February 2-3, 2023

By Tim Briese

2.4 miles, 400’ elevation gain, 1:45 roundtrip time

After our big adventure of hiking to the Wave, Teresa and I headed for home via Moab, Utah. Along the way we stopped at Monument Valley in the Navajo Nation on the Arizona/Utah border. That afternoon we drove the scenic dirt loop road through the famous valley.

some photos from monument valley

That night we stayed at the spectacular View Hotel that the Navajos have built overlooking the valley.  We had a prime view room on the upper floor and we spent several magnificent hours watching the majestic view of the late day sun and dusk on the monuments from our room’s patio, and again the early light and sunrise the next morning.

the view from our room at the view hotel

a room with a view

the next morning

That morning we headed to Moab to do another hike. It was rather chilly and there was a fair amount of snow on shaded slopes so we elected to do the sunny hike to Corona Arch in a side canyon above the Colorado River southwest of town. We had done this hike several years ago, in 2006, and knew it was a good one. Corona Arch is a splendid symmetrical arch resembling the famous Rainbow Bridge, and is as nice as any of the arches in nearby Arches National Park. We drove about ten miles down scenic UT 279 in the canyon along the Colorado River and arrived at the signed trailhead. This is a popular hike but there were only four other vehicles there today. We embarked up the well-worn trail across sand and slickrock.

on the trail to corona arch

We were soon overtaken by a young fellow from Minnesota with his dog. After a while the route went up a steep section of rock with a chained rail for assistance, then soon after up a short ladder.

Corona Arch was visible to the east as we circled around on a broad ledge.

a view of corona arch as we approached

The route went right past Bowtie Arch in the cliffs above.

bowtie arch

Corona Arch became more and more impressive as we approached.

The arch is 140 feet across and 105 feet high. When we were here many years ago some people were rapelling off of it, and it is also said that a small airplane has flown through it!

teresa is standing under the middle of the arch in this photo, which gives some perspective of its size

We strolled about taking photos for a few minutes and then began to retrace our steps back to the trailhead.

the route crosses the slickrock bench at the right and then circles around to the left center part of the photo

a parting look at corona arch

a scenic view of the colorado river along ut 279 on the way back to moab

We were eager to get back to Moab and enjoy a fabulous Chicken Pomodoro dinner at Pasta Jay’s Restaurant!