Skylight Arch

Skylight Arch

We drove to Page Arizona to go boating at Lake Powell.  I wanted to go on a hike to an arch, so we took a little side trip to see Skylight Arch.  It is near the Utah Arizona border.  Head off of highway 89 towards Studhorse Point.  After Studhorse Point the road becomes increasingly rough and you'll need 4 wheel drive for the last mile or so.  Park where a sign indicates that motorized vehicles can't continue, and it's almost exactly a mile hike to the arch.  Skylight Arch is level with the ground, so be careful not to fall through the opening.  It is very wide, so it's easy to walk across the arch.  The hike provides an amazing view in all directions.  You can see Lake Powell and Lone Rock and the Amangiri Resort, and even cars down on 89.  After enjoying our view of the arch, we explored some of the other fun rock formations near the arch.  We only saw two other people the whole time we were there.  It was secluded and beautiful and definitely worth the hike!  After driving back to highway 89 we headed towards Utah so that we could see the other side of the arch.  I bet 99% of people miss seeing it from the highway because the opening seems tiny and the sun has to be just right to see an opening.  In reality, the arch is huge!  The only way to fully see it is to be above it, although I think that if we'd been allowed to wander around on the private property below it, we probably could have gotten right under the arch after exploring enough.  There are not cairns on the trail, but it is very obvious and easy to follow.  The dirt road and four wheel drive trail are not as easy to follow, but just put the Skylight Arch Trailhead in your google maps and it will take you right to the trailhead.

view from the road - we drove under these power lines.

The route to the trailhead

some of the 4wd road between Studhorse Point and the trailhead to the arch

a little shady spot to stop and rest on the trail

view of the highway from up on top of the mesa

view from on top of the mesa

view from the trail

it's hard to tell how steep this is, but it's right by the edge of the cliff on the trail

view from the trail

more views from the trail

view of the Amangiri resort from the trail

view from the trail of a cave down below

walking the trail

the beginning of the trail

view from the trail

view from the trail

this makes it look like we were hiking through a canyon, but we were on top of a mesa, on the highest point.

smaller view of the hiking trail

this is Skylight Arch from the Highway 89 side.  We were standing up on top of that less than an hour earlier.  It looks like the opening under the arch is tiny in this picture, but it is actually huge.

If the area below the arch wasn't private property, I think I'd be able to go over those lower white hills and eventually end up underneath the arch.

You can see the circle of light down on the ground where the sun is coming through the arch, and you can see the shadow of the arch below.

we found this fun rock structure with tiny arches and caves and this tiny little "leg" coming off the rock that looks like it might fall over any day.  we named this rock Cheese Rock because of all of its holes.

another view of Cheese Rock

heading towards Cheese Rock.  A couple of the tiny openings are visible on top.

Cheese Rock from a distance

the opening in front of Skylight Arch

looking into the opening under Skylight Arch

Skylight Arch and the opening in front of it.  The ground I was standing on was actually pretty thin - I was on a ledge.  It's hollow under the arch, like a giant cave.

Trying to get a good angle for a photo of the arch to demonstrate just how deep the opening goes.

my daughter Lizzie on top of the arch

Lizzie decided to do a cartwheel on top of the arch

my daughters Rebecca and Lizzie on top of the arch

me and my daughters on top of the arch

my husband James on top of the arch

looking over the cliff edge near the arch

the view through the opening

the hike to get to the arch

standing on top of the arch, the view of the ledge where we were standing while viewing the arch

the route back to our car.  Almost exactly one mile

view under the ledge

After we finished our hike and drove back into Page, we enjoyed dinner at the Sunset 89 Restaurant, which is Asian cuisine and has a beautiful view of Page and the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, as well as Lake Powell.  

view from Sunset 89 Restaurant

inside Sunset 89 Restaurant

giant windows with an excellent view

view from the restaurant

We also went to see Horseshoe Bend, which was just a half mile walk with a hundred other people.  The view was spectacular!

I wouldn't dare to sit out on that ledge, but she probably had the best view of all of us

on the trail to Horseshoe Bend

view from the trail

view from the trail

a unique rock along the trail that lots of people posed for photos in front of

the crowds enjoying the view