Arches and Canyonlands National Parks are a favorite because of the striking canyons, arches, monoliths, spires, fins and balanced rocks, primarily composed of Entrada Sandstone. A winter storm left about an inch of snow, making for some scenic photography, even though Arches was closed by the National Park Service the day after it snowed. Luckily Canyonlands was still open. The drive from Dolores, Colorado was scenic.
Arches National Park
Arches was only closed for a day and there was still some snow on the ground for some winter photography.
Morning temperatures were in the teens making for some cold exploration and hiking days. Nothing like a down jacket, thermal jeans and a sweater for Jake.
It’s hard to capture an image that reflects how huge many of these sandstone structures are. There are over 2,000 natural arches in the National Park.
The distant La Sal Mountains with snow and the colorful sandstone. It’s highest peak is at 12,721 feet.
The Windows Section offered numerous arches within a short walking distance.
The Devils Garden, aptly named, had a nice easy one mile round trip trail to Landscape Arch. Years ago, I was able to walk under the arch, but after boulders and a large slab fell in 1991 and 1995, the park service limited how close you can get.
Moab, Utah Gateway to Arches and Canyonlands
We stayed at the Spanish Trail RV Park in Moab. They had full service and good internet. Their outdoor pool and spa were open despite the below freezing weather and a number of kids were in them having a great time. We were here last a couple of years ago. Most of the Moab RV parks are next to the highway, so the traffic noise was loud in addition to the ATVs. Fortunetly, most restaurants had carry out and we enjoyed some very good brisquet and ribs from Spitfire Smokehouse.
Canyonlands National Park, Utah
It was refreshing to see the new snow at Canyonlands.
We wanted to take the Jeep on the Shafer trail, but with the snow, mud and ice, we decided to wait until another time.
We’ve been to Canyonlands during every season and each is unique.
At only 17F and windy, it was not possible to hike, but the views were amazing.
This raven was posing for Halloween!
