...The Old Spanish Trail passed through the Spanish Valley, where Moab is now located, and crossed the Colorado River just outside the park boundaries, but it is unlikely that many Spaniards ever ventured into the park. Juan Maria de Rivera, a Spanish trader, passed nearby as early as 1765, and by the 1840s the trail was a well-used route from New Mexico to California. Mountain men were known to travel in the area, but the only one known to have entered the present-day park boundaries was the enigmatic Denis Julien, who left an inscription dated 1844 in the Devil's Garden area of the park. The first Mormon explorers entered the Moab area in 1854, and returned to found the Elk Mountain mission the following year; however, they were quickly driven out of the area by the Utes.

The Mormons returned to help found the town of Moab in the early 1880s, but it wasn't until John Wesley Wolfe, a Civil War veteran, settled on Salt Creek in 1898 that the park had its first white inhabitant. Wolfe and his family lived on their homestead near Delicate Arch until 1910. Other residents of Moab were quick to note the natural wonders of the area, and visits to the arches, canyons, and fins were a regular occurrence by the turn of the century. In 1922, a local miner and prospector named Alexander Ringhoffer visited the area and was so struck by its unique beauty that he contacted officials of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, which ran just north of the park, to see if they would be interested in developing the area as a tourist attraction.

Through a roundabout series of events, the National Park Service was informed of the potential of the area for inclusion in the National Park System and, as a result, Arches National Monument was created by President Herbert Hoover in 1929. In 1933 and 1934 the Arches National Monument Scientific Expedition conducted an in-depth reconnaissance of the new monument. The scientists studied the geology, wildlife, plant communities, archeology, and paleontology of the area. The expedition was led by Frank Beckwith, a local newspaper editor and amateur scientist, who was responsible for many of the names of the arches and other features in the park, such as Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, and Tower Arch. A detailed map of the monument was made, and Beckwith prepared a final report as well as several articles for publication, all of which contributed to the growing popularity of Arches National Monument.

In 1938, like many other western national monuments, Arches was greatly expanded by President Franklin Roosevelt, from its original 4,500 acres to almost 34,000 acres. Despite increasing tourist interest in the area, the first paved road wasn't built into Arches until 1958. Other changes occurred in the 1960s, adding and removing various sections, and it wasn't until 1971 that President Richard Nixon signed the law that changed Arches to a national park and set its size at the present 73,233 acres.

Because of its protected status, Arches National Park was never scarred by the "cat trails" or prospects of the uranium boom of the 1950s, nor by any other mining activities. In 1955-56, a natural gas pipeline was built through the northern sections of the park, leaving a scar that is still visible. Today Moab has become a center of a growing recreation area, with thousands of visitors flocking to the spectacular red-rock cliffs and canyons for mountain biking, river running, cross-country skiing, and other outdoor activities. Arches National Park is one of the most popular destinations among the many national parks and monuments in Utah and nearby states, and thousands of tourists from all over the world visit it each year. The danger today is not from mineral or other types of development, but that Arches, like most other national parks, will be simply "loved to death."

Roy Webb