Three Penguins – Courthouse Towers Viewpoint loop from Three Penguins

Bike touring routes & trails

United States

Utah

Grand County

Three Penguins – Courthouse Towers Viewpoint loop from Three Penguins

Moderate

2.8

(14)

riders

Three Penguins – Courthouse Towers Viewpoint loop from Three Penguins

00:53

12.2km

250m

Cycling

Moderate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: August 2, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Arches National Park

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

219 m

Arches National Park Visitor Center

Highlight • Rest Area

You can get amazing views without ever going past the visitor center, but you're also allowed to bike down the main park road if you like. Or, for a different but equally scenic experience, you can bike the paved roadside path between here and Moab.

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1.58 km

Three Penguins

Highlight • Natural Monument

3.89 km

Park Avenue Viewpoint Trailhead

Highlight • Viewpoint

This parking lot and trailhead marks the first major area of the park after driving past the visitor center up steep, switchbacked roads. The Courthouse Towers jut out of the flat open desert and pausing at this viewpoint overlooking them is an amazing way to begin your visit to Arches National Park. You can stop here and walk a couple hundred feet down a flat, paved path to a scenic overlook to take photos and admire the view, or you can continue past the overlook, walk down some stairs and a sandy hill to hike the Park Avenue Trail. This trail takes you out and back among some of the most famous rock formations (that are not arches) in the park.

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6.08 km

Courthouse Tower and Three Gossips Viewpoint

Highlight • Viewpoint

This viewpoint and parking area is the final destination if traveling on the Park Avenue Trail and offers fantastic views of the the famous Three Gossips formation and Courthouse Towers, including a butte that juts out from the larger Courthouse formation called "The Organ." You also can see the Tower of Babel and Sheep Rock quite well from here; in general you get panoramic views of the entire area.

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6.20 km

Courthouse Towers Viewpoint

Highlight • Viewpoint

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6.70 km

Courthouse Towers Viewpoint

Highlight • Viewpoint

From here you have a good view of a former, gigantic rock arch, which had probably existed earlier. Class explanation boards give very good information about it.

Translated by Google •

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