Park Avenue Trail Hike Arches National Park

To the left of the Park Avenue Viewpoint at Arches National Park there is a medium steep trail that is the beginning of the Park Avenue trail hike.

Park Avenue trail steps leading to bottom of canyon Arches National Park

Even if you aren’t really into hiking, it’s worthwhile to hike down the trail steps to the bottom if you are physically able. While the steps are a little steep, you get an entirely new (and gorgeous) view of Park Avenue from the bottom compared to the viewpoint at the top.

view of Park Avenue from trail at bottom at Arches National Park

If you do enjoy hiking, the Park Avenue trail hike is 1 mile each way and has beautiful scenery. If you are in a group with some who like to hike and others that don’t, there’s a hiker pick-up at The Organ at the end of the the trail so some can drive while others hike (or you can turn around making the hike 2 miles round trip)

Park Avenue trail end pick-up sign at Arches National park

Once down the steps, much of the trail is along a dry riverbed and across amazing water worn sandstone:

Park Avenue trail water worn sandstone at Arches National Park

A lot of people skip this hike at Arches National Park as they head to more popular areas of the park. I found it to be the least crowded trail I hiked at Arches which gave me some solitude which was difficult to find on other trails in the park. Being as short as it is, I would definitely make an effort to hike it if you have the time.

More Park Avenue trail photos

Park Avenue Viewpoint Arches National Park

The first major stopping area once you have entered Arches National Park is at Park Avenue. There is a short walk to the Park Avenue viewpoint (accessible to all) which gives a spectacular view that you don’t want to miss. While other areas of Arches National Park are more famous, I found this to be one of my favorite spots. The view gives you a wide enough perspective to take in a number of large formations, but the valley limits what you can see so it’s not overwhelming. I also found that because there are no major arches along Park Avenue, it’s less crowded than other areas of the park:

Park Avenue at Arches National Park, Utah

view from Park Avenue Viewpoint down canyon at Arches

The information sign at park Avenue viewpoint gives the following information:

The sheer walls of this narrow canyon reminded early visitors of buildings lining a big city street. Rising majestically, these geological “skyscrapers” tell the story of three important rock layers.

These layers began forming more than 150 million years ago as tidal flats, desert, and beach deposits. Over time, more layers of rock, perhaps a mile thick, covered these deposits. Tremendous pressure from this rock compressed the buried sand into sandstone and cracked it. As erosion removed the overlying rock, the layers now exposed began to weather.

Within the past two million years, erosion of the cracks in the Entrada has left vertical slabs like the rock wall to your right. These slabs, called fins, are the first step in arch formation.

Here is a beautiful night sky timelapse video taken at Park Avenue viewpoint: