Arches National Park
5 Things to do in Arches
UPWARD MOBILITY
Despite sandstone's soft crumbly consistency, the park offers a variety of excellent rock climbing ventures. Climbs here require advanced techniques. Permits are not required with the exception of overnight trips. Climbers are charged with the responsibility and stewardship to know park regulations and minimize impacts.
GRAND COUNTY AND SAN JUAN COUNTY
The lush alpine beauty of the La Sal Mountain Range provides a striking, picturesque, backdrop to the region's desert terrain. From red rock canyons to slick rock knolls, mesa tops and river corridors, the area's varied topography offers unlimited recreational opportunities.
1. WET ‘N' WILD
Just outside of Arches, several stretches of the Colorado River here have some of the most exhilarating whitewater river sections in the West. Each section of the Colorado's corridor is vastly different, providing diverse whitewater adventures suitable to all skills and ages.
2. QUINT-ESSENTIALS
Wheels are in! The Moab area outside of Arches offers an extensive variety of trails for mountain bikers of any experience level, from beginners looking for a scenic ride through beautiful canyons and mesa tops, to seasoned bikers looking for the ultimate challenge. The area outside of Arches offers virtually unlimited opportunities. The park itself, however, is off-limits to off-road vehicles of any type.
3. ANCIENT MOAB Follow in the tracks of dinosaurs, and trace the histories of American Indians through ancient sites that abound around Moab. Many fossil and track sites can be found in the area's sandstone, all only remains of a once muddy swamp. Boulders, cliffs and overhangs shield the remnants of many stone structures and rock art sites. The Moab Visitor Center offers more information.
4. ROCK SOLID PERFORMANCES
Musical and theatrical scenes are a refined contrast to the scenery of the great outdoors The September Moab Music Festival offers classical to contemporary concerts, while November's Moab Folk Festival offers contemporary folk music. Both feature internationally acclaimed artists. Moab's Community and Repertory Theaters offer annual performances. The Dan O'Laurie Museum of Moab features ancient to modern history, while the Moab to Monument Valley Film Museum showcases the area's movie making history.
5. HERE'S TO THE GOOD LIFE
Visit the region's vineyards and wineries where connoisseurs from around the world are pleasantly surprised to learn of Moab's fine beverages. Here, the long growing season coupled with fertile soils have long produced world class wines. Enjoy tasting rooms or take in a brief tour.
CONTACT: Moab Area Travel Council, PO Box 550, Moab, UT 84532, (435) 259-8825 or (800) 635 6622—www.discovermoab.com
Arches In Depth
News from the Parks
Gettysburg Address to Return for Visitor Center Grand Opening
August 21, 2008 - 5:04pm
There are only five known manuscripts of the famous Gettysburg Address, penned by President Abraham Lincoln — one of those original documents is scheduled to appear in Gettysburg, during the grand opening celebration of the new Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.
August 21, 2008 - 5:04pm
There are only five known manuscripts of the famous Gettysburg Address, penned by President Abraham Lincoln — one of those original documents is scheduled to appear in Gettysburg, during the grand opening celebration of the new Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.
Anglers Wary of North Cascades Plan to Limit Fishing
August 21, 2008 - 10:51am
Not much comes easy in the precipitous ice-and-rock geography of North Cascades National Park -- not the hiking, not the high-lakes fishing, and across the park's 40 years of existence, not even fish management. This is what I'm thinking during the sweaty hike out of the stunning cirque that embraces Monogram Lake, where I've spent a couple hours catching and releasing dozens of pretty cutthroat trout with two mountain anglers who fear that soon there will be no fish in the park's high lakes. Whether trout should be in these lakes at all has been an issue since the park was created in 1968, and it is coming to a head with the release in July of the park's voluminous "Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan."
August 21, 2008 - 10:51am
Not much comes easy in the precipitous ice-and-rock geography of North Cascades National Park -- not the hiking, not the high-lakes fishing, and across the park's 40 years of existence, not even fish management. This is what I'm thinking during the sweaty hike out of the stunning cirque that embraces Monogram Lake, where I've spent a couple hours catching and releasing dozens of pretty cutthroat trout with two mountain anglers who fear that soon there will be no fish in the park's high lakes. Whether trout should be in these lakes at all has been an issue since the park was created in 1968, and it is coming to a head with the release in July of the park's voluminous "Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan."
Bison Advocates Go for Space
August 21, 2008 - 10:48am
As rancher Rick Knobe slowly guides his pickup around the iconic American bison on the prairie here, he reflects on a time when they roamed freely. "I figure the buffalo were there first, the elk were there first, the wolves were there first," he says, looking over his herd of 28 American bison, on his Lazy RRse Buffalo Ranch. "I figure these animals should be given more the right of way to roam."
August 21, 2008 - 10:48am
As rancher Rick Knobe slowly guides his pickup around the iconic American bison on the prairie here, he reflects on a time when they roamed freely. "I figure the buffalo were there first, the elk were there first, the wolves were there first," he says, looking over his herd of 28 American bison, on his Lazy RRse Buffalo Ranch. "I figure these animals should be given more the right of way to roam."
Rapid Climate Change Threatens to Thaw Icy Wonderland of Alaska
August 21, 2008 - 10:43am
I was in Alaska for 10 days in August, on a fellowship with Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and the Union of Concerned Scientists, to see firsthand the effects of global warming. I didn't have to look far. I watched massive chunks of glacial ice breaking off into the sea.
August 21, 2008 - 10:43am
I was in Alaska for 10 days in August, on a fellowship with Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and the Union of Concerned Scientists, to see firsthand the effects of global warming. I didn't have to look far. I watched massive chunks of glacial ice breaking off into the sea.
Park Seeks Construction Comment
August 21, 2008 - 10:38am
The National Park Service proposes to construct new housing, operations and recreation facilities in Big Bend National Park. The public, organizations and other agencies may review and comment upon a draft environmental assessment (EA) describing the proposal. The new construction would occur at Panther Junction, Rio Grande Village and Castolon. The proposal is to construct 27 structures, of which 15 would serve new purposes and 12 would replace temporary or inadequate facilities.
August 21, 2008 - 10:38am
The National Park Service proposes to construct new housing, operations and recreation facilities in Big Bend National Park. The public, organizations and other agencies may review and comment upon a draft environmental assessment (EA) describing the proposal. The new construction would occur at Panther Junction, Rio Grande Village and Castolon. The proposal is to construct 27 structures, of which 15 would serve new purposes and 12 would replace temporary or inadequate facilities.
