The Shoe
About
The Shoe is an arch in Natural Bridges National Monument in southeastern Utah, managed by the National Park Service. The nearest town is Fry Canyon, about 8 miles away. The arch sits at roughly 6,100 feet. For comfortable weather, aim for late spring or early fall. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show May highs around 71°F and September highs around 77°F, while July averages climb to about 89°F. Canyon Trail starts just 0.3 miles away, and Kachina Trail is about a mile off. Mesa Top Trail and Sipapu Trail are each roughly 2 miles away.
Arch Facts
Elevation
6,094 ft
Land manager
National Park Service
Elevation from USGS 3D Elevation Program terrain data (about 10 m resolution).
Location
The Shoe
Utah
Name and location: U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program. View the GNIS record.
Facts about this place
When to go
Best time to go: Apr–Jun. The mildest months here, with typical highs of 60–83°F and lows of 35–54°F.
Typical monthly averages (not a forecast) from the Natural Bridges Nm, UT weather station, 2.7 mi away. High / low in °F, and days with snow.
- Jan39° high20° low4 days with snow
- Feb43° high24° low3 days with snow
- Mar53° high30° low2 days with snow
- Apr60° high35° low1 days with snow
- May71° high44° low
- Jun83° high54° low
- Jul89° high60° low
- Aug85° high58° low
- Sep77° high51° low
- Oct63° high39° low
- Nov50° high29° low2 days with snow
- Dec39° high20° low4 days with snow
Where it is
- Natural Bridges National Monument · National Park Service
- Nearest town
- Fry Canyon, Utah · 8.2 mi
- Managed by
- National Park Service
Source: NPS Land Resources boundaries; USGS PAD-US 4.1; USGS GNIS populated places
Conditions
Active alerts for Natural Bridges National Monument as of Oct 9, 2026:
Natural Bridges has gone cashless
Information · posted Aug 24, 2026
Source: NPS Alerts API
Nearby
Canyon TrailHikingPhoto: SkybirdForever, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)0.3 mi
Kachina TrailHikingPhoto: brewbooks — CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)1 mi- Mesa Top TrailHiking1.9 mi
Sipapu TrailHikingPhoto: Klaus Eltrop, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)1.9 mi
Amphitheater TrailHikingPhoto: Klaus Eltrop, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)2.7 mi- Emigrant TrailHiking4.8 mi
- Hole-in-the-RockHiking5.8 mi
Kane Gulch TrailHikingPhoto: Greg Willis, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)7.2 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
Is The Shoe open right now?
No closures listed
The National Park Service lists no closures for Natural Bridges National Monument.
As of · Source: NPS · Natural Bridges National Monument. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Best time to visit The Shoe
Best months: April–June and August–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
39° / 20°
6 wet · 4 snow
Feb
43° / 24°
6 wet · 3 snow
Mar
53° / 30°
5 wet · 2 snow
Apr
60° / 35°
5 wet · 1 snow
May
71° / 44°
5 wet
Jun
83° / 54°
3 wet
Jul
89° / 60°
7 wet
Aug
85° / 58°
8 wet
Sep
77° / 51°
6 wet
Oct
63° / 39°
5 wet
Nov
50° / 29°
4 wet · 2 snow
Dec
39° / 20°
6 wet · 4 snow
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Natural Bridges Nm, UT, 2.7 mi away at 6,508 ft. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
