Canyon Lands & Arches Location?

Hi, My wife and I will be travelling to Moab for a week the end of May into June to hike, see and photograph Arches and Canyonlands National Park. Recognizing a week is not nearly enough time to see it all, I looking for any suggestions and comments on the "must see" locations in both parks. Besides hiking with appropriate equipment, we will be travelling in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Thanks.

Delicate arch at sunset, and mesa arch at sunrise.

The hike up to delicate arch is about 2 - 2.5 miles up slick rock, bring lots of water and sunscreen. It is well worth the hike. Tourists are usually really good about not hanging under the arch for too long, they realize that there is about 35 photographers with an eye on a clean shot of the arch.

There are far too many iconic places to list for Moab/Canyonlands area.

Just before you get to Canyonlands, take the turnoff to Dead Horse Point. This is a Utah state park and $10 entrance fee is required, but it is a spectacular vista rivaling Grand Canyon IMHO. Good for sunrise and early morning for one side, late afternoon / sunset for the other side. I prefer mornings.

At Canyonlands:

The overlook opposite the visitor centre is very worthwhile, as are the canyon viewpoints along the road. Mid-afternoon works best IMHO, before shadows start encroaching.

Green River Overlook is another fantastic vista, great for sunrise and late afternoon.

False Kiva is a great photographic location, although it is not on any maps. Google for images, then ask at the visitor centre and they will give you instructions on how to find and navigate the trail. I did this on the weekend and had no problems. It's very hard to shoot because of the combination of dark shadow and bright light. Sometime mid-afternoon when the kiva is lit up (between 2:00 pm and 5:00pm), or about sunset (8:00pm) might be the best times.

Mesa Arch at sunrise is the iconic Canyonlands shot, although there will be lots of photographers as summer draws near and yo need to get there about one hour before sunrise to grab a spot.

You might also want to consider heading up to Green River then down Highway 24 to Goblin Valley State Park. Close by is Little Wild Horse Canyon, which is a nice slot canyon hike (about 8 miles) so do that earlier in the day followed by Goblin Valley around sunset.

If you are in a 4WD then you might want to think about Schaffer Trail or White Rim Road, although both are very rough and progress may be slow. There's probably no campsites available so plan for short day trips only.

At Arches:

Full of great locations, although it will be getting very crowded at that time of year.

Delicate Arch at sunset is the iconic shot, although shadows may be a problem. Winter is best for sunset, so plan on getting there early (about 3-4 hours before sunset) to get a good shot of the arch and its bowl before the crowds and the shadows get in the way. However you won't get the best colour until sunset.

I like an early morning hike to Landscape Arch followed by a hike to Double-O arch. Landscape Arch looks best at sunrise/early morning. The hike to Double-O is spectacular, as you need to climb along fins of rock that show amazing vistas to the north. Best shot of Double-O is obtained by walking through to the other side and up the hill a bit.

The first amazing sight at Arches is Park Avenue, which works best early morning/late afternoon. Bring a wide-angle lens to get the best shot. Don't forget to look to the upper left for Queen Nerfiti's Head rock formation. There's a nice shot if you climb up a ridge a bit to frame a pinion pine leading up to Queen Nerfititi. I would recommend hiking through Park Avenue to end up at Courthouse Towers (although you will then need to hike back).

The Courthouse Towers, especially The Organ, are amazing. There's an iconic shot of looking up towards the Organ, with wildflowers in the foreground. Great for sunrise and later afternoons.

Balanced Rock: great for sunsets as the colours change. You can also cross the road and stand on some rock formations to get great silhouettes at sunrise/sunset.

The Windows: North and South window are best shot late afternoons. You can also walk through North Window, climb a rock on the other side, to get Turret Arch framed within the window. This is another iconic shot and is best at sunrise. Double Arch is a short walk and is best shot in late afternoon IMHO.

I would also recommend a ranger-guided walk through Fiery Furnaces. You will need to book in advance for this (not sure if there are spots left) or try your luck on the day by asking at the visitor center.

Sand Dune Arch has some great light and textures, since it is inside some rock fin formations.

In a 4WD you can do the Salt Valley road to get to Tower Arch, etc. Should be fun.

Around Moab:

Take the Potash Road and head to the spectacular Corona Arch. One of my favourites, best photographed in the late afternoon IMHO (although you could also shoot it from the other side in early morning). There's some great scenery along Potash Road as it follows the Colorado River. Some sides will look best early morning, others in late afternoon. There's a 4WD track at the end of Potash Rd that leads to the other side of Dead Horse Point. I haven't been there but it should look amazing.

Conversely, head along Highway 128 to follow the Colorado River eastwards. You can hike Negro Bill Canyon, and see Castle Valley and Fisher Towers. Best to get to Fisher Towers mid-to-late afternoon and do a hike around the back. Then head futher east on 128 to find a bend in the river that allows a great sunset shot of the Towers and their reflection.

About 25 miles south of Moab there's Wilson Arch (right off the road) and then you can head into the Needles district of Canyonlands.

Actually you should just get Photographing The Southwest Vol. 1 by Martres and read the section on Moab/Canyonlands.

Since you'll have a 4WD, pick up Charles Wells book, we used it all the time while there.
http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1336588​233&sr=8-2

Definitely do the Fiery Furnace, try to book your trip on line, it gets sold out quickly!

I enjoyed Mesa arch at sun rise but if you do it get there well before sun rise or you may find a problem with space (other photographers) and take a flash light, the trail is short and not at all difficult but hard to follow in the dark.

Thank you all for excellent suggestions and information. All very helpful and appreciated.

Lots of good advice so far, so I'll just add my thoughts. With 4WD, you should do a loop to Canyonlands that goes one way on Long Canyon Trail and returns on Shafer Trail. Gemini Bridges is another trail worth your time. Stop at the VC in Moab and get maps/tips about 4WD roads at all levels. There are petroglyph panels in several locations: Potash Rd; Kane Creek Rd (on the way to Chicken Corners); and some right in Moab near the golf course. Again, the VC can help. I enjoy the hike to Morning Glory Arch in Negro Bill Canyon, as well as Corona Arch. Hike Mills Creek to the waterfall/swimming hole. Onion Creek Rd, near Fisher Towers, is a fun drive and the towers are photogenic, especially at sunset. The stream feeding Ken's Lake comes over the "mountain" in a series of pretty waterfalls. South of Moab are several arches on 191 or not far off it, as well as some interesting drives. Red Rock Lodge, on Rte 128, is good for a dinner and they have a "museum" with stuff from the many movies made in the area. Decent winery, too.

As said, you will not do it all in a week. I have photos of these places in my pbase gallery.

I'll be in Utah in two weeks but on a motorcycle and at 68 really not able to get to some of these places. Any advice for me would be great.

yellowmr wrote in post #14405041
Delicate arch at sunset, and mesa arch at sunrise.

The hike up to delicate arch is about 2 - 2.5 miles up slick rock, bring lots of water and sunscreen. It is well worth the hike. Tourists are usually really good about not hanging under the arch for too long, they realize that there is about 35 photographers with an eye on a clean shot of the arch.

They are? No...they really aren't. Okay maybe they are individually, but as soon as one person leaves, the next goes in.

But yes, those are two must see places.

Turret arch at sunrise is also really nice.

2cruise wrote in post #14407022
I'll be in Utah in two weeks but on a motorcycle and at 68 really not able to get to some of these places. Any advice for me would be great.

You can certainly visit all the stops in Canyonlands, Arches and Dead Horse Point SP, as well as some of the back roads. Other places you can go include Needles District of Canyonlands and Needles Overlook. Both are a distance south of Moab. Almost any road you take in any direction is scenic. Google Utah Scenic Drives.

2cruise wrote in post #14407022
I'll be in Utah in two weeks but on a motorcycle and at 68 really not able to get to some of these places. Any advice for me would be great.

As I said Mesa is a easy walk, my wife and I did it at 62. Just get a flash light so you can get there before sun rise

I guess I got lucky at Mesa Arch. I arrived around 7am and was the only one there. Just missed the best sunrise light. I was there in late August, not many crowds. It gets very hot in the late summer.

sparker1 wrote in post #14406441
Lots of good advice so far, so I'll just add my thoughts. With 4WD, you should do a loop to Canyonlands that goes one way on Long Canyon Trail and returns on Shafer Trail. Gemini Bridges is another trail worth your time. Stop at the VC in Moab and get maps/tips about 4WD roads at all levels. There are petroglyph panels in several locations: Potash Rd; Kane Creek Rd (on the way to Chicken Corners); and some right in Moab near the golf course. Again, the VC can help. I enjoy the hike to Morning Glory Arch in Negro Bill Canyon, as well as Corona Arch. Hike Mills Creek to the waterfall/swimming hole. Onion Creek Rd, near Fisher Towers, is a fun drive and the towers are photogenic, especially at sunset. The stream feeding Ken's Lake comes over the "mountain" in a series of pretty waterfalls. South of Moab are several arches on 191 or not far off it, as well as some interesting drives. Red Rock Lodge, on Rte 128, is good for a dinner and they have a "museum" with stuff from the many movies made in the area. Decent winery, too.

As said, you will not do it all in a week. I have photos of these places in my pbase gallery.

Nice images Stan and thanks for the additional information.

Besides all of the great suggestions so far, here are a few that aren't as well known.
I like to go to Delicate Arch at sunrise. The light isn't as good as sunset, but usually nobody is there then.

UT 128 North of Moab runs along the Colorado river for about 30 miles. Lots of dirt roads go off in all directions. You can also get down to the river in a lot of places. Fisher Towers is about 20 mi N from Moab on UT128.

Big Bend in the Colorado River is about 10 mi North on 128.
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1178002

Castleton Tower is about 15mi North on UT 128, then 4mi S on the road to Castleton. They say it's a steep 1.5 mi scramble up to the saddle. I only went in about 20 minutes to get my photos.
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1177566

Most of the locations are not that hard to get too. My wife & I are were in our early 70's (we are not hikers) when we were there - the hardest hike was to False Kiva. Most hikes are not overly difficult to see the most popular sites.

Don't forget about the pictographs/petrograph​s. Most of them are very easy to get to and are well worth seeing. Just google 'Moab + pictographs' or 'Moab rock art' and you'll find directions to most of them.