Hike to Corona Arch and Bowtie Arch

Aug 2

The hike to Bowtie and Corona Arch is beautiful less trafficked hike outside of Arches National Park near the city of Moab. This trail will take you through sand and across sliderock to two distinct arches, small coves cut from sandstone, and blooming cacti.

Hiking Info

Trailhead location: Coastal Trail Parking Lot
Nature Trail: 2.4 Mile Out & Back Trail
Rated: Moderate
Elevation change: 482 feet
There is a parking lot at the trailhead with free parking, no park permits necessary, this is outside of Arches National Park
Bathrooms at trailhead
Dogs are allowed (This is nice because dogs aren’t allowed in Arches National Park)

The hike

Start this hike at the railhead on the right side of the parking lot. You’ll climb then cross some railroad tracks. These tracks run back to the Intrepid Potash Inc. Mine. Potash is a potassium-rich salt that is mined from underground deposits formed from evaporated sea beds millions of years ago.

After the track you’ll head north along a sandy trail, and then across some slick rocks. Looks out for rock cairns to guide you along the way. Rock cairns are rocks stacks that help mark a trail, especially when the trail is across rock and hard to carve out or make obvious.

When we went here in May, there were quite a few cactus blooms along this part of the trail.

There comes a point where you can turn left to head to Pinto Arch (about 1.2 miles out and back, or continue to Bowtie and Corona Arch to the right. We skipped Pinto, but if you have the energy do it! All of the arches are so unique and amazing!

As you follow the trail along the rock Corona Arch comes into view. Do you see it on the right side of the frame below? There are other cool features to look at like this small opening in the rocks that I climbed into.

Keep walking along the rock until you see the safety cables. If you’re afraid of heights or aren’t very sure footed you might want to stop here. If not, continue onward and up the cables for about a 20 foot climb.

Next you’ll climb a short ladder up as you start getting closer to Bowtie Arch. Below on the right is a side view of this interesting rock formation.

Bowtie Arch arch formed when a pothole above filled with water and eroded down into a cave below. It looks more like a skylight than an arch, but it’s a really stunning geographic feature along this hike.

Corona Arch opening measures 140 feet across by 105 feet high, and is made up of Navajo sandstone. If you can spot me in the image below it will give you an idea of the scale of this arch. It’s pretty massive!

This hike was a stunner. It’s outside the National Park, but what’s nice about that is we only saw a few people on the trail and mostly had the trail to ourselves.

Know of any other good hikes near Moab? Please leave them in the comments below.

Looking for some cute hiking clothing? My favorite hiking clothes are from Vuori. They are super soft, quick dry and comfortable.