Arches Visitor Center Nature Trail

Claret cup cactus blooms in spring

NPS/Annette Jones

Quick Facts

Amenities

3 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Trailhead

Walk a short path behind the visitor center to learn about native desert plants and their traditional uses.

• Roundtrip Distance: 150 feet (45 m) 

• Time: 10 min 

• Elevation Change: 0 ft (0 m) 

• Difficulty: Easy 

• Hike Description: Learn about native desert plants on this short trail behind Arches Visitor Center.  

• Accessibility: This trail is mostly level, with surfaces of paving stone, cement, or dirt.  

• Dogs are not allowed on this trail. Service animals are allowed in national parks. What is a service animal? 

Many visitors are surprised at the amount of vegetation in Arches. Plants are critical components of all ecosystems, and Arches is no exception. Plants capture particulate dust in the air, filter gaseous pollutants, convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, provide animal habitat, and possess many raw materials useful to humans.
Diverse plant communities thrive in patches of biological soil crust, while others seem to grow right out of cracks in the rock. Many adaptations enable desert plants to survive the extremes of temperature and aridity found in Arches.