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    Arches National Park
    Ymaup / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

    United States

    Arches National Park

    Point of Interest

    Arches National Park lies in eastern Utah just north of the town of Moab, about four hours southeast of Salt Lake City.

    by Felix Gillen

    1. Home
    3. Destinations
    5. United States
    7. Utah
    9. Arches National Park
    Arches National Park lies in eastern Utah just north of the town of Moab, about four hours southeast of Salt Lake City. It holds more than 2,000 sandstone arches, and the most famous, including Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch, are within short to moderate hikes of the road.A 19-mile scenic drive runs through the park past the trailheads for the Windows Section, Balanced Rock, Wolfe Ranch and, at the far end, Devils Garden. You'll reach many arches within 15 minutes on foot, but there's almost no shade along the way.Moab as your baseMoab is five minutes from the park entrance and also the base for Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. It has hotels at every price point, grocery stores, gas and outfitters for jeep, rafting and canyoneering trips. Rooms book up early in the March to October high season.What to know in 2026No timed entry: you don't need an entry reservation in 2026. Expect lines at the entrance on weekends and holidays, and lots that staff close temporarily when they fill up.Still reservation-only: Devils Garden Campground (March through October) and every Fiery Furnace hike, self-guided or ranger-led.Entrance fee: $30 per private vehicle. Arches does not charge the $100 nonresident surcharge. The $55 Southeast Utah Parks annual pass covers Arches, Canyonlands and two national monuments.Heat: July and August highs often pass 100°F. Hike early or late and carry at least two liters of water per person; water is only available at the visitor center.

    Sights in Arches National Park

    Discover the most important sights and attractions

    Delicate Arch
    Attraction

    1Delicate Arch

    The freestanding sandstone arch is Utah's landmark and appears on its license plates. The 3-mile roundtrip trail from the Wolfe Ranch parking lot climbs steadily about 480 feet over open slickrock, with no shade. Plan two to three hours and at least two liters of water per person; be aware that there's no water available at the trailhead. Along the trail are the Wolfe Ranch cabin and a rock wall with Ute petroglyphs. At sunset, hundreds of people often arrive; then the parking lot is full, and you'll start at the Delicate Arch Viewpoint, an extra mile in each direction. Without hiking, you can see the arch from about a mile away, from the Lower Viewpoint (100 yards) or Upper Viewpoint (half a mile with steps).
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    Windows Section and Double Arch
    Natural Feature

    2Windows Section and Double Arch

    The greatest concentration of large arches in the smallest space, at the end of a short spur road off the Park Road. North Window, South Window, and Turret Arch are linked by an easy loop trail of less than a mile. From the second parking lot, a short walk leads to Double Arch, two arches growing from the same rock base, where you can stand beneath them. Ideal with children or when time is short. Along the Park Road, you'll find Balanced Rock, a boulder perched on a narrow pedestal with a short loop trail.
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    Devils Garden and Landscape Arch
    Attraction

    3Devils Garden and Landscape Arch

    The Devils Garden Trail begins at the end of Park Road. To Landscape Arch, at 290 feet the park's longest arch, it's a 1.9-mile round trip on a mostly flat path. Those who want to go further ascend over rock fins with scrambling sections to Double O Arch (4.1 miles round trip) and can return via the Primitive Trail, a total of about 6.6 miles. You should avoid the Primitive Trail in wet conditions, ice, or if you have a fear of heights. The parking lot fills up quickly during peak season and on holiday weekends. Right next to it is the Devils Garden Campground, reservations required from March to October.
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    Park Avenue
    Natural Feature

    4Park Avenue

    First stop post-Visitor Center: Tall, narrow rock walls like street skyscrapers, so named. From the viewpoint, an easy mile-long trail leads through the canyon to Courthouse Towers Viewpoint. Dropping a car there saves the walk back. Early mornings, walls are shaded; late afternoons, they glow red.
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    Fiery Furnace
    Attraction

    5Fiery Furnace

    A maze of narrow sandstone fins and slots with no marked trail, where you scramble, squeeze through gaps and can easily get turned around. You need a permit to go in: either a ranger-led hike (spring through fall) or a self-guided permit for $10 per person. Book either on Recreation.gov or at 1-877-444-6777, no more than seven and no fewer than two days ahead; in season they sell out fast. Pick up a self-guided permit at the visitor center the day before or the day of your hike (8 to 10 a.m. or 2 to 3:30 p.m.), and everyone in your group has to watch an orientation video. No children under five, maximum six people per group. Without a permit, you can see the fins from the Fiery Furnace Viewpoint on the park road.
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    Restaurants in Arches National Park

    1

    Desert Bistro

    Moab's best-known upscale address, in a historic downtown house with a patio. Visit Utah and Fodor's feature seasonal game and fish, such as bacon-wrapped bison tenderloin or elk fillet, plus vegetarian and vegan dishes and homemade desserts. Open evenings only, closed Tuesdays and from early December to early March. For a weekend during peak season, advance reservations are recommended.
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    2

    Milt's Stop & Eat

    The 1954 burger joint on Mill Creek Drive, a Moab institution according to Visit Utah. Cowboy Burgers, onion rings, and chocolate milkshakes are the specialties, enjoyed outside on the patio where dogs are welcome. In the evenings after sunset at Delicate Arch, a line often forms.
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    3

    Moab Brewery

    Brewery restaurant on Main Street with its own beers like Dead Horse Ale and Rocket Bike Lager. The extensive menu ranges from burgers to salads and, according to Visit Utah, has good options for children, vegetarians, and those with allergies. Spacious, straightforward, and family-friendly, it's often the easiest choice for groups after a day in the Park.
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    History

    Ancestral Puebloans, Fremont groups and later the Ute passed through this country. You can see their mark on the Delicate Arch trail: just past the Wolfe Ranch cabin, a rock panel shows Ute petroglyphs of horseback riders and bighorn sheep.The area became a national monument on April 12, 1929, and a national park on November 12, 1971. Writer Edward Abbey put it on the map; he worked here as a ranger in 1956 and 1957, and his journals from those seasons became "Desert Solitaire," a classic of American nature writing.The arches don't last forever. Wall Arch on the Devils Garden Trail collapsed in August 2008, one reason climbing on any arch is prohibited.

    Getting There and Around

    The entrance is on US 191, five minutes north of Moab. Salt Lake City is about four hours away. Most visitors fly into Salt Lake City or arrive on a road trip via Capitol Reef or Monument Valley.Moab is the place to sleep, gas up and shop: it's the base for both Arches and Canyonlands, with restaurants and everything from RV parks to BLM boondocking.In the parkThere's no shuttle. You drive the 19-mile park road yourself, with spurs to the Windows Section and the Wolfe Ranch trailhead for Delicate Arch. One day covers the classics; with Fiery Furnace and all of Devils Garden, plan on two.Timing: there's no timed-entry reservation in 2026, but there are lines at the gate in season, especially on weekends and holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day. Early morning and late afternoon are quietest, and in summer also the coolest.Full lots: when a lot fills, staff close it temporarily. Don't wait in the road; head to another stop first.Quieter months: March, October and November.Water: potable water only at the visitor center. Fill up there.

    Accommodations in Arches National Park

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    Campgrounds in Arches National Park

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    Nearby

    Moab

    Moab

    Moab is a small town of about 5,000 people in eastern Utah, on the Colorado River and US 191, just under four hours' drive southeast of Salt Lake City. It's where you'll stay for Arches National Park, five minutes up the road, and Canyonlands' Island in the Sky district, about 45 minutes away.Main Street doubles as US 191: motels, outfitters, grocery stores and most restaurants are on it or a block or two off it. Jeep, rafting and mountain bike tours leave from here, and in the evening most visitors end up on the Main Street patios after a day on the trail.Good to knowPeak season: March through October, especially around Easter (Jeep Safari) and holiday weekends like Memorial Day and Labor Day. Book rooms and campsites weeks or months ahead.Heat: July and August regularly top 100°F. Hike early in the morning or in the evening.Groceries: City Market on Main Street is the biggest grocery store in the area. Stock up on water and supplies before heading into the parks.
    Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky)

    Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky)

    Island in the Sky is the northern and most accessible district of Utah's Canyonlands National Park, about 32 miles west of Moab. You come for the view: from a mesa top you look roughly 2,200 feet down into the canyons of the Colorado and Green Rivers, and the best overlooks are just minutes from the car.The park splits into three districts that no road inside the park connects. The Needles to the south and the Maze to the west are separate trips; Island in the Sky makes an easy day trip from Moab. One road runs from the visitor center across the mesa to Grand View Point, with a spur to Upheaval Dome.Before you goEntrance fee: $30 per private vehicle. There's no nonresident surcharge here. The $55 Southeast Utah Parks pass also covers Arches.Supplies: no restaurants or gas in the park. Potable water is available at the visitor center only, spring through fall, and there's none on the trails. Fill the tank and pack lunch in Moab.Visitor center: open daily March through December from 9 a.m., with longer summer hours.Combine it: Dead Horse Point State Park is on the way, with its own fee, and its view of the Colorado River's gooseneck is worth the detour.
    Utah

    Utah

    Utah sits between Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho. Most visitors come for the five national parks in the south, the "Mighty Five": Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands. In winter, the draw is the Wasatch Range, with ski resorts less than an hour from Salt Lake City.Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics and gets the Games again in 2034. Northwest of town lies the Great Salt Lake, a remnant of Ice Age Lake Bonneville. The state's high point is Kings Peak (13,518 ft) in the Uinta Mountains.Down south, the parks sit close together: Zion with the Narrows of the Virgin River, Bryce Canyon and its hoodoos, Capitol Reef along the Waterpocket Fold, and Arches and Canyonlands outside Moab. Monument Valley and Lake Powell are right on the Arizona line.
    Bryce Canyon National Park

    Bryce Canyon National Park

    Bryce Canyon National Park sits on a high plateau in southern Utah, a short day's drive northeast of Zion, at around 8,000 feet and topping out above 9,000 feet at Rainbow Point. You come for the hoodoos: thousands of orange-red rock spires packed into amphitheaters, with short trails that drop from the rim right down among them.Bryce isn't really a canyon but the eroded edge of a plateau. The heart of the park is the Bryce Amphitheater, lined by Sunrise, Sunset, Inspiration and Bryce Points. From there an 18-mile dead-end road with 13 viewpoints runs south to Rainbow Point.Where to stayThe closest hotels and restaurants are in Bryce Canyon City just outside the entrance, home to the sprawling Ruby's Inn. For something quieter, stay in the village of Tropic below the plateau, about 15 minutes away. Inside the park, the Lodge at Bryce Canyon is open spring through fall.Before you goEntrance fee: $35 per private vehicle. Visitors who aren't U.S. residents pay an extra $100 per person age 16 and up; U.S. residents don't. The America the Beautiful pass ($80 for residents, $250 for nonresidents) covers entry, and the nonresident version waives the surcharge for everyone in the car.Altitude and weather: nights are cool even in summer, it freezes almost every night from October through May, and snow is common in winter. Bring a warm layer and rain gear year-round; weather changes fast up here.After dark: Bryce is an International Dark Sky Park. Rangers run stargazing programs in summer, and full-moon hikes are assigned by lottery.
    Page

    Page

    Page is a town of about 7,400 people in far northern Arizona, right on the Utah line and the shore of Lake Powell. It's the base for three stops that top many Southwest road trips: Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell with Glen Canyon Dam, all less than 15 minutes from town.It's roughly four and a half to five hours from both Las Vegas and Phoenix and about three from the Grand Canyon's South Rim. Plan at least one night: Horseshoe Bend is emptiest at sunrise and best lit in the afternoon, Antelope Canyon glows most around midday, and a boat trip on the lake is worth the time.Book aheadAntelope Canyon: guided tours with a Navajo-owned operator only. In spring and summer, book days or weeks out; Upper Antelope Canyon doesn't sell tickets on-site. Budget around $100 per person for Lower Antelope Canyon, including the Navajo Nation fee.Horseshoe Bend: no reservation, but parking is $10 per car.Time zones: Page stays on Mountain Standard Time year-round, while the Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time. Double-check which time your tour is listed in.The town itself is no-frills, with motels, grocery stores and a modest choice of restaurants, but it works well as a base.

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    • Place data such as addresses and ratings comes from Google Maps.
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