Park Avenue

This post is part of a series on Arches National Park. You can find the others by clicking on these links: 

• Park Avenue
• The Windows
• Delicate Arch
• Sand Dune Arch
• Skyline Arch
• Devils Garden

Oh how I love Arches. So many breathtaking vistas. So many great hikes. So many arches! All close to the fun town of Moab.

As you drive into Arches, the first hike you reach is called Park Avenue. Apparently, the giant walls of this canyon reminded early visitors of buildings lining a big city street.

Logistics:

• Distance: 2 miles (3.2 km) out and back
• Elevation: Approximately 260 ft down into canyon and then back up at the end
• Difficulty: Easy
• Facilities: None (Closest ones back at Visitor Center)
• Dogs Allowed: No
• Parking: At either end of trail

Getting there: First Head to Arches National Park

You will need to pay an entrance fee, which is good for 7 days, or have an America the Beautiful Pass. There are also certain Fee Free days and did you know that 4th graders can get a free annual pass?

Park Ave is 2.2 miles (3.5 km) up the main road from the Visitor Center

Getting to the start of Park Ave is easy. There is only one main road that travels through Arches. After you pass the visitors center, head up the hill and follow the signs for the Park Avenue Viewpoint and Trailhead. You can see the start and end of the trail marked by pink stars below.

As always, I recommend checking out the Arches National Park Service website before you go for operating hours, alerts, information about road conditions, and other pertinent information. You don’t want to drive all the way to your destination only to find out that something is closed.

Here’s an audio tour app that you might want to download before you go. You listen as you drive and the comments are triggered by your GPS location. (We are not affiliated with GyPSy Guide in any way, nor do we make any money off of this if you download it). I just thought I’d mention it because we found it entertaining and learned a lot as well. We’ve used it for Arches, Canyonlands, and Maui so far.

This is a nice, easy hike that is a great introduction to the park’s beautiful scenery. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) out and back. If you start at the first parking area for this trail, it descends into the canyon and continues down the wash to Courthouse Towers. The main park road connects both ends of the trail so you could start your hike from the other direction as well. We chose the first option. Here’s a map of our hike on Gaia GPS:

This is a view North, toward the end of our hike, with the Courthouse Towers and the Three Gossips in the background:

If you’re not up for the whole hike, the walk to the viewpoint (from the first parking area) is flat and paved and gives you a great view of the canyon.

The only difficult part is at the beginning, where the descent into the canyon is a bit steep. Once you get past that first part, the rest of the way is an easy stroll through the wash and on slickrock. We did it with our four kids and no one had any problems.

Our kids can’t just walk when there are opportunities to climb and jump from rock to rock!

Of course, we were careful to remain on the wash or slickrock only. The desert floor in this area contains cryptobiotic crust that is extremely fragile. One step will kill it. It’s alive, protects the desert, and may take decades to recover, if ever, once destroyed by human footprints.

As I mentioned earlier, you can do this hike multiple ways. Option one is to park at either end of the trail and go out and back for 2 miles (3.2 km). Since the main park road connects both ends of the trail, if you have two cars, you can leave one at the end point and halve the distance.

Another option, which was what we did, is to hike the mile toward the Courthouse Towers, and then have your amazing husband volunteer to run back to the car and meet you at the end of the trail. The kids were having so much fun playing on the rocks and this gave them more time, while still leaving some for another hike before dark.

Overall, I would recommend this hike in Arches. It’s not a long or strenuous one, like I usually prefer. However, sometimes it’s nice just to take your time and enjoy the scenery.

Next up in our Arches National Park adventure is The Windows Section.