Druid Arch to Chesler Park Loop

Feb11- this hike is 16 miles. We went counter clockwise and loved it. Especially happy to descend to Druid arch trail from the Chesler Park Loop instead of scrambling up it. Thankfully a very well marked trail with cairns - it would be easy to head the wrong direction if not paying attention. Lots of scrambling up and down the entire trail but the climb up to Druid arch was the funnest. Druid arch was well worth the extra miles. Terrain had lots of variety and views were incredible everywhere we looked. Trail was 99% dry. Only a little patch of snow just before the loop which didn’t require any special gear to safely transverse. Beautiful day for a winter hike and loved the solitude, only saw 7 others on the trail.

I would recommend counterclockwise. One of my favorites.

Gorgeous hike with a variety of terrain and views. We were at the trailhead by 9am with plenty of parking space. Hiked to Druid Arch first and stashed are overnight backpacks once it started getting too technical to wear. It was technical in the sense of some bouldering required. Then we hiked Chesler Park clockwise. It was technical at the beginning in just a few spots, but made it with our backpacks. Headed down the Joint and the wood ladder was a little difficult but still manageable. You do take a jeep road for a part of the stretch and is quite sandy. We could have done the whole hike in a day and be finished by end of day. Total walk time was 8 hours and tracked closer to 16.5 miles. All in all it was a gorgeous hike!

We hiked the Chesler Park loop counterclockwise after reading reviews, and were so glad we did. It’s much easier to go up the ladders than down them through the Joint. Chesler Park scenery was breathtaking in early March. Cold weather made for comfortable hiking conditions. After nearly completing the loop, the connector trail over to the Druid Arch Trail was fun, although a little sketchy. We only saw a few people in CP, but once we hit the DA trail it was like merging onto a hiker highway. The hike up the wash was long and honestly monotonous after the beauty of Chesler. The final climb up to the arch viewpoint was tough and required some rock scrambling. Druid Arch itself was beautiful, but again with so many people there we lost the solitary feel of the place. We were much happier once we left the endless wash trail and returned to the more scenic and varied Chesler Park trail. 5 stars for CP but I’d give DA a 4.

This is an awesome hike with several unique features. Most books describe hikes to either Chesler Park or Druid Arch, but combining both hikes makes for a great day. Just take plenty of water. Several in our group ran out.