Fiery Furnace is a rock playground and one of my new favorite hikes. If you are able to follow the arrows, the whole trail is a 2+ mile loop. While completing the loop is the end goal, the experience lies in exploring all of the side paths and dead ends. There are slot canyons to maneuver through and rocks to climb over and under. Following a dead end, you may happen upon a hidden arch (like Surprise Arch). My kids loved climbing, walking through tight slots (some that only a child could fit through) and exploring anywhere they could reach. I would highly recommend this trail if you are lucky enough to get permits. We tried to get permits for the weekend, but they quickly vanished. We ended up going down early on a Friday as that was the only available option. Our trip did overlap with fall break which meant the park was a little busier than usual for November.

Fiery Furnace Gallery

Things to Know

Fiery Furnace requires a permit to explore. Groups are limited to 6 people and they say to avoid combining groups. We had 7 people, so they divided our group into a group of 3 and a group of 4. We mostly stayed together and there were no rangers on the trail to instruct otherwise. There is a short under 10-minute video to watch beforehand that explains where and where not to step. There is also a Ranger lead option for those wanting a more direct experience.

More information can be found on the nps.gov website: