![oregon state landscape arch oregon state landscape arch](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7c/11/89/7c11890aef6c98031f5783e04a4f9106.jpg)
Spanning dozens of feet as they do and supporting vast amounts of weight, the arches are quite fragile.
![oregon state landscape arch oregon state landscape arch](http://www.kochla.com/images/_mg_2295.jpg)
2008 saw the end of Wall Arch, and Ring Arch partially collapsed in 2014. Arches don’t last forever in 1994, Landscape Arch lost literal tons of rock from its underside. In a much longer sense, the wonders of Arches are fleeting and we’re lucky that we humans exist in the same geological moment so we can see them. The other factor with timing is one you’ve already got in the bag, so congratulations ). And if you take along a tripod, you should be able to get some stunning star pictures. So visit, but time your visit right: come on a weekday during one of the winter months if possible, or hit the trails very early (also a good idea because this place gets baking hot in the summer.) The night sky is often beautifully clear in this area and some areas would make for great night hikes as long as you bring along a headlamp and watch your step. The scenery also includes rolling fields of petrified sand dunes, green valleys left over from the collapse of a massive underground salt deposit (of which more later), and the majestic La Sal Mountains in the background. The park is a wonderland of spires, fins, buttes and, of course, the eponymous arches, which are absolutely breathtaking to see in person.
![oregon state landscape arch oregon state landscape arch](https://i.redd.it/s9ajkad54bd31.jpg)
More than probably any park we’ve visited, Arches’ high visitor volume was very apparent.Īnd it’s no wonder so many people should want to visit: the geology on display here is just mind-boggling. Coming to Arches from the less-visited Canyonlands, we were struck by how much more trammeled this park looked: the trails are thoroughly tamped and huge swaths of cryptobiotic crust have been wiped out by social trails. We don’t usually mind having lots of other people around-we’re happy to see so many people enjoying the parks-but it can definitely hamper a nature experience. This park is geographically small and receives over a million visitors per year most will want to visit the same handful of sites, including Delicate Arch and the Windows, which means you’re likely to encounter at least a bit of a crowd at some point.