Broken Arch Trail

One of the less crowded trails in Arches National Park is the lovely loop to Broken Arch that starts and returns right in Devils Garden Campground. This moderately easy trail passes some spectacular rock formations and provides a great introduction to slickrock passages, which aren’t as difficult to navigate here as on the Devils Garden Primitive Trail or along the trail to Delicate Arch.

The trail starts across from site 40 in Devils Garden Campground and winds through some flat areas before it travels down between huge sandstone fins to reach the flat desert below. Here there is a side trail to Sand Dune Arch, which is an interesting and worthwhile short hike to a small arch sandwiched between more fins (while the arch is hard to photograph effectively, the fins are very photogenic with a wide angle lens). Backtracking to the loop trail, the hike continues past many rock formations on the left until it reaches Broken Arch. The trail actually passes through the arch (with some slickrock scrambling) and continues back to the campground near site #41. Broken Arch presents many photo opportunities at sunrise and sunset with the La Sal mountains as a backdrop.

Note: This trail can also started at the Sand Dune Arch parking lot, incorporating a visit to that arch before continuing to the Broken Arch Loop Trail, through the campground, and back to Sand Dune Arch.