Tunnel and Forget-Me- Not Canyon

RATING: 2A

LENGTH: 2-4 Hours

GEAR: Good navigation skills, a GPS is useful.

SEASON: Any, no snow. Hot in the summer.

NOTES: A car shuttle can cut off 1.5 miles of road walking if making the loop hike.

Hype

The Tunnel is a unique geological feature in Arches National Park where the sandstone has eroded a distinct tunnel through the edge of a sandstone buttress. The Tunnel is big enough crawl through. Visiting just the Tunnel provides a great, short, family friendly outing, expect to spend about a hour to hour and a half round-trip.

Want more? From the Tunnel, a loop hike can be made with outstanding views of the park. The hike requires good route finding, and diligent no-trace principles. The reward, however, is an improbably route down Forget-Me-Not canyon. This is a classic non-technical hike, suitable for intermediate hikes and up. The route down Forget-Me-Not has a few easy sections of class 4 scrambling. Most should have no problem with these small obstacles. Navigation is the big challenge, a GPS is useful.

Beware: The loop hike crosses an open mesa, that is beginning to show signs of traffic. Please be careful to stay in washes and hard surfaces to protect the fragile environment.

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Comments

How easy is this non technical route? Something I could do carrying a baby in a backpack?

by: dwayne27 [Mar 15, 2011]

It's likely hard enough I wouldn't recommend doing it with a baby in a backpack.

by: roadtripryan [Mar 16, 2011]