Devil's Garden Trail was my favorite in this park and has beautiful views. Double O Arch is very unique and you can walk right up to it. Its a long hike but it has amazing views and landscape that is truly unique and well worth the hike.
Devil's Garden Trail was my favorite in this park and has beautiful views. Double O Arch is very unique and you can walk right up to it. Its a long hike but it has amazing views and landscape that is truly unique and well worth the hike.
Enough has been reviewed as to the aspects of this trail and you can read it in any hiking book on Arches. I don't know if I'm afraid of heights but I don't like them. This trail was much harder than I thought it would be even after reading. Reaching Landscape Arch is easy and a great view. Right past that is a steep rock climb to get you to the rest of the trail if your destination is Double O. It's not for everyone. The going up didn't bother me too much but on our return I didn't like the steepness. You can't use your sticks very much on this trail because you need your hands to be able to pull yourself over the rocks in your rock scrambling. There is more rock scrambling throughout the trail but they were pretty easy to climb. The next obstacle for me was at one of the largest fins on the trail and it is a long fall if you lose your balance. I was nervous about this but took it easy and concentrated on my feet rather than ahead of me and did fine. We had some wind on the way back and that made this even more challenging but I just took my time and did fine. I'm glad I did this hike and am not really discouraging anyone from taking it, just make sure you know what you're getting into. As always wear good hiking shoes, and bring lots of water.
At noon, we arrived here. The total hiking round trip is 4.2 miles to Double O. The start is easy until Landscape Arch--flat with sandy part nears to landscape. After Landscape Arch, trail gets much more difficult--go up and down narrow Rock ridge. Due to time limit, I don't walk down under the Arch. I really enjoyed surrounding of hiking trail--definitely worth the effort.
Long hike, take plenty of water. Really enjoyed traveling over the fins area. Less people back in this area after Landscape Arch. Makes for a great day, nice and quiet back in there. Double O isn't huge but the hike is awesome none the less. Pit toilet at trailhead.
We did this trail on the recommendation of the ranger. We had wanted to do the Fiery Furnace but it was fully booked, however Ali informed us that the Devils Garden Campground had been kept open for one extra day only after being opened for Memorial Weekend and that it involved similar rock scrabbling.
We hit the trail at 1pm and it was very hot. We normally go on trails early in the morning, but this was a great opportunity and we took it.
Trail to Landscape Arch was a lovely start to the whole trek and the arch itself is amazing. Take the short side trail to get even closer!
Trail on to Double O from there involves immediate scrambling up a fin rock (hard but fun) and is a strenuous trail throughout but being on top of a fin rock at the top is amazing and the arch itself is a great reward. Do go down and get right up underneath it!
Taking in the side trails to the other arches on the way back is also worth it.
4 hours, 11,000 steps, tiring but so worth it.
My husband and I are in our early 30's and athletic. I am a gymnast and very active, but I'm not a natural rock climber/hiker. I was surprised at the amount of climbing up huge rocks that was required, and it wasn't as easy for me as it was for my husband.
I say that to prepare people for the terrain. Definitely wear hiking boots, bring a backpack full of water, and a hat would be good to protect yourself from the sun.
All that said, the views are great and it's definitely worth the hike! Just come prepared.