Devils Garden Trail
What to Expect
Safety Advisory
The primitive loop involves exposed ledges with significant drop-offs and no railings — one section near Dark Angel requires walking along a narrow sandstone fin with air on both sides. Not suitable for anyone uncomfortable with heights.
Slickrock is genuinely slick when wet. After rain or snow, the scrambling sections become treacherous — postpone the primitive loop and stick to the maintained trail to Landscape Arch.
Trail Details
Pro Tips
Start by 7:30 AM or after 3 PM — the Devils Garden trailhead parking lot is the first to fill in the park (often by 9 AM in peak season), and rangers will turn you away at the road.
Do the full primitive loop counterclockwise: hit Landscape Arch first on the easy connector, then take the primitive trail to Double O Arch while your legs are fresh for the scrambling sections.
Bring a headlamp even on a day hike — the primitive loop section through the fins is poorly marked with small cairns, and losing the route late in the day can turn a four-hour hike into a six-hour one.
