Moonshine Arch Trail

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5 years ago

Moonshine Arch Trail

Drive time from Vernal, Utah: 15 Minutes
Distance from Vernal: 8.1 Miles
Trail Length: 2.4 Miles
Gain in Elevation: 104 Ft
Difficulty: Easy
Duration: 1.5 Hours (including photography time)

Moonshine Arch Trail is a quick and easy hike north of Vernal, Utah. It's great for beginners and the size of the arch is bigger than expected. It's a taste of Arches National Park without the crowds or costs.

It’s 15 minutes North of Vernal, Utah, an 8.1-mile drive. Begin the drive from Cobble Rock Park, which is downtown Vernal, on the corner of Main Street AKA Highway 40. Head north on Vernal Avenue, which is also Highway 191. This will take you towards Flaming Gorge, and Rock Springs, Wyoming. Along the way is Steinaker Reservoir and camp ground. Keep going past the turn off for the lake, Moonshine arch is the next left, N 250 E. The turn off looks like this.

Don't worry, I've got you. Click HERE for Google-map directions.

I went in the afternoon to catch these storm clouds but it's not usually this dark and mysterious.

You should see this mail box.

You’ll drive along a dirt road, through a gate and cattle guard, take the first left onto Molly’s Nipple.

Yup, that’s not a typo, they really did name it that.

There will be a few turns offs but keep going straight, and don’t get discouraged if you see this sign.

Stay to the left and continue down the road. If you see this gate you took a wrong turn.

This is the gate you’ll want when the road ends. Park here, and walk through the gate.

There are a lot of off-road vehicle trails here, stay along the path and when you come to the first road where you can go either left or right, stay left. The right will lead you to another private property fence.

The road will take you down to this sign. Turn right.

You thought I was going to say left, didn’t you?

No worries, there’s another Y and here you’ll go left. Sometimes there are stacked stones to guide you but people tip them over.

The trail will look a lot like this.

Keep this view to your right.

/\ And this view to your left and you’ll stay on track.

This is the first view of the Arch.

Moonshine arch is a fun location to crawl around. The embankment is a little steep but there's an eroded window in the side that’s neat and the view from the top is a great shot of the arch. Helpful tip: watch where the pebbles land, the dirt will cling to the rough spots, there's usually enough traction to keep from slipping and sliding, or in my case, failing and dying.

You can get to the top of the arch by climbing in between the cliff and the arch. If there’s ice, I don’t recommend making the climb.