August 2019 – Red Canyon in Utah is a little jewel that lots of folks miss in their excited rush to get to nearby Bryce Canyon National Park. But we’ve loved our visits there, and this time around we decided to hike the Arches Trail.
Some of the windows seen on Arches Trail in Red Canyon Utah
Arches Trail is a half mile long loop trail, but there are so many offshoots and overlooks and fun nooks and crannies to explore that it can take well over an hour to savor it all.
When we got to the fork where the loop begins and ends, our pup Buddy and I headed one way while Mark headed the other. It wasn’t on purpose. We were all so busy looking around that we didn’t even notice we’d split up!
Buddy and I went to the right, and in no time we were doing a steep scramble. Buddy was already on all fours, but I nearly joined him on my hands and knees!
I looked up from my scramble for a moment and saw a fabulous arch in front of me.
Way above me I saw an arch that was eerily familiar!
When I got closer to the arch I suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu. Mark and I had been in this exact spot many years ago (blog post here).
It had been late afternoon when we got up here back in August 2011, and the sky had suddenly gone black just as we got to this spot. A monsoon thunderstorm had chased us down off the trail and we had barely made it out before the deluge!
The last time I saw this arch, it framed a big black threatening cloud!
Buddy and I decided to head down and see what Mark was up to, and I wanted to share this memory I’d suddenly had. How funny that neither of us had recognized the trail or the trail name at the start. I guess we’ve seen a lot in all these years of full-time travel!
Mark had gotten a beautiful starburst photo of the sun peeking around the edge of a red rock cliff.
Morning light on the Arches hiking trail
As we continued on the trail all together, we started hunting for arches. We had heard that there are 15 arches on this trail.
We passed a mysterious stone structure that had a very rough roof made of loose logs. Buddy ran over to inspect it. “This is an arch, isn’t it?” He seemed to ask.
What’s in here?? Hey, does this count as an arch?!
Not quite. The arches on this trail were supposed to be hewn by nature’s powerful forces of wind and water and not by human hands.
Mark discovered a ponderosa pine tree trunk that was marvelously twisted.
A fantastically twisted ponderosa pine tree trunk
The hike went up and up, so whether you did the loop clockwise, like we were doing, or counter-clockwise, there’s a bit of climbing involved.
Up, up, up!!
Mark and Buddy found a cave. It didn’t quite count as an arch, but it was cool.
This cave is almost an arch…
The trail got so steep that a set of stairs had been installed to make it a little easier to climb. How handy!
A convenient stairway alleviated the scrambling.
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Finally we got up to the top where the views went on forever in every direction.
Ahhh… it was worth the climb. What a pretty view at the top!
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We loved the contrast of the red rocks around us and the green open land beyond
We wandered off to see the views and soon found ourselves on opposite sides of the canyon.
Hello..ello..ello..ello!!!
I hear you-oo-oo-oo!
I wandered over to one edge where we had a good view of the Losee Canyon wash. Just at that moment a group of horseback riders appeared walking down the wash.
Way far down in the wash we noticed a horse trail ride underway.
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What a fun ride!
Trail rides are popular in this area, and there are rides of various kinds to all kinds of pretty places.
We continued our hike, wandering down little mini trails off the main path. It was fun to scramble up to higher heights and get pics of the vast landscape. What a place!
Such an incredible landscape!
Suddenly, we rounded a bend and came across a row of giant chess pieces.
A row of hoodoos appeared in front of us!
Each hoodoo pinnacle had its own personality.
These hoodoos were standing very close together and touching each other here and there, forming interesting arches and windows in between them.
We checked out the hoodoo windows while Buddy checked out the chipmunk in a tree.
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At this point we we’d lost count of the arches we’d seen, but we just loved these funny people-like hoodoos.
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The trail wandered around, clinging to the red gravel hillside and luring us on into the ever-changing scenery.
We were loving Arches Trail
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Buddy sprinted ahead while we took baby steps behind him, entranced by our surroundings. He zipped up and down and in and out while we progressed at a snail’s pace. Every so often he’d stop for a while and wait for us to catch up.
Buddy sprints down the trail…
…and then waits for us to catch up
Finally we scrambled down from the highest heights and back to the trailhead. What a wonderful morning this had been!
We’d seen arches of all kinds, even an arbor arch at the end!
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More info about Arches Trail and Red Canyon:
Other blog posts from Red Canyon:
- Casto Canyon Trail – A Delightful ATV / UTV Ride!
- Red Canyon Utah and the Bryce Canyon Bike Trail!
- Red Canyon Utah is an Overlooked Treasure
More hikes and trails in red rock country:
- Beehive Trail in Arizona – A “Mini Wave” hike by Lake Powell
- Broken Arrow Trail in Sedona, AZ – What a Hike!
- Hiking the “Pig Trails” in Sedona, AZ – Breathtaking! (oink oink!)
- Top Sedona AZ Hikes: Little Horse to Chicken Point + Templeton Trail (Cathedral Rock)!
- Brins Mesa Trail & Unexpected Delights in Sedona Arizona!
- Goblin Valley State Park Utah – One Gigantic Playground!
- Grand Staircase Escalante Nat’l Monument – Lower Calf Creek Falls Hike
- Bryce Canyon National Park – Fairyland Trail – A Beautiful Hike!
- Sedona Arizona – Brooding Skies at Sunset in the Red Rocks
- The Crack at Wet Beaver Creek (Bell Trail Hike), Sedona, AZ
- Bell Rock Pathway, Sedona AZ – Hiking & Biking the Red Rocks
- Cathedral Rock at Red Rock Crossing – Sedona AZ
- Paria Rimrocks “Toadstools” Hike to A Hidden Canyon!
- Wire Pass Trail – Slot Canyon Hiking!
- Sedona Reflections on the West Fork Trail
- Sedona – Mountain biking in the red rocks!
- Red Canyon Utah is an Overlooked Treasure
- Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah – Better Than Bryce?
Other arches we’ve seen in our travels:
- Natural Bridges National Monument
- Arches National Park
- Cathedrals and the Aqueduct in Morelia Mexico
- Colonial Arches and Language Bridges in Chiapas Mexico
Our most recent posts:
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Your dog; always makes my day.
That’s wonderful, Margo. He always makes ours too!
Emily,
We all need more hoodoos in our lives. As usual, the photos are surreal and beautiful. Buddy appears to be having the time of his doggy life.
Bob
Yup, more hoodoos is always a good thing, and Buddy is living the life, that’s for sure!!
Great shots, especially the picture within a picture. Love this area and I can enjoy it vicariously through your posts. Thanks for your continual good work.
Thank you so much, Liz!! It means so much to us that you enjoy our online efforts. The little windows were so much fun to discover and play with photographically. Check them out next time you’re there!
This post was way cool! What a great hike. So funny you had been there before. We visited but didn’t take the hike. Thank you for your great pictures, tales & tails!
We love living our tales and tails, and it’s funny when the hundreds of destinations we’ve visited begin to get confused in our minds. Where did that happen? Have we been here before? It’s all fantastic, though, and like you two, we sure are lucky to be living this life!
Hoodoos…what a hoot !! The contrast of the red rocks. sandy trail, vegetation and Buddy as “punctuation” – special “re-visit”…..
We LOVE hoodoos!! And it’s just the right name for them… such personality!
In Arches, there are some hikes that are worth trying. I did the Fiery Furnace this year with other full-timers! It was a bit challenging but amazing. You have to sign up in the office and watch an intro movie before doing the hike. I believe you can do it with a guide too. I love UTAH, but it’s really hot during the summer! Enjoy!
I believe you are talking about hiking in Arches National Park, a truly beautiful National Park that is in a different part of Utah. The Arches Trail we’re describing in this blog post is actually on the back side of Red Canyon near Bryce Canyon National Park. Happy travels to you and stay cool!!