Arches National Park - New Mexico/Utah Trip - January 15, 2026

We had a little bit slower start this morning but still put in a full day at Arches National Park.  This was our first time driving up the windy road into the park in the daylight so we stopped at a couple of pullouts.  

We briefly stopped at the La Sal Mountains Viewpoint.  I wanted to see it in the daylight.  This is where we had watched the sunrise two mornings before.

Then our first hiking trail was the Devil's Garden Trail to see Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch and then Landscape Arch.  There was some snow and ice on a few parts of this trail.

Admiring our shadows falling over this beautiful terrain

Pine Tree Arch

Landscape Arch

Juniper Titmouse

A smaller arch right next to Landscape Arch

Landscape Arch

Then we passed by the Skyline Arch parking lot and I asked that we pull over so I could actually walk the entire trail.  It's not very long and is quite easy.  My parents stayed near the car as I explored closer to the arch.  A Bushtit (tiny little bird) kept singing to me from deep within a bush that I kept hoping to see but it never showed its face.  This little bird would evade me the entire trip.  I heard it sing many times but never actually saw one.

My Mom had so graciously been willing to drop us off at the Park Avenue Trailhead and pick us up at the end of the trail, near the Courthouse Towers.  By doing this as a one-way trail, it was a downhill trail the whole way and pretty doable.  This is such a cool trail and one of my favorites of the whole trip.  It's like you are walking down into a deep, wide bowl of gorgeous formations.  You can see where the water runs on rainy days but on this dry day, it was all dry.  I so enjoyed this hike and am so thankful to my Mom for her patience and willingness to pick us up as well as the chance to experience this hike with my Dad.

I wanted to go back to the Windows.  They were probably my favorite arches of the park.  So I re-hiked that short trail.  A lot of the snow from two days prior had melted.

North Window

Looking through the North Window

South Window

Turret Arch

North and South Windows

We then stopped at the La Sal Mountains Overlook one more time hoping to get a clearer blue sky as a backdrop.  There was still a bit of haze but I like how my photos turned out.

On our way out of the park, we stopped at a few overlooks to admire the windy road.  It really is a breathtaking entrance into the park.

Outside of the park, on our way back to Moab, we stopped at Lion's Park to admire this bridge and view.

Back in Moab, we ate dinner at Antica Forma where we enjoyed a bottle of Chianti and pizza.  It was a nice quiet meal.  They had a vegan pizza on the menu so I knew they would know how to cook a pizza without cheese.  I added some chicken to it to get some protein.