Arches National Park is a small park packed with big beauty and a very surprising amount of unique and adventurous things to experience. Although there are many things about the park we love, Devil’s Garden Trail is easily our favorite. This trail will take you across several miles filled with multiple arches, formations and steep + narrow trails. Don’t forget, Arches has implemented a timed entry. Don’t forget to get yours before visiting.
Quick Info About Devil’s Garden Trail
DISTANCE: If you complete every spur and loop section of Devil’s Garden Trail, it will total 7.2 miles total. However, there are many ways to cut it shorter while still seeing all kinds of things.
DIFFICULTY: Difficult. This was the most trying trail we did in Arches, but a lot of that has to do with the ever-changing terrain.
WHAT TO EXPECT: There are narrow ledges, sheer drop-off, very steep sections of slick rock, sand and a bit of rock scramble all rolled into one amazing trail.
DON’T FORGET: Actual hiking shoes with great grip and plenty of water! I wore these Teva sandals and didn’t regret it!
Points of Interest Along Devil’s Garden Trail
As I said before, there are so many amazing things to see all along this trail. I’m going to list them in order from closest to the trailhead to the furthest away. Luckily, hikers can choose which spurs to skip or can turn around at any time.
Tunnel Arch – Devil’s Garden Trail
ROUND TRIP DISTANCE: 0.7 Miles
Tunnel Arch is very near to the trailhead of Devil’s Garden. This arch is one you see from a bit of a distance, but it is still quite beautiful and worth popping over to!
If you do this hike, don’t miss Pine Arch, it adds only 0.3 miles to the total hike – see below.
Pine Arch – Devil’s Garden Trail
ROUND TRIP DISTANCE: 1 Mile
Pine Arch is very aptly named as this beautiful arch has a small desert pine growing near the opening.
Don’t miss Tunnel Arch if you do this hike, it adds very little to do that spur trail – see above.
Landscape Arch – Devil’s Garden Trail
ROUND TRIP DISTANCE: 1.6 Miles
Landscape Arch is the park’s longest arch, and it seems so precariously propped up there. Matt and I had a conversation about which one we thought would be the first to fall of the ones we’d seen and this was our guess. It was just so fragile looking which is part of what makes it so beautiful!
Partition Arch – Devil’s Garden Trail
ROUND TRIP DISTANCE: 2.8 Miles
Partition Arch is actually visible very close to landscape are, however, it is worth the extra trip up there for the view you get looking out from it. This spur trail goes uphill a bit, but when you get to the arch you won’t regret it. The trail leads to the base of the large section of the arch and many people continue out under the arch – which is slanted a decent amount or up to the other small section, do so at your own risk. If you make the effort to add this arch onto your hike, be sure to do Navajo Arch as well; it’s quite close.
Navajo Arch – Devil’s Garden Trail
ROUND TRIP DISTANCE: 2.9 Miles
Navajo Arch is hidden by a rock fin until you get right up on it. This arch isn’t a large span or crazy height, but its seclusion is its allure. It also houses a few desert pines underneath and around it. It’s quite pretty. Also, if you’re really hot and looking for a shadier section of this trail to have a snack or just take a break, this section has a few opportunities to do so.
Black Arch Overlook – Devil’s Garden Trail
This overlook is hardly something you can call a “spur trail” as it’s probably only about 50ft off trail, but I still recommend taking a look.
Double O Arch – Devil’s Garden Trail
ROUND TRIP DISTANCE: 4.1 Miles
Double O Arch is probably the most unique arch in the park. Why, you ask? It’s literally two arches stacked on top of each other! In addition to getting to see this arch, if you continue on the trail to this arch, you’ll get to catch some truly spectacular views and get to get your heart racing on the adventurous somewhat narrow, two-way trail atop a slick rock fin. It is unreal. Continuing up and over slick rock, past an overlook at Black Arch, will lead you up to an overlook at Double O Arch. An easy, albeit slick, path leads you down into the rock bowl to the base of Double O Arch. That said, the best view of this beauty is actually from the top because a tree is growing right in front of the lower arch of Double O Arch.
Dark Angel Formation – Devil’s Garden Trail
ROUND TRIP DISTANCE: 4.9 Miles
Although we turned back before getting to this formation, this is cited as the “end” of the Devil’s Garden Trail. The Dark Angel formation is a very large free-standing rock with a very dark coloration. I’ve recently learned during some research for the rest of the park, that there are some secret petroglyphs, unmarked, west of the formation. They have a sign near them that says “You’ve found something unique, please preserve it.” I love that this is a “secret” treasure to find. If you find them, do as the sign says and preserve them, please!
Primitive Trail Back to Landscape Arch – Devil’s Garden Trail
ROUND TRIP DISTANCE: 6 Miles
According to the Arches National Park info, this is the hardest portion of the trail. This apparently requires some skilled hiking in the form of rock scrambles, steep rock ledges and potential difficulty finding/staying on the trail. There is a pool that potentially holds water depending on the time of the year that you’ll have to cross. The benefits of doing this portion of the hike are the challenge, getting to private arch and other formations, fins and beauty you come across. The trail ends back just before Landscape Arch.
Every Stop on the Devil’s Garden Trail
ROUND TRIP DISTANCE: 7.9 Miles
If you do every single spur trail listed here, you’ll end up with a whopping 7.9 miles and will have earned a delicious meal back in Moab!
How Matt and I Did the Trail
Matt and I did the vast majority of the Devil’s Garden Trail. Because we didn’t plant it out as well we actually didn’t realize we had missed the “end” of the Devil’s Garden Trail by not going about a half mile further to Dark Angel. At 6.38 miles total, we still felt like we deserved our delicious meal at the end. All-in-all we tackled Tunnel Arch, Pine Arch, Landscape Arch, Partition Arch, Navajo Arch and Double O Arch, then turned back and just did the main stretch back.
We knew that we weren’t going to do the primitive trail because I was about 5 months pregnant. But because we want to do that the next time we’re in Moab, we’ll get to see Dark Angel and the petroglyphs next time!
Although this hike was undoubtedly our favorite, there are so many amazing hikes to see in Arches National Park. If you’re looking to plan out your trip there, check out our guide on Arches National Park!
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