Delicate Arch Access Closure (Temporary)

The road and trail to Delicate Arch have been closed "indefinitely" due to flood damage. Several areas of the road have either washed out or are buried under a few feet of mud and debris. The trail is closed due to potential flood damage to the bridge near the trailhead.

Apparently, the NPS has only one road crew for all parks in SE Utah and they are busy repairing roads in Canyonlands, Natural Bridges and elsewhere. It could be a while before access to DA is restored, though I suspect such a popular area will rank high on their "to do" list.

I guess everyone will have to go to Mesa Arch instead!

Thanks for infro Bret.

This might work out well, if they open the trail before the road. For a little longer hike, you could have Delicate Arch all to yourself!!

I wouldn't complain about that at all, Bill. Actually, in another month or so one can have DA all to themselves almost any night of the week.

Update: They are aiming to have it open by the end of the week, though it's dumping here again. Who knows!?

Thanks for the heads up. I'd been thinking of heading up there tomorrow if the weather cleared.

I doubt access will be restored by the end of the week. It's been raining all day and is supposed to rain through tomorrow morning. They closed the entire park at around 3:00 this afternoon due to flooding.

What is this "Delicate Arch" you speak of? Is it a newly discovered feature? Has anyone ever photographed it before?

Todd, it's a mythical arch whose location has long been forgotten after it was burned by a landscape photographer and later desecrated by a rock climber. Foreign tourists claim they still visit it, but their images are obvious photoshopped fakes - none of those sunset colors could be real!