Hiking to Moonshine Arch | Fun and Beautiful

Hiking to Moonshine Arch is a fun adventure worth checking out just north of Vernal, Utah. The hike to Moonshine Arch itself is just a mere 2 miles roundtrip but the beautiful landscape and big arch formation make it a worthwhile adventure! Moonshine Arch is an impressive arch formation reaching about 40 feet high and spanning a length of 85 feet. And to make hiking to Moonshine Arch even more exciting, you can climb around and explore. This is also a great little stop on the way to or from the infamous Dinosaur Trackway trail a bit further north. Find out more about what to expect hiking to Moonshine Arch.

Quick Info: Hiking to Moonshine Arch

Distance: 2 miles roundtrip

Difficulty: Easy

Directions: From Vernal, drive 3.5 miles north on the 191. Then turn left onto the well-defined dirt road and travel for approximately 0.8 miles. Turn left and travel for an additional 0.8 miles to a fence and gate. This is the undeveloped parking area for hikers.

Our Experience Hiking to Moonshine Arch

Since we just finished another hike, we didn’t start hiking to Moonshine Arch until around one. And the sun was high in the sky and hot! So I’ll start by saying even though this is a pretty short hike, it’s also pretty exposed to take some water.

At the trailhead, we noticed groups of side by sides hitting the trails. We happened to be here on a weekend that there was an OHV event going on so we encountered a lot of them. But I’m not sure if there is usually this much traffic out here or not.

The trail to Moonshine Arch follows a sandy multi-use trail all the way to the arch. It can be confusing which road to take and we used the footprints in the sand and google maps to help guide us. From the parking area, follow the trail down the rough dip in the OHV trail and then turn right on the other side of the dip. Follow that towards a green gate and turn left before reaching the gate. Here the trail is sandy for a bit before making a right turn.

From here, hiking to Moonshine Arch is a bit of a steep climb on sandy sandstone rocks. Once at the top, you can see the arch formation up ahead.

As we approached Moonshine Arch, there was a group of side by sides hanging out. So we climbed around on a rock feature nearby and took in the surrounding scenery. It’s a beautiful area and if it weren’t so hot, we probably would have explored it more.

Liking this Article? Pin it!

After the group left we climbed down and checked out the arch. The arch was separated from the neighboring large rock alcove. And being that the two formations were so near to each other it made it a bit tricky to show the true size of Moonshine Arch.

The nearby cave area is perfect for getting out of the heat and cooling down. The further back into it you go, the cooler it gets. After climbing around inside the large cave area, it was time to climb on the arch itself.

The climb up on Moonshine Arch is easy enough until you get to the narrow part of the arch. Assuming you’re not scared of heights, you can walk across the whole arch. I decided the view was just as good from this side of the arch haha. Plus, someone had to be on the ground to get those great shots of Shane walking across the arch 😉

If you’re up for more exploring, there are plenty of other rock formation in the area that are great for climbing around on. Overall, we enjoyed our short adventure hiking to Moonshine Arch!

Thanks for Keeping Up with The Lost Longboarder!

We live on the road full time and love exploring new places! If you’d like to read about more of our hiking adventures, check out the links below:

• Hiking to Hilton Lakes in California
• Exploring Red Mountain in Arizona
• Owens Peak Hike in the Southern Sierra
• Trail Through Time in Colorado

When we’re not adventuring, we’re working on our hand painted Lost Coast Longboarding longboards! To check out our latest lineup, head over to our Lost Coast Longboarding Shop. We also design and screen print our own t-shirts!

And if you’d like to show your support for The Lost Longboarder another way – whenever you shop on Amazon, just use our Amazon link to get to Amazon. Then shop as you normally would! It won’t change your shopping experience but it helps us out a bit. We appreciate it!