Ring Arch in Arches National Park: Finding the Arch Few People Visit
Search results for Ring Arch Arches National Park are thin, and for a reason: it sits along lower Courthouse Wash, close to where the wash meets the Colorado River, roughly 6 to 7 miles from both Moab and the Arches National Park visitor center by air. There is no maintained trail to it. There is no signed trailhead, no cairned route and no mention of it on the park's official trail list, so reaching it means off-trail wash walking and route finding, and confirming with a ranger beforehand whether your planned route falls inside the park or on adjacent BLM land. Our Utah Mighty Five road trip itinerary covers the main arches; treat this as an extra for a second Moab trip, not a first-visit plan.
Ring Arch Arches National Park: Where It Actually Is
Ring Arch is a named natural arch in Grand County, Utah, listed in the federal geographic names database under the Courthouse Wash drainage. That wash starts inside Arches National Park near the Windows and Garden of Eden area, runs south past a well known pictograph panel, crosses under the park road close to the visitor center, and continues southwest until it meets the Colorado River. Ring Arch sits down near that lower stretch, close enough to the river corridor that its exact position relative to the park boundary is not obvious from a map alone. That matters because rules on cross country travel and camping differ between park land and the BLM land next to it. Before you go, call the park's visitor center or stop by in person and ask specifically about reaching Ring Arch from lower Courthouse Wash. Do not assume either way.
There Is No Trail to Ring Arch
Arches National Park's own hiking guidance is direct about this kind of terrain: walk only on trails, on rock, or in sandy washes where water flows when it rains. Ring Arch is not on any maintained trail the park lists. Getting to it means walking the wash itself, which is legal cross country travel in a wash bed but still off trail hiking with no signage, no cairns you can rely on, and no guarantee the route is straightforward at any given water level or after a flash flood has reworked the channel. If you are not comfortable navigating a desert wash with a map, GPS track and turnaround time in mind, this is not the arch to start with. Save it for a trip after you already know Devils Garden or the Windows.
Cryptobiotic Soil: Stay in the Wash
The ground on either side of a desert wash in this part of Utah is often covered in cryptobiotic soil, a living crust of moss, lichen and cyanobacteria that can take decades to recover from a single footprint. The park's rule is simple: stay on trail, on bare rock, or in the sandy wash bottom where water already scours the ground clean. Do not cut corners across the crust to shortcut a bend in the wash. It looks like dirt. It is not dirt, and one boot print kills it for years.
Before You Go
Bring more water than you think you need, since there is no shade or services anywhere near lower Courthouse Wash. Carry a real map or a downloaded GPS track rather than relying on a phone signal, which is unreliable in the canyon. Check the weather. A wash is the wrong place to be during or after a thunderstorm anywhere upstream, even if the sky above you is clear. Tell someone your route and expected return time before you leave. None of this is different from any other off-trail desert hike, but Ring Arch gets searched for by people who have only done the paved-pullout arches, and this is not that kind of hike.
Why "Ring Arch" Searches Are Confusing
Search for "ring arch" on its own and most results are wedding arches and jewelry, not the rock formation in Utah. If you are trying to find this specific arch, search "Ring Arch Arches National Park" or "Ring Arch Grand County Utah" to skip past the unrelated results.
Plan a Moab Trip With Us
If Ring Arch is an add-on to a bigger Utah trip, our Utah Mighty Five road trip itinerary covers the main arches and the rest of the loop. Tell us how many days you have in Moab and how much off-trail hiking you actually want to do, and we will build the plan around it, arches you can drive to and ones that take real effort both included. Planning is free, and we earn only if you book through us.
Ring Arch in Arches National Park: Finding the Arch Few People Visit FAQs
It sits along the lower stretch of Courthouse Wash, near where the wash meets the Colorado River, close enough to the park boundary that we cannot state definitively from public map data whether the arch itself is inside the park or on the BLM land next to it. Confirm with a ranger before you go.
No. There is no maintained, signed trail. Reaching it means walking the wash bed itself, which counts as an off-trail route with no cairns or guaranteed path.
Roughly 6 to 7 miles by air from both Moab and the Arches National Park visitor center. The walking distance along the wash is longer and depends on your entry point.
"Ring arch" alone is a common phrase for wedding decor and jewelry displays. Search "Ring Arch Arches National Park" or "Ring Arch Grand County Utah" to find the rock formation instead.
Day hiking in Arches National Park does not require a permit, but a route into a wash near the park boundary is exactly the kind of trip where you should ask a ranger about current rules before going, since land ownership changes hands close to the river.
Yes. The worked day-by-day plan is Utah Mighty Five: 5-Day National Parks Road Trip (5 Days), with the permits, the stays and the drive times already sorted. Tell us your dates and we will put it together for you and confirm what is genuinely open on those days. Asking is free: no card, no deposit, and nothing is held until you say yes.
