Most Challenging Hike in Arches NP
By Blaze on 12/20/2025
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Distance: 2.02 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 29 minutes
This trail requires a permit which must be obtained in advance from recreation.gov. At the time of this writing, the permit costs $10 per person (ages 5 yrs old and up). Only 75 permits are issued per day so these permits can be hard to obtain in the busier months.
The Fiery Furnace is not really a hike, but more of a route finding adventure through a natural labyrinth of rock. There is no trail, although there are some arrow markers that are strategically placed and show the way. Still, it is very easy to get lost. I recommend you download a GPX trackfile to your phone and put your app in Offline Mode so you can follow the route without relying on GPS (Note: GPS signals are very inaccurate in slot canyons due to poor or non-existent signal).
I, personally, didn't find the Fiery Furnace as difficult as I thought it would be. In fact, I intentionally took some off-route treks to explore hidden areas.