Utah

As most people are well aware at this point, the vast majority of the parks within the national park system are closed due to the government shutdown. A few states have worked with the government and they have decided to reopened a few parks with state funds. It’s important to note that just because a state has decided to reopen some parks within their state, that doesn’t mean that all of the national parks sites within their state are open. The number of sites open is still only a small percentage of the 401 sites that make up the national park system. Below is the current list of sites that are currently open, along with the dates that they are scheduled to remain open:

Arizona

Grand Canyon National Park (currently scheduled to be open from October 12 to 18)

Colorado

Rocky Mountain National Park (currently scheduled to be open from October 11 to 20)

New York

Statue of Liberty National Monument (currently scheduled to be open from October 12 to 18)

North Carolina / Tennessee

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (currently scheduled to be open from October 16 to 20)

South Dakota

Mount Rushmore National Memorial (currently scheduled to be open from October 14 to 23)

All Utah parks are currently scheduled to be open from October 11 – 20

Arches National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Capitol Reef National Park
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Natural Bridges National Monument
Zion National Park

Pine Tree Arch is an arch at the end of a side trail off the Devils Garden trail at Arches National Park. This side trail leads to both Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch. Pine Tree Arch is to the left where the side trail splits, and is around a bend so can’t be readily seen. It’s a relatively short and level walk to the arch from the split (the somewhat steep hill comes before the split) so it’s definitely worth going to if you have already made it to Tunnel Arch.

As would be expected, Pine Tree Arch has a pine tree in the middle of the arch as well as in various places around it. It’s a much larger arch than Tunnel Arch and you can walk under and through it unlike at Tunnel Arch:

pine tree arch devils garden Arches National Park

While it really doesn’t make sense not to visit both arches once you have visited one since they are so close together, I happen to think that Pine Tree Arch is the nicer of the two. Because of its size and location to the trail, it gives an opportunity for a wider variety of photos.

Tag: Utah

List of National Parks that are Open During the Shutdown