A personal adventure to the arches in Rattlesnake Canyon

Story and photos by Malena Larsen

Dusty orange limbs stretched across the sky while dirt crunched underneath our shoes. There were no voices or cars, just the sound of birds, bugs, wind and the occasional plane in the distance. After about three hours of hiking, we had made it to the first arch, with a tremendous collection of arches to follow.

We weren’t checking one of the Mighty Five off our bucket list; this wasn’t a hike through Arches National Park, which receives a whopping 1.5 million visitors every year. We were at a lesser known, less traveled collection of arches right here in Colorado.

The eight great arches of Rattlesnake Canyon
1. Cedar Tree Arch. The first arch on the trail. The name comes from the juniper tree growing near the arch.
2. Rainbow Arch. Its semicircular shape is where it got its name.
3. Arrowhead Arch: Named because of its distinctive triangular shape.
4. Eye Arch: A small, round arch.
5. East Rim Arch. A large arch along the rim of Rattlesnake Canyon.
6. Hole-in-the-Bridge Arch. This arch has another smaller arch underneath.
7. Twin Arches: Two arches next to each other.
8. Akiti Arch. The last major arch on the trail.

Rattlesnake Canyon is in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area and is administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Here, you’ll find 35 natural arches, 8 of them being major arches. This makes it the second largest concentration of arches in the world, second to Arches National Park.

According to Olivia Bruce, public affairs officer for the Upper Colorado River District of the BLM, the arches only receive about 8,000 visitors every year. This could be because the canyon makes you work for the worthwhile views. Getting to the arches isn’t a trip for those interested in a quick and easy lookout point.

To get to the arches, you have three options: a 15-mile round-trip hike from the Pollock Bench Trailhead; an approximately seven-mile hike from Upper Black Ridge Road; or a 2.5 mile hike from the Rattlesnake Arches Trailhead.

“These access roads can be difficult for inexperienced drivers to navigate and require a four-wheel drive,” Bruce shares. “We want to remind folks to plan ahead when they are visiting the arches and check weather and road conditions before trying to access the trails.”

Whichever option is chosen, a challenging adventure and rewarding views are a guarantee. My boyfriend and I decided on the 15-mile route from the Pollock Bench Trailhead. The trailhead had ample parking and convenient vault toilets.

At first, the trail appears straightforward and well-marked. However, it quickly becomes muddled with forks in the road and false trail. Download a map or bring a paper map and be sure to keep your eyes peeled for cairns guiding the way.

In addition to a map, bring plenty of water. The canyon becomes hot as the day goes on and the trail is entirely exposed to the sun. My boyfriend and I both carried a 2-liter water bladder in our packs.

The trek to the arches did not disappoint. The canyon walls were striped with erosion and spattered with deep green trees. The air smelled fresh and hot as the sun heated up the juniper trees and sagebrush that surrounded the trail. Orange, brown and red sandstone spires shot into the sky. We saw the first arch at mile seven and the rest followed for about half a mile after that.

Although we didn’t encounter any, rattlesnakes can often be found sunning themselves on the south-facing rocks. Along with rattlesnakes, deer, elk, bear, mountain lion, chukar and more can be found in the area.

The route we chose was meant to be an out-and-back trail. However, I had seen rumblings of a “shortcut” in the comments on AllTrails. When we reached what was meant to be the turnaround point, I quickly learned that this shortcut consisted of a climb up a tall, slippery, sandstone slope underneath one of the major arches.

The climb was steep and should only be done if you’re comfortable using both hands to get to the top. After completing the scramble, we rewarded ourselves with beef jerky and a lukewarm Mountain Standard IPA from Odell Brewing Company that had been tucked away in my pack.

The shortcut ended up saving us about one mile. Six hours and 48 minutes after we began, we arrived back at the trailhead with just over 14 miles racked up on my Garmin. We had worked up quite the appetite, and luckily, the solution was only 5 miles away.

Mike’s Famous Fried Chicken in Fruita was just the sustenance we needed after a day on the trail. We enjoyed a juicy eight-piece chicken bucket before heading back to our campsite for the night, still seeing orange arches as we drifted off to sleep.

Malena Larsen is a writer and Minnesota transplant. In addition to writing, she spends her time running in the mountains, visiting local craft breweries, and avoiding aggressive geese.