To ease into the hiking at a higher altitude than what we were used to, we started with the easy hikes, starting out with the Balancing Rock, which indeed, featured a balancing rock.

After we entered the gates to Arches National Park, we had to drive up the plateau on a windy road full of tight hairpin turns. It was no problem with our 25-foot RV!

My parents and I had to stop at one of the first lookout points just to be able to sufficiently take in the view. The red rock formations were breathtaking!

Above is Sheep Rock, named so because it looks like a sheep.

Balancing Rock used to have a smaller, balancing sidekick rock which toppled a few decades before. My mom and I remarked on the delicious smell of the desert: wherever we turned, a gentle fragrant wind blew, perfumed by the desert flowers and sweetgrass.

When the sun was out, we spotted quite a few lizards basking in the warmth.

The North Window Arch was an easy walk from the parking lot, and was full of tourists posing for pictures.

 

 

We were able to climb partway up the side of one of the Window Arches to get a view of the surrounding area and other hikers.

Both window arches. South Window Arch was a slightly emptier of people, but no less beautiful.

Double Arch is obviously named because it features double arches with a skylight open between them from where the rock had crumbled away.

Above is a rock formation called Parade of Elephants; my mom thought it looked like an elephant, but I thought it looked like a horse wearing a gas mask. Yes?

Despite the harsh conditions of the desert, we saw quite a bit of wildlife like this cute and fluffy bunny.

The hike to see Broken Arch  included crossing open slickrock; since there was no actual path to see, the way was marked with stone cairns. It was fun to keep an eye out to spot the next one to follow.

Taking in the view beneath Broken Arch; the arch is not really broken, but if you look at it from one side it seems like there is a giant crack at the top.

It felt so odd to be in the hot and dry desert but still be able to see snow-capped mountains in the distance.

We crossed under Broken Arch.

Footprints! Probably from a mule deer, which were very common in Zion National Park.

My parents and I crossed the grassland and wandered between the sandstone fins, looking for the next arch.

Sand Dune Arch, small and hidden in between sandstone fins. There was a sign telling hikers to stay back, since a chunk of arch had fallen some years previous.

The campground at Arches National Park was beautiful; there were only a few spaces but they were spread out and well-spaced from each other. Ours was near the bathroom and water spigot, so it was easy to fill up with water (very important in the desert!).

Sunset was breathtaking.

This lizard is shedding.

On our second day, we decided to hike the moderate trail to Delicate Arch, the famous arch that is on many of the Utah license plates. The hike began by following a dirt path past an old settler cabin, then climbing this open slickstone in the harsh sun. There was no shade up here, so we were huffing and puffing in the sun but didn’t stop to rest.

Although the trail specified that dogs were not allowed, we did see two (and no, they weren’t guide dogs).

Once we climbed the slickstone, we followed the cairns to this narrow stone path around the rock formations.

And there is the stunning Delicate Arch! After hiking for a while, we turned a corner and there it was in its splendour, standing by itself overlooking the surrounding desert. The view was breathtaking, as we could barely see any cars or people in the surrounding area. However, it took ages to take a photo of the ’empty’ arch, as all the other hikers were taking turns posing and taking photographs underneath the arch. The three of us stopped for about 45 minutes to just take it all in; the guides estimated that the round trip hike would take 3 hours, but we hiked it in far less time; maybe they added in the time hikers need to rest and appreciate the view.

On our return hike, we saw some first responder rangers wheeling a unicycle gurney up the steep slickrock to tend to an injured hiker. I wonder how many hikers get injured, considering how many we saw wearing unsuitable footwear on the paths!

The dark rocks were marked with petroglyphs of people, horses, and bighorn sheep.

My parents and I quickly fell into a routine where we would wake up with the sun and, after breakfast, go on a morning hike. We would then return to the RV to have lunch and a rest (or, in some cases, a quick nap) during the hottest part of the day. At about 4pm, we would go on another hike, return to cook dinner, watch the sunset, and go to sleep shortly after the sun went down.

While my dad sat out, my mom and I hiked to see the Tunnel Arch, above. This hike was rather empty, and we saw some rabbits.

We saw this brave little prairie dog eating some roots. It was a fat one; possibly pregnant?

Pine Tree Arch is so named because it used to have a pine tree growing underneath it. That tree is now dead and gone, but the name has stuck.

I love the smell of campfires in the evening. Once back at our campsite for the night, we built a fire and cooked our dinner. The campsite fireplaces had firegrates and grills, so we were able to cook steaks right over the hot coals.

Landscape Arch is located in the Devil’s Garden area of the park, and is the longest and thinnest arch in Arches National Park. Until 1991, the hiking trail wound its way beneath the arch, but parts of the arch collapsed in 1991, thinning out the arch and making it dangerous to get too near. On our third day, my mom and I went to see this long, skinny rock formation.

All the parks signs are brown, so it’s exciting to see them when travelling. After spending a few nights at Arches National Park, we moved on to Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park.