What would a wheelchair Moab trip be without an Arches visit? This national park is only a few short miles north of the town and has a plethora of viewpoints and trails for the wheelchair traveler. Much can be seen by just driving through the entire area with a good pair or binoculars or a camera with a decent zoom lens.
If you are able to get out and explore, know that there are many sidewalks and packed gravel paths that most traditional wheelchairs can handle – I will include some photos of them later in this post. We took Jamie’s freewheel in case some of the navigable trails became harder and I am glad we did – we were able to get a little closer to Double Arch because of it. Rest assured that if you do not have a wheelchair attachment, you will still see a ton of scenery you can get close to.
Recall in my last Moab post that we took this trip with my daughters and their families. Since my grandkids are very small, we knew they would tire quickly and need a break. We selected a few areas of the park to see as a result – there was quite a bit more we could have seen that you can check out on the accessibility page of the government website for Arches. It would be easy to spend a full day there or possibly two even with wheelchair limitations.
Since this is desert country, the peak times to visit are spring and fall. Moab was cool the first few days of the week we were there, so we went to Arches on two separate late mornings. We visited early in the week with overcast skies and wind and stayed mainly in the car. Several days later, it warmed up and we walked some of the trails. I will talk about what we saw from the car first.
Arches by Automobile
The line to drive into Arches at peak season is probably the worst part of the visit. But it is worth the wait. We drove up a hilly entrance and very quickly began seeing the red rock formations Utah is known for. One of the first areas is called Park Avenue – we just slowly drove around it observing the rock formations that. There is a viewpoint stop but since it was pretty cold, we drove past it. Honestly, we saw a lot from the car including this formation called the “Three Gossips”:
They really do look like they are standing in a circle talking. We continued down the main road until we came upon Balanced Rock. The trail is very short here and it is sidewalk all the way so we braved it and walked in the stiff wind. It was pretty cold – I guess that is the risk we took taking this trip in the spring. Still, it was nice to get closer to the rocks and of course, concrete is the best surface to take a wheelchair. The path is wide:
We all realized how cold it was out after this short stop and mostly remained in the car as we continued deeper into the park. There is a popular area called “The Windows” and we drove down the road leading to it:
We saw plenty of rock formations like the one shown in the inset above. I am glad we drove through the Windows area because we saw some of the trailheads and determined we could get the wheelchair on them. With warmer weather forecast for later in the week, we planned to walk around there on our return visit.
Exploring on a Sunnier Day
Approaching the two arches, the trail becomes somewhat sandy as is shown in the inset photo – we were glad we had the freewheel attached because we could continue on for a closer view.
We actually walked nearly all the way to where the path ends and the rocks begin in about the middle of the photo above. It is a pretty area.
On the other side of the parking area lies the trailhead to several arches in “The Windows” formation. We did not take the time to do this trail, but I did snap a photo or two and this link provides a decent overview. Note that it has the same type of packed gravel as the trail to Double Arch, so at least the first part of it is wheelchair accessible:
Delicate Arch Area
The actual hike to Delicate Arch is inaccessible for wheelchairs, but there is a viewpoint with the same kind of packed gravel path the National Park service has created in other areas and this is it:
The path from the parking lot is short as you can see. We reached the endpoint in no more than five or ten minutes, but note just how far away the arch is:
We could literally barely see it. Make sure and take binoculars or a camera with a strong zoom lens for a much better view.
Also accessible in the same area is the Wolfe Ranch. A path leads up to an old cabin:
Finally, there are restrooms in the area and picnic tables, so, in the event that some in your group decide to hike the 2 – 3 hours to and from Delicate Arch, others who cannot or do not want to can hang out, eat snacks, and chill.
Conclusion
The visit to Arches was fun and I recommend seeing all the places we went. There were even a few more places we did not get into a little deeper into the park. The furthest we drove was the viewpoint for the Fiery Furnace, an impressive overlook, as you can see:
