Moab, Utah is renowned for its unique sandstone formations and for its national parks, like the aptly named Arches. But it turns out that one of Moab’s most spectacular arches is not in a national park at all. Corona Arch, which sits on Bureau of Land Management land east of Moab, stands at a whopping 105 feet tall with a 140 foot opening at its base. If you want to stand underneath this spectacular natural feature for yourself, here’s everything you need to know about the Corona Arch Trail.
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About the Corona Arch Trail
- Length: 2.3 miles
- Elevation gain: 462 feet
- Difficulty: Easy to moderate
- Dog friendly? Yes, you can bring your furry best friend along but they must stay on a leash. Additionally, it’s worth noting that there’s one steep section that uses chains and another section with a ladder—so, unless you have a small dog that you can put in a carrier or have a pup that’s decent at technical climbing for these sections, I probably wouldn’t recommend it.
- Trail map
How to Get to the Corona Arch Trail
The Corona Arch Trail is located here about 40 minutes east of Moab, Utah. Like most places in Moab, you’ll either need your own vehicle or a rental car to get here—there isn’t any public transportation that you can take here.
The road you’ll take to get to the trailhead, Potash Road, is well-maintained and BEAUTIFUL—I’d highly recommend stopping the Potash Road Dinosaur Tracks and Roadside Petroglyphs on your way back from the hike.
There’s a large gravel lot that holds about 60 cars near the trailhead, but, given the trail’s popularity, it frequently fills up later in the morning, especially during busier periods, like weekends during spring or fall. There’s also an overflow lot across the street that holds another 60 or so cars. Still, I’d recommend arriving on the earlier side to ensure you can snag a spot.
There’s pit toilets in the parking lot, but I’d suggest maybe hitting the bathroom before heading to the trailhead—they were some of the worst smelling toilets I’ve ever encountered, which is saying a LOT!
What to Expect Along the Corona Arch Trail
From the trailhead, you’ll hike up a steep gravel pathway before hitting railroad tracks that cut through Bootlegger Canyon. There are trains that actively use this track to transport potash from a nearby mine, so be sure to look both ways before crossing and keep a close eye on kiddos or dogs here!
The trail eventually turns to slickrock and the elevation gain becomes a bit more gradual. There’s no defined footpath here, but, luckily, there’s cairns and green markers along the pathway to mark the correct route.
My husband, Justin, and I, along with some friends, hiked this trail in the dark to see sunrise and it was a bit challenging to see these markers—so you may want to consider downloading the trail map on AllTrails ahead of time to help you find your way if you’re planning on hiking any portion of the Corona Arch Trail in the dark (and don’t forget your headlamp!).
You’ll eventually run into the “technical” sections of the trail. The first of these sections has a cable bolted into the rock to help you ascend a steep slick rock incline. The cable is strung pretty low against the rocks, so it makes using it for the climb a bit uncomfortable.
And to be honest, I’m not sure that the chain is really even necessary—from our experience, most hikers should be able to scramble up this section unassisted. But I think it’s actually kind of fun to use chains or ropes on hikes—it’s like you’re on a proper adventure!
At the top of this climb, you’ll get your first glimpse of the Corona Arch off in the distance to your right.
Shortly after this section, you’ll run into a small cliff that you can climb up with a short ladder. If you’re hiking with a dog, there’s a steep incline to the left of the ladder that most four-legged friends should be able to make it up.
From here, the incline gets a bit steeper as you make your way to the base of the arch. Once you’ve made it a mile into the trail (just 0.1 miles away from Corona Arch!), Bowtie Arch will be on your left hand side.
While not as impressive as Corona, Bowtie is still worth a stop, with a bowl-like opening at the top of a tall sandstone cliff. There’s a little ledge below Bowtie Arch that you can scramble up for a closer look, but be careful—the ledge has a super steep incline and it would be easy to slip off and hurt yourself. I almost did!
Once you’ve gotten your fill of Bowtie, make the final push to Corona Arch—it’s SO impressive to stand at its base and crane your head upwards to take in the structure. It’s truly massive!
Don’t miss the cute little face to the right of the Corona Arch!
Pssst... if you want to get an extra cool perspective, consider going on this sunset helicopter tour, where you'll fly over Canyonlands National Park AND some stunning rock formations outside of the park, including Corona Arch.
When to Hike the Corona Arch Trail
Great news—the Corona Arch Trail can be hiked year round!
However, given how hot Moab can get in the summer months (June through September), the best time to hike it is in the springtime and the fall, when the temperature is pleasantly warm and the skies are clear.
If you do hike the trail in the warmer months, be sure to start early or late to avoid the midday heat and bring plenty of water (we both carry one of these comically enormous Nalgene bottles with us on every hike we go on). Even though the trail is short, it gets HOT in Moab (regularly over 100 degrees!) and it feels like the sandstone just kind of sucks up the heat. We’ve visited Moab on a number of occasions and it was still brutally hot in the middle of October!
Winter in Utah can get downright chilly, especially at Moab’s higher elevation, with highs in the upper 40s and dipping below freezing. It’s not uncommon for there to be snow and ice along the trail during this timeframe and, considering the trail is mostly on slickrock, I’d strongly recommend bringing along crampons in case you encounter any slippery sections.
Tips for the Corona Arch Trail
You can add on the Pinto Arch
If you want to see even more arches on the trail, you can add on the side trail to the Pinto Arch, a circular hole that has been eroded high into the red sandstone cliffside.
The turnoff for this addition is about 0.5 miles into the Corona Arch Trail and will add about a mile round trip to your hike and an extra 200 feet of elevation gain. It’s well worth it, though—it’s hard to find a more bang-for-your-buck trail in Moab than three arches in just three miles!
Wear proper hiking shoes
Most of the hike is on slickrock, which, true to its name, can be kind of slippery in some areas. Accordingly, I’d highly recommend wearing proper hiking boots on the trail. Justin has had these boots for years and LOVES them and I swear by this pair.
Bring proper sun protection
There’s limited shade along the trail and the Moab sun is INTENSE, y’all! So be sure to bring along sun protection, like sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat.
We hope you love the Corona Arch Trail as much as we did—it’s seriously one of our favorite hikes in Moab! Do you have any questions about this trail? Let us know in the comments below!
