Jeep Arch resides in the picturesque and somewhat hidden Culvert Canyon just outside of Moab, UT. Just head west down Potash Road along the Colorado River for about 10.2 miles to a pull-off on the right side of the road near a large culvert/tunnel. The trail sign isn’t very discernable from the road, but it’s 0.3 miles from the prominent Corona Arch parking area.
The Jeep-shaped arch is situated in a large sandstone cul-de-sac about 2 miles from the road.
Roundtrip Hiking Specs – Distance 4.22 miles and Ascent/Descent 1130 ft
Park the car and walk northward and head into the large culvert that goes underneath the railroad tracks, where the trail makes a sharp left bend by the wash and switchbacks up onto the canyons upper ledge system. If you headed straight up the wash, there appears to be a swimming hole, though we did not venture up that direction.
From here on until you get to a printed loop sign the trail follows a cairned path on a variety of terrain, including slick rock, broken ledges, and sandy soil sections. You’re mostly walking along the slick rock, and sometimes you have to climb up and down ledges and stairs. The trail is poorly marked, and the cairns seem to disappear and reappear as you wander around, so watch your surroundings and stay off the black Biological Soil Crust, which is primarily cyanobacteria, but can contain lichen, mosses, green algae, microfungi, and bacteria.
It’s a very scenic canyon and very quiet since it sees very little traffic.
Up higher you get an excellent view of the La Sal mountain off in the distance.
You’ll come upon a couple of impressive looking sandstone spires during the hike.
After about a mile or so of gradual climbing, you’ll come upon a sign simply stating “LOOP.” Take a left turn, and the trail starts a steep section of scrambling to get you to the final ledge of the arch itself.
It does some additional wandering on an upper sandy bench until you can finally see the Jeep Arch.
On the left side of the arch is a small ramp you can walk up to get directly inside the span itself.
It was cool standing on the airy bench of the arch.
Once you’re done, scramble down the other side of the arch and follow the obscure cairns once again, though the beginning portion follows an easier to discern dirt trail. After you reach the “LOOP” sign, retrace the path back to the trailhead. I was certainly glad we did the hike in May and late in the afternoon since it would be oppressively hot since the trail has almost no shady areas to hide from the brutal sun.
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