The Druid Arch Trail is an additional side trip you can and SHOULD take while hiking the Chesler Park Loop Trail. It adds about 6 miles or so but it’s so worth it once you reach that massive and imposing Arch.

You could do the Arch in the beginning, like I’ve done, but I think it’s best to go through the Chesler Park Loop with the Joint Trail and save Druid Arch for last.

The trail is through a wash so it can be annoying in the sand (which is indeed the worst to hike in) but you’ll forget all about that when you’re marveling at the Arch. And while you’re hiking, be sure to look up and take in the towering red sandstone walls that loom large overhead in all directions. And be on the lookout for an Anasazi / Ancestral Puebloan granary ruin as an added bonus.

Once beneath the arch, find a way to get ever closer and enjoy the silence of the Colorado Plateau desert beauty before heading back to the trailhead.