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If you’re looking for an adventure, the Fiery Furnace hike in Arches National Park is definitely worth checking out. This strenuous hike will take you through a maze of narrow canyons and towering rock formations. The views are absolutely incredible, and you’ll feel like you’re walking and scrambling through an adult playground! If you’re up for the challenge, read on for more information about this amazing hike.

What is the Fiery Furnace?

The Fiery Furnace is one of the most stunningly beautiful spots in Arches National Park in Utah, United States. Famed for its narrow sandstone canyons, fins, natural arches, but it’s not just the scenery that makes Fiery Furnace so special.

Hiking through Fiery Furnace is an experience like no other – surrounded by awe-inspiring narrow rock walls hundreds of feet high and breathtaking views around every corner as you meander through the sandstone passages. Named after its vivid red color at sunset, Fiery Furnace is an extremely popular hiking spot among nature enthusiasts and photographers alike.

How to Visit the Fiery Furnace in Arches

Travel

The Fiery Furnace hike is located in Arches National Park which is in Moab, Utah. The best way to get to Arches National Park is via car. Stopping in Arches National Park can be easily done on a Utah Mighty 5 national parks road trip. If driving from Salt Lake City to Moab, you should expect a 3.5-4 hour drive.

But if you are coming from farther away, another option is to fly into Canyonlands Field Airport (CNY) airport which has flights from Salt Lake City on Delta and from Denver on United. Right in the airport you can rent a car from Enterprise and head over to Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park.

Self-Guided Permit vs Ranger-Led Tour

The Fiery Furnace is made up of a very fragile ecosystem containing biological soil crust, sand dunes, and ephemeral pools which are vulnerable to visitor impact. Because of this, you can only visit the Fiery Furnace via a ranger-led tour or by obtaining a self-guided permit reservation from recreation.gov.

Ranger-guided hikes are only offered spring, summer, and fall. These cost $16 per person, last 2.5 hours, and can be reserved up to 7 days in advance. If you are visiting in the winter, then obtaining a self-guided permit is your only option.

There are no pets or children under 5 years of age allowed in the Fiery Furnace. You will need to watch an informational video regarding preservation of the Fiery Furnace with all members of your group at the Arches Visitor Center before you will be given your permit.

Weather Considerations for the Fiery Furnace Hike

In the winter, the Fiery Furnace closes when there is snow and ice because visitors will be unable to discern where they are stepping and could be potentially trampling the special ecological features.

In the summer, Moab gets very hot. Be sure to start your hike early if you are going to be visiting in the summer.

What to Pack when Hiking the Fiery Furnace

• America The Beautiful National Parks Pass – Even though you reserved a Fiery Furnace permit, you will still need to pay the Arches National Park entry fee. The America The Beautiful National Parks Pass is the perfect purchase if you are planning to visit 3 different national parks in the span of 12 months. However, not only does this pass cover national parks. It also covers national forests, national recreation areas, Bureau of Land Management lands, and more.
• GPS/Satellite Communication Device – Since the Fiery Furnace hike is more of an area rather than a trail, then a Zoleo is perfect for your peace of mind. Zoleo is a satellite communication device that allows for text messages and SOS alerts even without cell service. The Zoleo device is similar to the Garmin In-Reach. However, it is less expensive and has some features that you might prefer. These include its Location Share+ feature, a dedicated phone number, and the fact that it can communicate over wifi, cellular, and satellite depending on location.
• Map – This is an area where a map will be incredibly helpful. Consider a paper map in addition to downloading topography/terrain layers on your phone.
• Battery Pack – Before relying on your phone for any type of of navigation or communication, be sure to bring an extra battery. This is the one I use.
• Layers – Since you will be in the Fiery Furnace area for a while exploring, layers are important. A great thing to have is a packable jacket. This allows you to layer up and layer down while hiking without taking up too much space in your hiking pack.
• Emergency Bivy – Hopefully you will never need this, but an emergency bivy can keep you from experiencing hypothermia in case you have to remain in an area longer than anticipated.
• Water, electrolytes, snacks – There is no food water or services in the Fiery Furnace. Due to the complexity of the trail and because of the temperatures, it is critical that you pack more of these items than you expect to need in case you get lost.
• Sturdy Shoes – This is not a trail you could hike in flip flops. Be sure to use hiking shoes that have support that you are comfortable hiking in.
• Camera – The Fiery Furnace in Arches is such a special area and very photo-worthy – you will definitely want to take some pictures. Because this hike is more of a scramble than a walk, be sure to take this into consideration when deciding on your camera gear – your phone might be all you need.

Fiery Furnace Arches Review

This is not a hike like others that you will do within Arches National Park. Those have well defined trails and an unlimited number of visitors. Think of the area as more of a playground with a path that you can use, but don’t have to use.

In fact, the Fiery Furnace hike trail markers are very small and only visible if you do the trail in the counter-clockwise direction. Off-route navigation is encouraged, unlike on other trails, as long as you protect the environment.

How Did we Navigate the Fiery Furnace Hike

My group total was 4 people (including myself) who had never hiked the Fiery Furnace before. However, we all hike 50+ times per year and are very used to route finding and navigating.

We used three things to help us explore the Fiery Furnace in Arches safely:

1. Trail markers – These were limited and only visible in the counter-clockwise direction. We passed many people who started the route clockwise so these would not be visible to them.
2. AllTrails – Two of us had the Pro Version of AllTrails which allowed us to download the trail map. The trail on AllTrails is very similar to the marked route.
3. Online guide – We downloaded an online picture guide to use to navigate the Fiery Furnace.

Using the above navigation, we never felt like we were in any way lost or that we needed any additional assistance. We also got to make tons of fun side trips than just doing the marked route.

What to do in Arches National Park

Once you have completed the Fiery Furnace hike, there are still plenty of other things to do in Arches national park. Check out this Arches National Park one day itinerary for more suggestions on how to explore this beautiful park.

Fiery Furnace Arches

Hopefully now you are excited to explore the Fiery Furnace. This labyrinth of beautiful red rock is easily the best hike in Arches National Park. Is hiking the Fiery Furnace trail in Arches National Park on your bucket list? Let us know in the comments.

You May Also Enjoy These Posts:

• Best Hikes in Utah
• 21 Places to Visit in Utah that aren’t National Parks
• Driving the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands
• Driving the Cathedral Valley Loop in Capitol Reef
• Visiting the Utah Mighty 5 National Parks
• Best Scenic Drives in Utah

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