I Hiked to Colorado’s Hidden Arches
An early spring hike up Rattlesnake Canyon from the Colorado River. This trail is only accessible from the river via the Rattlesnake Camp while floating the Ruby Horsethief Canyons section of the river. The camp is about 3 miles downriver from the Loma boat ramp. A permit is required to float this 25 mile section.
The trail in the canyon is about 2 miles each way. This includes gaining the top of the canyon and having an amazing view of the surrounding area. It's about another 1/4 mile up to link to the Canyon Arches trail. And then another mile each way to go to the end of the lower arches trail at Cedar Tree arch; the largest spanning arch in the Rattlesnake Arches.
Approximately 7.5 miles round trip and 1100 feet elevation gain.
Alltrails lists this as hard, mainly because of the last mile, which is steep and somewhat exposed. The lower first mile in from the river is a really beautiful and easy hike.
This video ends as I reach the junction with the arches trail.
Rattlesnake Arches, located in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area near Grand Junction, Colorado, features the second-largest concentration of natural arches in the US. The canyon contains 35 natural arches, with 8 major arches that can be visited.
Watch the Hiking the Rattlesnake Arches Trail video.
• Colorado's Hidden Arch Wonderland: The Sec...