Eye of the Whale Arch Trail

Eye of the Whale Arch Trail is an easy 0.4-mile out-and-back from the trailhead parking to the arch and back. Set aside about 30 minutes. The arch is visible from the unpaved parking area. The footpath crosses a wash, then climbs onto open slickrock; watch for cairns where the tread fades. Pass beneath the arch and look back from the southwest side of the bowl for its whale-eye profile.

The trailhead is at the end of West Valley Jeep Road, reached from Willow Flats Road. Arches requires a true four-wheel-drive SUV or truck with at least eight inches of ground clearance on this backcountry road; all-wheel drive does not meet the rule. The narrow, unmaintained track can be rough, and reports of what different vehicles can manage conflict. Check current park access information before driving. Walking from the road junction adds roughly two miles each way before the short trail, turning this into a several-mile outing. There is no water or other facility at the trailhead. Pets are not allowed on park hiking trails.

The arch sits at the southeast end of a reef-like sandstone fin. Walk through its low opening and the view opens onto a bowl of slickrock and the less-developed Herdina Park landscape beyond. A longer, off-trail route into Whale Canyon starts here, but it involves scrambling and is a separate outing; this mapped hike turns back at the arch. Willow Flats Road served as Arches' official entrance from the 1930s until 1958.