Pool Arch Canyon
fromWander through a maze of sandstone with big views, big rappels and nice winding narrows!
Pool Arch Canyon (aka Rock of Ages/Land Before Time) provides some of the best hidden views in Moab with an adventurous hike up through sandstone fins, over ancient sand dunes, and down through narrow canyons. As we navigate this natural obstacle-course, we’ll climb, down-climb, shimmy, scoot, wade through water and rappel to overcome many obstacles throughout the day. With competent leadership (that’s us!), this canyon is excellent for adventurous beginners and also those with some canyoneering experience.
-
Reviews 4 Reviews5/5
-
Vacation Style Holiday Type
-
Activity Level Moderate
-
- Duration: 6-8 hours
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Total Hiking Distance: 4 miles
- Rappels: 3 (130ft/40m, 50ft/15m, 100ft/30m)
- Distance from Moab: 10 minutes one-way
- Season: All Year, hot in summer
- All tours are private – just your group and your guide!
- 2-3 people – $194/person
- 4-13 people – $170/person
- 14+ people – call for pricing
This natural obstacle-course is sure to please as we travel through a maze of sandstone fins, rappel through a huge arch and shimmy through a brief section of water-carved narrows. We start the day out by hiking on a rugged jeep trail, and quickly divert up a beautiful steep canyon where we scramble and climb our way up to the top. Take in the views here, as they’re some of the best in Moab.
We’ll take our time at the top here as we don harnesses, helmets and other gear that is required to safely descend our first drop at 130 feet! This spectacular rappel is through the route’s namesake – Pool Arch. While on rope, be sure to look up and marvel at the amazing work that wind and water have done to create this massive opening. What a treat!
From here, we’ll wade through a pool or two of water (depending on recent rains), chimney, shimmy, scoot and climb our way through the narrows. We’ll reach another rappel at 50 feet and our final rappel at 100 feet. Feel the air under your feet as you descend this final free-hanging drop!
Once we’re all down, we’ll hike back out to our vehicle as we revel in our accomplishments of the day!
- All canyoneering gear and safety equipment
- Instruction from experienced and fun guides
- Transportation to and from the canyon
- Private tour – just your group plus your guide(s)!
- Lunch and snacks – please bring enough food to be out and active for 6-8 hours.
- Water – we recommend at least 2 liters of water per person (at least 3 liters in the hotter months!)
- Price does not include tax or guide gratuity
Please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.
What a fantastic day!!! This was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had!!! Climbing up the canyon and rappelling down were both equally thrilling! Our guide Ed was great - confident and calm and a good teacher (which we needed since 3 of the 4 of us hadn't rappelled before). We did the Pool Arch trip which included 3 rappels and some fun climbing "challenges" that required learning some new ways to get around on the rocks. SO much fun...highly recommend this activity and Desert Highlights!
We had never done any canyoneering before and are so glad that we did this trip. It was fabulous! Melissa was extremely helpful with all her suggestions for our booking. Jake was an awesome guide, very friendly, skilled and knowledgeable; and he made us feel very comfortable and safe! Highly recommend Desert Highlights!!
Amazing experience! Just 2 of us with Jake, who was an awesome guide and person. Neither of us had done canyoneering since much younger days, though we’re avid hikers and reasonably fit. We felt safe and challenged, had a great time and the area was beautiful.
This canyon was so much fun! The hike to get up to the top was exciting, with some easy climbing over boulders. The rappels were awesome and our guide explained everything beforehand so we felt safe and knew we were in good hands. We shimmied between rocks and waded through pools of water - awesome for a hot day! I would highly recommend doing a full day with Desert Highlights!