On our trip out west Corona Arch in Utah turned into a must-see stop once my wife saw a video. That is the power of inspiration, when you see someone out living their life it can be an open invitation for you to also get out and make the most of the life you are given. I was all prepared for our trip to Arches National Park but the Corona Arch Trail exists outside of the park and I honestly didn’t know what to expect fully. What we found was a delightful desert detour from our mission to see all of the national parks in Utah.

Moab was the coolest little town that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Surrounded by vast wilderness it seems like a breath of fresh air to see civilization again. Once we fully explored Arches it was time to head down the road to Corona Arch. The drive was beautiful with an unfathomably large rock wall to our right and the river to our left. However, the drive was only the start of the journey.

In contrast to the busy national park down the road, the trailhead only had a few cars in the parking lot. After ascending a quick set of switchbacks we already were about eighty feet above the start of the trail. That was when we came up to our first obstacle, the train tracks. I had to stop for a minute and marvel at the pass where they blasted out the red rock to make way for the train. This is also an active track so there were signs that told us to cross quickly, so we passed the opening in the fence and continued on.

The only amount of shade we found on the trail was during this first section after the tracks. It was now later in the day and we were learning that the desert sun was no joke. The trail proceeded like many other hiking trails in Utah that we have already seen. We followed sections of sand and rock watching carefully for the trail markers. Which was not an easy feat when most of it looked exactly the same.

Once you get close to the towering rock walls and round the corner that was where we found the best part of the trail. A short section that goes right up a slick rock has chains in the ground that you have to use to guide you up the steep incline. Make no mistake this isn’t anything like Angels Landing but in a small way made us feel like we were more adventurous for accomplishing it. Directly after that, we had to climb a ladder to the next spot on the rocks.

With a great view of the arch in front of us, we decided that it was a good time to take a break. Finding the shade our girls smiled with delight and pride after the daring section of the trail they had just completed. Water was consumed to replenish but it was later in the day and we had already hiked miles that day before we even arrived at the trailhead for Corona Arch.

So we decided to turn around there. We had seen the arch and the only thing I wanted to do was to get a picture under the tall arch but it was best to save it so we had enough energy to get back. The desert sun had zapped our energy but this trail was phenomenal! I was excited enough to just run on those endorphins alone. We trudged back through the desert, not unlike those scenes in the movies where the character has been traveling through sand in the hot sun and looks like they could collapse. Adventuring isn’t always pretty but that day we lived our life to the fullest and for that we have an experience we will never forget.

Corona Arch in Utah was a surprise hidden gem that we found only minutes from Arches National Park. What a cool find in a state that is absolutely filled with mesmerizing and incredible trails. I would recommend getting the AllTrails+ app and downloading the map for Corona Arch, we used that multiple times to assure we were still on the trail. That same day another trail we accomplished earlier was the famous Delicate Arch! Make sure to also check that out, also if you want to see our full journey to Corona Arch then check out our Adventuring in the Moment video.