Fiery Furnace Loop

Fiery Furnace Loop is an approximately 1.2-mile counterclockwise circuit through the narrow sandstone fins of Arches National Park. Low arches, tight corridors, boulder scrambling and dead ends make it a three-hour outing, not a quick stroll. The challenge is moving through broken rock while keeping the marked route; first-time visitors should take a ranger-led hike or go with someone experienced. This distance follows the mapped loop and leaves out unmarked exploring and backtracking.

Small arrows mark the counterclockwise route, but they can disappear among the fins and many passages end without going anywhere. GPS reception is poor between the walls. Keep track of the markers, watch where the route turns, and stay on durable rock rather than cutting across sand dunes and drainages. Those pockets hold fragile plants and wildlife.

Expect irregular sandstone, loose sand, narrow ledges above drop-offs, short climbs, gaps to jump and tight squeezes. Some passages require bracing your hands and feet against opposite walls. The park warns that everyone must be capable of completing the route because turning back may not be practical. Wear grippy shoes and carry at least one quart or liter of water.

The tall fins are Entrada Sandstone. Erosion widened vertical cracks in the rock, leaving the narrow walls and passages that make the Furnace feel like a maze. The cracks likely began as the Salt Valley anticline formed below the valley. The Fiery Furnace name comes from the red glow on the walls at the separate roadside viewpoint in low-angle light. A low arch over a sandy corridor is a good photo stop—keep the floor and both walls in frame to show how tight the passage is.

You may enter only on a reserved self-guided permit or ranger-led hike. Self-guided permits require advance booking, pickup and a visitor-center orientation with video; they are for day use from sunrise to sunset. Self-guided groups are limited to six; children under five and pets are not allowed in the Furnace. Park at the signed Fiery Furnace turnout on Arches Scenic Drive; the lot has a vault/composting toilet. Bring your water because there is no refill point inside.

The Fiery Furnace Viewpoint is a separate short path from the same roadside area. It gives you a look across the fins without entering the permit-controlled maze; it is a different outing, not a shorter version of this loop.