Double Arch Viewpoint and Trail

Double Arch Viewpoint and Trail is an easy 0.6-mile out-and-back from the lower parking loop in The Windows Section. Allow 15–30 minutes for the walk itself. A gently sloping gravel path leads to the base of two giant spans joined at one end, and you can see the formation soon after leaving the lot. Choose this one if you want to get close to Double Arch without giving up half a day.

The approach is mostly firm, hard-packed gravel, turning sandy near the arch. The published access profile gives a typical grade of 5% and a maximum of 14%; it describes the route as barrier-free but says a wheelchair may need assistance, especially near the sandy end. The total elevation change is about 30 feet.

Double Arch is one of the park's signature formations: two broad sandstone spans joined at one end. The park describes it as its tallest arch, at 112 feet, and second-longest, at 144 feet. Look up from the base to see both openings cross the sky; there is no need to climb for the defining view.

Start at the lower Double Arch parking loop, not the upper Windows trailhead; the connector across the road climbs stairs and is a separate route. Parking is busy much of the day. The whole Windows Section lot has 92 spaces, but there is no separate count for the lower loop. Vault toilets are available in the section, and there is no drinking water at the trailhead. Dogs are prohibited except service animals. Do not climb, scramble, walk, or stand on the arches themselves; scrambling on the rock below can be harder to reverse than it is to climb up.