Double O Arch

We’ve written almost every hike in Arches National Park, and almost every one of them is appropriate for well-prepared families. There is one hike, though, that we have waited to do until our youngest was 12 years old. This is because the overall distance runs nearly 6 miles, and it is definitely a moderate to difficult hike. That trail is the Devil’s Garden route to Double O Arch via the Primitive Trail Loop.

Devils Garden

The Devil’s Garden Trail is very well-traveled. It is popular because you can pass a lot of beautiful arches all in one place. Families easily walk past Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch. In fact, we took little ones all the way to Landscape Arch, the largest in the park when they were around 5. From there, you can view Wall Arch and Partition Arch from a distance. However, after the Landscape Arch Overlook, it gets steep and sketchy.

Arches is one of our favorite spots in Utah.

The trail to Landscape Arch is mostly flat and easy.

Devils Garden is found at the end of the Arches National Park road. There is a lot of parking, but at busy times, the parking area can fill up, so we recommend hiking early or later afternoon to avoid parking issues.

It’s another mile to Double O Arch, and a lot of it is a climb over slick rock. This arch is amazing, and worth a visit it you’re up for 4 miles round trip. There are also spur trails to Navajo Arch, Partition Arch, and the Dark Angel, all of which add distance. We chose not to add any of these extra trails on the way out to Double O Arch and it was 2.1 miles from the trailhead to Double O Arch.

The trail is a steady uphill walk over the slick rock and through the sand. There are some beautiful views and this is one of the reasons we really love this trail. The hike is well marked and you can easily make your way out to Double O Arch.

Right after Landscape Arch, you climb up these rocks.

Keep an eye out for the small signs to help with the trail.

Walking along the fins is fun, but may make some people nervous.

Enjoy the views and watch for other arches.

You will want good shoes for walking on the slick rock.

Soon you will arrive where you can see Double O Arch.

You have to hike down to the bottom of the arch. Dark Angel is that tall fin on the left skyline.

The arch is so impressive. It is neat to see the two arches stacked on top of one another, and you can stand right in the bottom one. We also love the views over the red rocks, and out toward Dark Angel.

You can head straight back to the trailhead after enjoying Double O Arch making it 4.2 miles roundtrip (with no side trails). You can also take a slightly longer and more difficult route back around along the Primitive Trail.

Primitive Loop

After we saw Double O Arch, we decided to continue around the primitive loop. We dropped down from the arch for about another half mile, but the trail was easy to follow.

The Primitive Trail starts just below Double O Arch.

We decided to look at Dark Angel from the trail instead of walking over to a tall rock.

We were looking for Private Arch, which was pretty hard to find. There was no sign directing us to this arch, though there was a trail marker showing the main trail. To find Primitive Arch, you’ll need to find a distance marker. This sign shows 2.4 miles back to the trailhead, or 2.6 miles around the primitive loop (picture below). Though it doesn’t say so, this is the turnoff for Private Arch. Climb directly behind this sign and the trail becomes more obvious. It was about 0.2 out to Private Arch, and 0.2 back, so it adds 0.4 to the total distance.

Once you see this sign, climb up behind it.

The Private Arch trail goes uphill behind the sign.

Then follow along the slick rock to the arch.

There is a sign so you know you made it!

The trail is a bit treacherous and difficult to find as you head back to the main trail, which connects back near Landscape Arch. There is a little bit of climbing on the slick rock, and it is easy to lose the trail. Make sure to have a good map with you so you do not get lost. The primitive trail drops for most of the distance, and then levels out in the creek bed. Finally, there is a significant climb back to the main trail. This climb is not steep, but it is steady and long. Soon you will see Landscape Arch. Then the trail joins back on the main trail. This route makes the entire trip from the car back to the car, almost 6 miles.

The Primitive Trail walks through these fins.

It can be tricky to hike along the slick rock.

There is also some weaving through trees and sand.

There are trail signs, so make sure to watch for them so you don’t get los.

I enjoyed all the Fall colors along this trail in early November.

This is one of the trickiest places because you have to scramble along the edge, so you don’t fall in.

The trail leaves the wash and heads up for the last part of the hike.

This was my least favorite part of the trail because it was a bit uphill in the sand. A double whammy!

Soon you will see Landscape Arch, and then you have 1.0 mile back to the car.

Though the trail definitely had some steep spots, and there were a few edges on the slickrock that could be dangerous, we were not really challenged by the terrain. All of our boys did great (our youngest is 12). We were grateful for our adidas hiking shoes. They give us great traction on the sandy, slick rock. There are a lot of choices, and many are shoes under $100, which make it affordable for families.

Randy and I wear our adidas hiking shoes all over.
He likes to choose from the Under $100 menu!

Hike Information

We recommend hiking the Double O Arch trail in the direction that we hiked (clockwise). Coming up the Primitive Loop first would be more challenging, and trickier to find the trail. Also, if you hike to Double O arch along the main trail, and then decide that was enough adventure, you can easily turn around and just walk back the way you came instead of continuing on the Primitive Loop.

Check out more details about the trails leading up to Landscape arch, but here are the distances to different arches along the trail out to Double O Arch.

Landscape Arch: 0.9 mile to the arch (1.8 RT): easy
Double O Arch: 2.1 miles to arch (4.2 RT): moderate
Partition Arch: 0.2 mile (0.4 RT) side trail between Landscape and Double O.
Navajo Arch: 0.3 mile (0.6 RT) side trail between Landscape and Double O
Partition and Navajo start on the same side trail, so if you do both, it is about 0.8 miles added to the trail.
Dark Angel: 0.5 mile (1.0 mile RT) side trail. You can see Dark Angel from the trail without hiking out.
Private Arch: 0.25 mile (0.5 RT) side trail along Primitive Trail after Landscape Arch.
Primitive Loop to Double O Arch and back: 5.95 miles RT.