Arches & Canyonlands Hiking

Arches & Canyonlands Hiking Itinerary:

Show more for all days

• Day 1 Welcome to red rock country! Travel to our private lodge in the La Sal Mountains and enjoy dinner with your guides and fellow hikers.

  Our trip begins today in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our initial group rendezvous will take place at 10:30 a.m. at the Salt Lake City airport. We recommend arriving a day early if possible, to allow for some relaxation time and to avoid any problems with delayed flights or luggage. From Salt Lake City, we'll transfer by private vehicle to our comfortable accommodations near Moab, Utah. Upon arrival, we settle into our lovely private lodge (where we'll stay for the entire trip) and enjoy a home-cooked meal prepared by our guides. After dinner, an orientation meeting will be held allowing us all to get better acquainted. Driving: 6 hours (with multiple rest stops en route). Dinner included.

• Day 2 Set out on a mesa-top hike in Canyonlands National Park with spectacular views of sandstone pinnacles and spires.

  After breakfast, we'll drive from our lodge to Grays Pasture in Canyonlands National Park. From the trailhead, our first hike begins with a gradual climb across open wildflower-filled grassland towards the rim of Island in the Sky mesa. Our sandy trail eventually changes to slickrock before reaching a mesa-top vantage point offering awe-inspiring views across the Colorado River canyon to the soaring sandstone pinnacles and spires of the White Rim. Watching for bighorn sheep, we'll hike just below the mesa rim along the Lathrop Trail, with the cliffs of Island in the Sky above and the fantastically carved redrock canyons of the Colorado River spread out before us. Our hike today is just a small sampling of what this geological wonderland holds in store for us during the week ahead. At day's end, we'll return to our lodge for dinner. All meals included.
  
  Hiking: 7 miles over sand and slickrock trails with 600' elevation gain/loss.

• Day 3 Spend the day in Arches National Park. Hike to magnificent Delicate Arch and visit more fantastic arches in the Devil's Garden.

  Today we spend the first of two days exploring Arches National Park. With giant balanced rocks, colorful hoodoos, and over 2,000 sandstone arches of all shapes and sizes lying within its borders, Arches National Park is nature's sculpture garden. We begin with a hike to what is arguably the most extraordinary natural arch in the Southwest – the magical Delicate Arch. Perched above a striated sandstone basin, the graceful shape, color and location of Delicate Arch make it a photographer's dream. Following a well-marked slickrock trail, we hike up to the arch arriving in time for a picnic lunch within view of this magnificent natural work of art. This afternoon, we make our way to the Devil's Garden Trail for more arch-viewing. Depending on weather and time, route possibilities include visits to Double O Arch, Landscape Arch (the longest in the park stretching over 290 feet), Navajo Arch and Partition Arch. All meals included.
  
  Hiking: Up to 10 miles total (3 miles on Delicate Arch Trail, up to 7 miles on Devil's Garden Trail) on primitive sand and slickrock trails with 900' elevation gain/loss.

• Day 4 A full-day exploration today in the cooler elevations of the beautiful La Sal Mountains. Great views of Arches and Canyonlands below!

  After spending the last two days hiking in Arches & Canyonlands, we'll spend today hiking above the parks and stay closer to home. After breakfast and a short drive, we begin our hike at 9,000 feet, high in the La Sal Mountains. A stark contrast from the desert environment of the previous days, we'll use a stretch of trails to gain access to the alpine lakes, aspen and juniper-pinion pine forests of the La Sals. Views along our route are stunning and include nearby 12,000' peaks as well as panoramas of Canyonlands National Park far below. Seeing snow on the mountaintops and ascending to over 10,000' on today's hike is not uncommon. We return to our lodge late this afternoon and, after another delicious dinner, enjoy some time together in the lodge's common room recapping the highlights of the day. All meals included.
  
  Hiking: 6-7 miles mostly on-trail with 1,500' elevation gain/loss.

• Day 5 Explore the remote Klondike Bluffs region of Arches National Park. Hike among colorful sandstone fins and sand dunes to Tower Arch.

  Driving to the northwest corner of Arches National Park, we travel 7 miles along a dirt road through the Salt Valley to the remote Klondike Bluffs region – our mecca for today's hiking. As Klondike Bluffs is far less visited by other hikers, our Arches experience today is a much more intimate one. We'll hike a short distance to Tower Arch via a series of steep climbs over slickrock and sand, walking between massive cliffs hundreds of feet high. After an early lunch, we have time to enjoy the views of monoliths that comprise the surrounding landscape or practice our scrambling skills before heading out for the afternoon hike. Our guides take advantage of the multitude of sandstone fins and sand dunes to teach us how to use maps, geography, and topography to determine location. As we continue our hike, we may feel slightly overwhelmed by the enormity of the landscape as most of us are unaccustomed to being surrounded by natural features of such grand scale. All meals included.
  
  Hiking: 6 miles along primitive sand and slickrock trails. 150' elevation loss.

• Day 6 Enjoy an unforgettable hike in Canyonlands' Needles District. Marvel at the petroglyphs carved into Newspaper Rock.

  We'll transfer 90 minutes by van this morning to a hiker's paradise, the remote Needles section of Canyonlands National Park. As we approach the park entrance, we'll stop to look at a series of ancient pictographs and petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument. Here we can examine the hundreds of fascinating petroglyphs (some dating back 2,000 years) carved into the rock face by the Native American peoples who passed through this region over the centuries. Driving a little longer, we'll reach our trailhead at Squaw Flat. Today we're treated to unforgettable vistas of the this entire region of Canyonlands, including an astonishing array of sandstone "needles" rising from the slickrock landscape like a city of stone skyscrapers. Hiking by way of a connecting trail, we end our last hike at the Elephant Hill Trailhead. If time allows, we'll spend some time exploring the landscape of nearby Chesler Park. All meals included.
  
  Hiking: 7 miles mostly on slickrock with 1,000' elevation gain/loss.

• Day 7 A final morning to marvel at Utah's canyon country before returning to Salt Lake City and parting company from your newfound friends.

  We'll stop at the Arches National Park Visitor's Center this morning and enjoy the interpretive exhibits before bidding farewell to beautiful southeastern Utah and returning to Salt Lake City late this afternoon. For those planning to fly home today, please do not schedule a flight out of Salt Lake City before 6 p.m. this evening. Driving: 5½ hours. Breakfast and lunch included.
  
  Hiking: 1 mile. Terrain: moderately steep trail, 200' elevation gain.

Although we do our very best to adhere to the schedule above, the itinerary is subject to change for numerous reasons beyond our control, including weather and terrain conditions.

Please check with us before purchasing your airline tickets to ensure your trip has the necessary minimum number of participants required to operate.

If you are traveling alone and specifically request single accommodations, you will be asked to pay the full single supplement noted on the trip itinerary. If you wish to share accommodations, we will assign you a roommate if one is available. If a roommate cannot be found, you will be asked to pay a reduced single fee which is half of the full single supplement. Please be advised that there are a limited number of single rooms available on all departures.

All accommodations as noted; all meals from dinner on Day 1 through lunch on Day 7; all vehicle transfers as noted; guide leadership and park entrance fees.

Air transportation to/from Salt Lake City; 1 lunch; guide gratuities; travel insurance; items of a personal nature such as alcoholic beverages.

This trip is rated Moderate [3]. Hiking 6-10 miles daily, both on and off trail. Terrain includes established dirt & sand trails and open sandstone slickrock with some steep inclines/declines.

Spring and fall weather in southern Utah is generally perfect for hiking with typically sunny days and temperatures in the 45°-70° F range in springtime and 60°-80° F in the fall. Evening and early morning temperatures can occasionally drop near freezing so arriving with some warm clothing is essential. Thunderstorms are not uncommon but are usually short in duration.

This trip is subject to the booking information set forth in the current REI Adventures Reservation Information. Please read this information carefully and call us if you have any questions. A full gear list and pre-departure information is sent upon sign-up. We highly recommend the purchase of travel insurance through REI Adventures. If coverage is purchased at the time of your initial reservation, the 'Pre-existing Conditions Exclusion' is waived (certain exclusions apply).

We look forward to having you join us for the trip of a lifetime! Why wait? Space is limited, reserve your adventure today.

The key to staying comfortable while on an active trip is layering. To get maximum comfort with minimum weight, you need versatile layers that mix and match to create the right amount of insulation, ventilation and weather protection. Try to bring only what is necessary—this will help you and the field staff.

Gear Checklist

Things to Consider

• Please remember to always pack essential items such as appropriate identification, money, eyewear, a change of clothing, hiking boots and medications in your carry-on baggage, in case your luggage is delayed.
• Cotton is wonderful in warm weather and is often preferred for the extremely hot temperatures of the Southwest. However, once it becomes wet and if the temperatures drop, it will drain your body heat. We suggest bringing a wool or synthetic shirt such as Capilene®, MTS® and Thermax®.
• Always test your layers before a trip. Your outer layer should fit easily over the inside ones without binding and bunching up.
• Make sure boots are broken-in. Bring moleskin for foot treatment. Thin liner socks worn under regular hiking socks may minimize the risk of blisters. The liner sock should be synthetic, not cotton. Test your sock combination before you go on the trip.
• Stuff sacks are great for sorting gear. Use different sizes/colors to differentiate contents.