ledges with steep drop-offs, do some basic climbing maneuvers on irregular and broken sandstone, and be able to jump across gaps and fissures between the fins. Once you enter the Fiery Furnace, each member of the guided group must commit to complete the hike. Because of these demands, children younger than age 5 are not permitted, and children younger than 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets for joining the guided hike may be purchased in advance on the park’s website, nps.gov/arch.
ROUTE
Fiery Furnace is a uniquely Arches experience, a hike with no trail, no route, no cairns, no destination, no map, and no signs—in short, there’s nothing like it anywhere else in the park.
If you’ve previously hiked Fiery Furnace with a guided group and completed a training session at the visitor center, you may be issued a special-use permit to enter Fiery Furnace as an independent hiker, but you are strongly encouraged to go with a ranger-guided group whenever possible.
If you’re on your own, you can make your descent into the Fiery Furnace from either the northeast or southeast side of the parking area. Along any of the three well-beaten trails you’ll arrive at the fringe of the Fiery Furnace within 200 yards. Once you’ve entered, the parking area and trailhead are out of view, so you’ll need to rely on a keen sense of direction to find your way back.
If you do get disoriented or lost, the best advice is to head in a westerly direction, which will ensure that you cross the Arches Scenic Drive at some point rather than wandering off into the desert. But just walking west is more easily said than done, because all the fins in the Fiery Furnace run northwest–southeast and create a significant barrier to crosswise travel.
TO THE TRAILHEAD
GPS Coordinates: N38º 44.594' W109º 33.948'
From the Arches Visitor Center, drive 14.5 miles along Arches Scenic Drive to the Fiery Furnace Viewpoint parking area on the right.
HOW DO FINS FORM?
The majestic fins of Fiery Furnace
The fins in Arches National Park formed from forces above and below the surface. A thick layer of subsurface salt buckled and liquefied, causing the overlaying rocks to shift. Above the surface, wind and water eroded and carved the rock. Water that seeped into cracks froze, expanded, and broke off chunks. The cracks continued to expand, creating fins, the product of a harsh and active desert environment.
8 Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch
Trailhead Location: Sand Dune Arch parking area
Trail Use: Walking, hiking
Distance & Configuration: 1.8-mile balloon with a short spur to Sand Dune Arch
Elevation Range: 5,192' at Sand Dune Arch Trailhead to 5,300' at Broken Arch
Facilities: Restrooms and water near the trail at Devils Garden Campground near Broken Arch
Highlights: Two very different arches accessed by a level path starting from either the parking area or the campground
DESCRIPTION
This hike starts at the Sand Dune Arch parking area, which is where most visitors arriving by car would logically start. But if you’re staying inside the park at the Devils Garden Campground—a phenomenal campground, by the way—then leave the car behind and start your hike at the trailhead at campsite 40, at the south end of the campground.
Broken Arch
The hike features two arches with completely different personalities. One is a very private arch, small, reclusive, shy, and hidden from view—that’s Sand Dune Arch. The other, Broken Arch, is big and bold, fully open to public view, and quite flashy. These personality differences can perhaps best be explained by their very different childhoods. Sand Dune was protected from outside influences and has led a sheltered life. Broken Arch came from a broken home. It has taken a real beating and has always had to fend for itself against the ravages of wind and rain. By hiking to both, you can discover which personality you’re most compatible with, the introvert arch or the extrovert arch.
Along the way and between the two arches, you’ll walk through desert brush dominated by sage, blackbrush, and some hardy grasses. It’s a harsh environment, to be sure, with not a lick of shade between the two arches, so you might want to save this for cooler weather. It’s also a great wake-up walk before breakfast for those staying at the campground.
ROUTE
Starting from the Sand Dune Arch parking area, the trail cuts through a sandy desert sparsely decorated with sagebrush, Mormon tea, and Indian ricegrass. At 100 yards you come to a junction with Broken Arch on the left, visible in the distance, and Sand Dune Arch, hidden from view but set within the mound of fins just 100 yards to your right. As you take the trail to the right toward Sand Dune Arch, the sand seems to deepen with every step you take. Entering what feels like a hallway—a crack set between two large walls of sandstone—you’ll find that the base is one giant sandbox with some exposed slickrock made slippery by the fine layer of sand on top. Within seconds, you meet Sand Dune Arch face-to-face on your right. It’s 30 feet wide and 8 feet high in a shaded setting.
Returning to the main trail, turn right and continue northeast toward Broken Arch. Walking on a sandy trail across a grassy brushland, you’ll arrive at Broken Arch in less than 0.5 mile. Despite its name, the arch isn’t really broken, but a deep cleft in the top of the arch makes it appear to be cut in two, or broken, at the top. But don’t worry; it has plenty of life left.
While it’s easy to leave shy Sand Dune Arch without ever taking its picture, bold Broken Arch demands to be photographed. Don’t resist. In fact, using the arch as a frame, you’ll have views of the Uncompahgre Plateau and the La Sal Mountains to the southeast. Broken Arch is 50 feet high and 60 feet wide—one of the largest arches in the park. Be sure to walk through the arch; you’ll find that it’s just as photogenic from its back or eastern side. From the backside of the arch, you have two options for returning to the parking area: You can hook to the left to connect with the trail leading to Devils Garden Campground and back to the parking area, or you can return the way you came, across the desert to the Sand Dune Arch parking area.
TO THE TRAILHEAD
GPS Coordinates: N38º 35.887' W109º 35.000'
The Sand Dune Arch parking area is 17.5 miles from the Arches Visitor Center on Arches Scenic Drive.
BIGHORN SHEEP