Arch Canyon Rock Climbing

To reach the towers one has to either rap in from the rim or take the four wheel drive up the canyon bottom. The entrance to Arch canyon bottom is just over 18 miles to the west of Blanding. From Blanding, go 2 miles south on Rt 191 to the junction of Rt 95 (Hanksville, Lake Powell). On Rt 95, drive 14.2 miles to a right turn on a good dirt road up a wide valley. Go 2.5 miles, where one reaches the entrance to Arch. From here the ride up Arch Canyon requires at least a 4x4 short wheel base high clearance truck, or preferably an ATV. About 5 miles up, one will come to Dreamspeaker and Dreamcatcher towers. Its about a total of 9 miles from the entrance to the junction with Texas Canyon (Arch continues to the right), and here is a beatiful camping area. This also is the location of Cathedral Arch Tower and others. This is the end of the road - to reach Texas and Lone Star Towers is about a two mile hike.

A popular way to reach the towers in Arch and Texas is by rapping in via the west rim, leaving fixed lines. Great going in, but tough coming back out! To reach the Rim Road, drive a further 5.2 miles from the valley turn off to a road on the right with BLM signs and a fee station. To rap into Dreamspeaker and Dreamcatcher, drive up this good dirt road (car friendly) for 3.1 miles. The road gets a bit rough here, but this is where one camps. A few minutes walk to the right reaches the rim and fine views of both towers. To reach the area to rap and walk into Texas Canyon, the junction of Arch and Texas Canyons, and the other towers, continue with four wheel drive up the short rough section for a total of about 6.8 miles from Rt 95, and take a short road on the right that leads to the rim and good camping.

More information and descriptions of many of the climbs are available in Desert Rock IV by Eric Bjornstad. There is also information and descriptions of Texas Tower on this site under the area Texas Canyon.