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Hike to Utah's Corona Arch
Looking to avoid the lines and crowds that Arches National Park tends to have or just interested in standing underneath one of Moab's tallest arches? If so, lace up your boots and head out on the Corona & Bowtie Arch Trail, an awesome 2.8 mile out-and-back with some seriously killer views. No entrance fees, no timed entry, and best of all rarely any crowds. The highlight of the hike is the impressive 105' tall, 140' wide Navajo sandstone Corona Arch, but the entire trail is great.
Trailhead elevation 3,990'
Water None
Don't miss Bowtie Arch, Pinto Arch, the view from the far side of the arch
Hiking to Corona Arch
The trailhead is located on Bureau of Land Management land, about twenty minutes from downtown Moab and less than that from the gate at Arches National Park. There's a large parking area and pit toilets that you'll smell a mile away. After a brief ascent to start the hike you'll cross over railroad tracks, hang a right up Bootlegger Canyon, and tackle another minor ascent.
After that it's slickrock the rest of the way. Rock cairns help point you in the right direction, but it's fairly straightforward. At about a half mile into the hike you'll encounter a signed spur trail to the left leading to a pothole arch known as Pinto Arch. Taking the spur will add on roughly 1.2 miles round trip.
Back on the main trail you'll gradually gain elevation before a short but steep ascent up a series of easy-going Moki steps. Chains have been placed along this section to help with the climb up. After that there's a small metal ladder bolted to the sandstone to climb up. Once you clear the ladder you'll have a view of both Bowtie and Corona Arches from a distance. The photo below is what you can expect to see.
From here it's an easy walk to the arches. You'll first pass by Bowtie and then a few hundred feet later, Corona.
Since there's no way to get to the top of Bowtie from here, we flew one of our drones up through it to get a look at the top of it. To get a feel of how tall this one is, the two black dots at the bottom of the arch to the left of the bush are my dad and I.
In our opinion the best view of Corona Arch is from the far side, meaning pass through the arch and look back. The photo below is what you can expect to see. If you're interested in hiking out to Corona for sunset this is the side of the arch you'll want to be on. The sun sets behind the cliffs in the background and a little to the right of the arch.
That's pretty much it in a nutshell. With it being an out-and-back trail, simply return the way you came when you're done exploring the area. You'll likely find "no rope swinging" signs during your hike. These were placed along the trail after quite a few people published photos and videos of themselves swinging from ropes attached to the top of the arch. In 2013, a 22 year-old Utah man incorrectly measured his rope, jumped off the arch, and fell to his death. In 2017, the Bureau of Land Management permanently banned rope swinging at Corona Arch. We don't like ending on a bad note, so if you're hungry after your hike consider dining at Antica Forma in Moab. Lights out bruschetta and damn good pizza.
Have a blast, be safe, and enjoy one of the coolest Arches in Utah!
