Hiking Fiery Furnace

Arches National Park

Overview

( Rated 3.9 / 16 Ratings )

27 Todo Lists / 17 Ticks

RATING: Easy hiking / moderate route finding.

LENGTH: 4-6+ hours (1.7 miles)

MAPS: THE WINDOWS SECTION, UT

Mon

49 | 26

Tue

48 | 26

Wed

44 | 29

Thu

42 | 24

Fri

42 | 23

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SEASON: Any, hot in the summer.

GEAR: Standard Hiking Gear

WATER: None.

FLASHFLOOD: Low

NOTES: Visiting the Fiery Furnace requires either joining one of the NPS ranger trips or getting a permit. These can be hard to come by in prime season. See the NPS page for current regulations. ( http://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/fiery-furnace.htm )

Mon

49 | 26

Tue

48 | 26

Wed

44 | 29

Thu

42 | 24

Fri

42 | 23

View Full Weather Details

hike

narrow

family friendly

access: paved

Warning sign at the trailhead.

The Fiery Furnace is an Entrada Sandstone maze in the heart of Arches National Park. The Furnace is the place to wander in Arches National Park if you like confusing route finding, towering walls, incredible tight cracks, and almost limitless corridors to explore. It is an easy place to get turned around in. Though true "Not all those who wander are lost", they might well be lost in the Fiery Furnace.

The Park service strongly recommends participating in one of their guided tours through the Fiery Furnace before venturing into the are on your own. Taking the tour first is good advice, but experienced desert hikers are likely to find their way in and out without taking the tour first. I was scared away on my first visit because the tour was full and was disappointed when I did finally take the tour that the route finding isn't THAT hard.

Pondering keeping the feet dry!

Getting There

From the Arches National Park visitor center, follow the Arches Scenic drive about 14.0 miles to the signed junction to Fiery Furnace on the right. Follow the spur road 0.3 miles to its end at the trailhead.

Krill in the Fiery Furnace

Great silloutte in Krill

Route

Hiking, scrambling, and exploring are king in the Fiery Furnace though there are a couple of technical canyoneering routes as well. Finding the canyoneering routes (Krill/Lomatium) requires difficult route finding. If doing these, it is best to go with someone who has been there before, GPS does not work well inside the Furnace.

From the trailhead, a social trail is visible as it leads down from the parking area and into the Fiery Furnace. If this is your first time in the Fiery Furnace, keeping a very sharp eye out will be able to keep you on the NPS tour path. It meanders in and out of several areas, including visiting Skull Arch, and snaking up through the center of the Furnace before exiting on the west side and returning to the parking lot.

Caution: Exploring in the Fiery Furnace is a lot of fun. Be mindful of your route, and be sure you can reverse anything you downclimb or upclimb. You are very likely to run into dead ends and have to reverse your course! Have fun!