We had a chance to visit Arches National Park this February and all I can tell you is that my kids were absolutely in love. I’ve always loved this park and it was fun to see it differently through the eyes of my children. I have a good friend who lives in New Mexico and the other day we found out that Moab, UT was the half way point between us. What better reason to plan a fun weekend getaway. Just moms and kiddos this time (2 days,2 moms, 5 kids 7 and under). Needless to say things were crazy, but we had a blast. I hope these kids cherish these memories, I know I will.
Here is a link to the current Arches National Park guide. This park is so family/kid friendly. You’ll notice that there are 7 trails 1 mile round trip or less and 3 trails 1-2 miles roundtrip! Don’t worry, there are also some great longer/harder trails too. The drive through the park is a gorgeous scenic drive and you’ll feel like you hundreds of miles from civilization (you kind of are). You’ll also probably feel like you took a trip in the time machine back to when dinosaurs roamed the red rock.
The animal statues at the visitors center were a real hit with the kids. They were hugging and kissing them goodbye. Awe, to be a kid again.
Our first stop along the scenic drive through Arches NP was Park Avenue!
Little Mountaineers Rating: Easy Moderate (2 mile round trip, 320 ft elevation change, section of rock stairs, some rocky/sandy areas)
Picture above is majestic Park Avenue trail. This 2 mile round trip trail is so surreal. Don’t let the stairs scare you, they aren’t too bad! My kids actually loved the stairs, so much that my daughter kept asking to go back to them. You can start this trail from either end and even have someone pick you up at the end so you only do 1 mile. Even if you don’t do the whole trail it is definitely worth the stop and the view.
Next up was The Windows trail. This easy trail takes you on a path to explore two large windows and Turret Arch. While we were there we were able to see researchers in action on top of the first Window, they used parachutes to send their equipment down and rappelled off the side. Pretty neat!
Little Mountaineers Rating: Easy (1 mile round trip, mild climb with some areas with stairs)
The Windows come with some pretty amazing views!
We were lucky to be here during great weather! Blue skies and low 60’s. February can be hit or miss with weather. As we were leaving it was raining which even turned to snow on the way back to Salt Lake City.
Sibling love! I’m glad these too get to share these memories together!
Above you can see both the North and South Windows.
Turret Arch is also a part of this short hike.
The red rock desert is so stunning against those blue skies!
After we said our goodbyes to our New Mexico friends we were getting ready to head home. Well my children decided there was no way they wanted to head home yet. We still had a few hours so we headed back to Arches to do a couple more trails on our own.
Our first stop was Delicate Arch.
Little Mountaineers Rating: Moderate (3 mile round trip to Arch, 480 ft elevation change, multiple areas of uphill climb, steep slick rock climb area, some rocky/sandy areas, some ledges/drop offs. No shade, this hike becomes more difficult in harsher weather conditions)
My son has a rock book he got for Christmas and there is a picture of Delicate Arch in the book. He was eager to see it in person so we decided to head out. I knew my 3 year old daughter was not going to be able to do this trail on her own, so she got to ride in our Onya Baby Pure carrier. The guide says to give yourself 2-3 hours for the trail. We completed this trail in under 2, partly because it wasn’t sunny or hot and apparently my son was an energizer bunny that day! Weather can make this trail deadly. In the summer I would advise going early in the morning or later in the evening and bringing plenty of water and snacks. I’ve hiked this hike in August when it is extremely hot, but we did it as a sunrise hike, even then it was warm. I loved this hike in February, it is nice not to have the heat! This hike isn’t too long and has a few areas of uphill climb to give you that great leg workout and get your heart pumping, but I don’t consider it an extremely difficult hike which is why I gave it a moderate rating. I would definitely plan on carrying your baby/toddler/preschooler age child and make sure you rest when needed especially during the steep climbs.
Different rock formations to see along this trail!
Once you see this little window you know you are almost there!
Delicate Arch! Even more stunning in person. My son’s reaction when he rounded that last corner was priceless. He was truly in awe and couldn’t believe how big it was in real life. He was such an amazing hiker this trip! It’s so fun to watch them grow and learn.
It always seems a little windy near the arches. Guess that makes sense. Here is our lovely windy Delicate Arch selfie.
If you don’t think you are ready to tackle this hike you can still take your kids to see the cool rock art panel, it is at the start of the trail and doesn’t require any uphill climb.
We decided to tackle another quick trail before we headed home so we headed over to Skyline Arch.
Little Mountaineers Rating: Easy (.4 mile round trip flat and sandy areas)
Of course whenever my kids see rocks/boulders they have to climb them.
Just like pretty much everywhere we go, we left wanting more. Moab has so much to offer, even more than just Arches National Park. We only touched on a few of the trails this post but I can’t wait to share more later on. We only spent 2 days here this time, but it was definitely worth it, there is so much to see even in a short period of time. Happy hiking!
Check out our little bonus adventure below!
You thought dinosaurs were extinct…well not in Moab! We decided to take all the kiddos to Moab Giants Dinosaur Park after our long drives to let them play and get some energy out before we checked into our motel. We didn’t pay for the museum or any of the indoor stuff, we just did the Dinosaur Trail to see all dinosaur statues and there is also a playground area for kids to play on. To do this portion of the park it is 12$ for kids 4 and older and 16$ for adults. The dinosaur statues were really cool, and looked liked they fit right in with stunning Moab as the backdrop.
My son loved Weeping Rock and was trying to catch droplets of water in his mouth.
The Lower Emerald Pool features this water cascading off of the cliff above.
Riverside Walk trail ends at the start of The Narrows, it’s quite majestic and the kids loved playing in the water and on the rocks. However, we couldn’t manage to take a normal family picture here. Don’t mind our awkward facial expressions.
This girl was 18 months and was barely taking a few steps (she was a very late walker) so I carried her all day. Lot’s of people laughed at how funny she looked in my little carrier with her super long legs.
Another angle of Lower Emerald Pool.
littlemountaineers 