Broken Arch

Broken Arch is a red-sandstone arch reached across open grassland from the Sand Dune Arch parking area. The easy out-and-back is 1.2 miles round trip, takes about 30 to 60 minutes, and gains just 59 feet. You can walk beneath the opening. It’s a good short stop if you want a quieter-feeling walk among the park’s rock formations; the meadow is exposed, so bring water.

The out-and-back is the straightforward choice. A 2.3-mile loop continues beneath the arch to the campground and returns over a section with moderate scrambling. Visitors say the loop can be harder to follow than the easy approach, so turn back the way you came if you’d rather avoid route-finding and scrambling. The trail isn’t wheelchair accessible, and dogs aren’t allowed.

Despite its name, the arch is still intact. The National Park Service describes it as a stone arch that isn’t actually broken—yet. That fits the wider story of Arches: about 65 million years ago, the rising region and deep salt layers warped and cracked buried sandstone. Water and freeze-thaw weathering gradually widen fractures into fins and openings. That’s the park-wide process, not a specific age or formation history for this arch.

The open grassland makes a pleasant approach, and the park service notes that quiet grassland trails can be good places to notice wildlife. Many desert animals are well camouflaged; stop quietly for a few minutes and watch the edges of the grass and shrubs instead of expecting wildlife to appear on cue.

After walking through the arch, turn north for a framed view back through it. That angle has been recommended by visitors and makes the opening part of the landscape rather than just a close-up of the stone.