USA South Window Arch

Arches National Park is home to more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches. In addition to arches, the monoliths, fins, hoodoos, and petrified sand dunes are subjects of endless photo compositions. I like the contrasts with the bright colored sandstone with the snow during the winter.

The “Windows” area of Arches National Park includes North, South, and Turret arches. The arches are relatively close to each other, are all very dramatic and photogenic and are easy to access. For these reasons, this is a highly popular area that gets very high visitation. Getting there at or near sunrise is advisable to avoid the throngs of visitors and works well for photography. Be sure to walk under the arch to the northeast side to get a different perspective than what you’ll see from the trail. If you travel clockwise on the loop trail, you’ll get to North Window arch first, then South Window via the short “Primitive Loop” trail, then Turret arch.

From the arches National Park entrance, drive 9.3 miles to Windows Road. Turn right and drive 2.3 miles to the Windows Trailhead Parking Lot. It’s an easy 1/4 mile walk from the Parking lot to get to the base of the arch.