Moab Utah Maps: Arches National Park

Arches National Park Map – a full color, two sided topographic map from Trails Illustrated, National Geographic. Natural arches of all shapes and sizes, in famous red rock country, Indian Rock Art Petroglyphs. Hiking trails, picnic areas and campgrounds are featured on this map, as well as all paved roads and dirt roads.

Summer is not the time to visit this terrain, due to excess heat during June, July and August.

Although the National Park’s terrain may appear rugged and durable, it is extremely fragile. More than one million visitors each year threaten the fragile high-desert ecosystem. The problem lies within the soil’s crust, which is composed of cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, and lichens that grow in the dusty parts of the park. Factors that make Arches National Park sensitive to visitor damage include being a semiarid region, the scarce, unpredictable rainfall, lack of deep freezing, and lack of plant litter, which results in soils that have both a low resistance to, and slow recovery from, compressional forces such as foot traffic.

Climbing Balanced Rock or any named or unnamed arch in Arches National Park with an opening larger than 3 feet is banned by park regulations. Climbing on other features in the park is allowed, but regulated; in addition, slack-lining and base jumping are banned park wide.

Climbing on named arches within the park had long been banned by park regulations, but following a successful free climb on Delicate Arch in May 2006, the wording of the regulations was deemed unenforceable by the park attorney. In response, the park revised its regulations later that month, eventually imposing the current ban on arch climbing in 2014.

Approved recreational activities include auto touring, hiking, bicycling, camping at the Devils Garden campground, backpacking, canyoneering, and rock climbing, with permits required for the last three activities. Astronomy is also popular in the park due to its dark skies, despite the increasing light pollution from towns such as Moab

see also –

Canyonlands National Park Map
Utah Maps