The perfect sunset in Arches National Park

The only drawback is that the ease and accessibility of its paths make it a little too crowded for our taste, but the sunset behind the beautiful sandstone arches, resisting the erosion of time, in the Arches National Park, is a masterpiece. If you manage to take out intruders from your pictures (thanks Photoshop) and wait for the twilight, when most of the people head back home, you can admire, undisturbed, an exceptional panorama in the shadow of Delicate Arch.

From the namesake parking lot, you can reach the arch in 20 or 30 minutes on foot, passing on sandstone slabs smoothed by the wind, and on some more exposed stretches looking towards the valley. You reach a rocky spur on which stands the Delicate Arch, which frames the canyons on the horizon. In front of it a natural amphitheatre, which seems to have been built to host the sunset spectators.

Unfortunately, there is a never-ending stream of people to take a picture under the arch, and so even in photos from a distance, it is difficult to get a solitary shot. When the sun goes down, however, the crowds make their way back to the parking lot before it gets dark. We stayed throughout blue hour and beyond, with a small group of other photographers waiting to capture the stars in the background.

Returning in the dark, even if equipped with torches, was a bit difficult, as there is no straight route, but you go through quite large rocky areas without signaling. But don't worry, we managed to find our way home, and bring back with us magnificent photos of the lonely arch.