Overview

Hype:

Corona Arch is a large arch located on BLM land near Moab, UT. The arch has an opening 140 feet wide and 105 feet tall. An easy, 1.5-mile trail takes hikers past Bow Tie Arch to the base of Corona Arch. The more adventurous can climb on top of the arch and rappel off the middle or swing through the arch.

Trail Condition: Class 2 (Trail may have tree roots or rocks jutting out. Navigation skills may consist of following rock cairns and choosing turns at junctions. Elevation gains may be more substantial.)

Time: 1-2 hours

Length: 3.2 miles round trip

Elevation Gain: 420 ft

Fees: None

Recommended Ages:

	0-3
	4-11
	12-19
	20-49
	50-69
	70+

Recommended Months to Visit:

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Getting There

Navigate to 38.574818, -109.632523.

The trail starts across Highway 279 from Gold Bar Camping Area at GPS coordinates: 38°34'29.35"N, 109°37'57.07"W. There is a fairly large parking area. A short distance up the trail is a trail register.

Route

Corona Arch is a large sandstone arch located west of Moab, UT on BLM land. The arch is approximately 140 feet wide by 105 feet tall. The trail to Corona Arch also passes Bow Tie Arch.

On the 1985 USGS topo map (7.5' Moab quadrangle), Corona Arch is labeled as Little Rainbow Bridge.

A short distance up the trail you'll cross the railroad tracks going up Bootlegger Canyon.

Once you round the bend at 38°34'42.38"N, 109°37'21.57"W, you can see Bow Tie Arch to the north. The trail goes right along the base of the arch.

This is perhaps the most difficult part of the trail, although it's still quite easy. There are several Moki Steps climb with the help of a cable handrail. There is also a small ladder to help people get up a small ledge. 

From here, you can get a good view of both Corona Arch (on the right) and Bow Tie Arch (on the left).

The trail then continues past the base of Bow Tie Arch (38°34'50.41"N, 109°37'18.10"W) and ends at Corona Arch (38°34'47.64"N, 109°37'11.70"W).

Maps

Closest City or Region: Moab, Utah

Coordinates: 38.574818, -109.632523

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April 12, 2012 Trip Report

By Jeremy Dye

Trip Members

Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Zac Dye, Bryce Ball,

Story

It sprinkled a little bit while we were hiking, so Tara put my coat over sleeping Savannah.

When we went, there were a bunch of slow people at the ladder, so we just climbed the rock to the side of the ladder, baby backpack and all.

Once we got to the arch, Tara and Savannah stayed under the arch while Zac, Bryce, and I went on to rappel off the arch. We passed under the arch. Then we climbed up the cliff to the east of the arch. This part was pretty sketchy. There are Moki steps up the cliff, but it's quite steep, and there's a drop-off of approximately 300 feet to the right.

The information that we had (http://climb-utah.com/Moab/corona.htm) said that the rappel was 140 feet long and that we would need two, 150-foot ropes or one, 300-foot rope. We ended up using a 75-meter (246 ft) rope and a 70-foot paracord pull cord with a 15-foot piece of webbing on the end to give it some weight. That gave us a total rope length of about 320 feet after knots.

We threaded one end of the rope through the chains, tied a stopper knot, then began lowering the rope down. There were two problems though. The first was that we couldn't see the ground below us, so we couldn't tell when the rope reached the ground. The second was that the wind was blowing so hard that the rope didn't go straight down; it went something like straight sideways.

We were trying to ask Tara if our rope was long enough, but we couldn't hear her because of the wind. So we let out a good amount of rope and set a knot block. Zac was the first one over the edge. Bryce soon followed. I came down last.

It turns out we had plenty of rope. Quite a bit extra actually. I'm not sure exactly what the bare minimum is, but 300' is plenty.

Pictures