Natural Rock Arches in Zion National Park
Zion National Park has two major Arches and several lesser ones.
Crawford Arch
The most easily accessible arch in the park is Crawford Arch. At the base of Bridge Mountain (named after the Arch) Crawford Arch is a stone bridge suspended almost a thousand feet in the air. Once thought to be a natural bridge, and pointed to by rangers as such for decades, geologists have determined that it is actually an arch.
Kolob Arch
Kolob Arch is in Zion’s backcountry inside a small canyon where it clings like an eagle with its wings spread high on a canyon wall. It may be the second longest arch in the world measuring 287 feet.
More Arches in Zion National Park
Hidden Arch and Jughandle Arch are unusual because they lie, like the handle of a jug, vertically. Hidden Arch is particularly delicate looking as it clings to the side of the mountain. The Skull is a sheer promontory that juts into the sky and is riddled with internal holes. Across the road to the west side of the tunnel on the Zion Mt. Carmel Byway, look for a giant blind arch. Although usually not so large, these kind of blind arches are common.
An arch in the Subway can be swum through and in Fat Man’s Misery, along Parunuweap Canyon, is an arch that has it all: glowing light from above through the slot canyon above a delicate pool.
Other natural arches that can be seen in Zion include Pico Rosado Arch, Two Pines Arch, Checkerboard Arch, and in the slot canyons you can find off-the-beaten-track arches such as Eye of the Needle, Heaps Canyon, Imlay Canyon, Englestead Hollow, Pine Creek Canyon, and Spry Canyon. And way off in the remote backcountry, there’s Hammerhead Arch and Elephant Arch.
Learn more about natural arches
Need a map? Download an official Zion National Park map for basic road and attraction locations. Want a detailed topographical map of trails in the park? Buy the NatGeo Trails Illustrated Map for Zion National Park at REI.com. The map includes trails, trailheads, points of interest, campgrounds, lakes and much more. Or get the complete Utah National Parks Map Pack with five topographic maps. All of the NatGeo maps are printed on waterproof, tear-resistant material.
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