Tower Arch, Arches National Park

This hike, within Arches NP is approximately 7.8 miles down a dirt road towards the end of the park. The road is narrow, but two vehicles can pass slowly. Two trailheads: one for 2 WD vehicles leading to a near 3 mile roundtrip hike or for. 4 WD vehicle only about .65 tenths roundtrip hike. Beautiful hike that has some challenging sections with a fairly decent stretch across the open desert. Great reward at the end.

Day 14 pt. 2: Wanting to find a hiking spot with less crowds, we decided to take an off-roading trial to Tower Arch. Up to this point, we had endured countless “4WD/High Clearance Required” trails. We thought nothing of it until it was too late and we had committed to this long road of technical driving. My girlfriend didn’t last too long as the driver and she demoted myself to spotter, and it was up to me to drive the rest of the way. Luck for me Dan and Denise from Maryland appeared from behind and paired up with us. This seasoned off roading duo assisted the spot and ensured that we made it out. This was my first time driving in this type of technical off-roading. We were in a stock four-wheel-drive Toyota 4-Runner. We made it out with all parts of the car intact. There were a couple times that I thought I might rip the back bumper off because the car was low to the ground, thank goodness everything was okay and we didn’t get stuck. I still don’t know much about Tower Arch. I did not care to hike it. Still a beautiful view from the dirt road.