Arches National Park is one of the most popular national parks in Utah. Heck, it’s one of the most popular national parks in the United States! Vistas like Delicate Arch are world-famous for a good reason, and since Arches is actually a relatively small park, it is possible to see most of the main sights in one day.
We visited Arches over a cool, April weekend. While it was not as warm as I would have hoped, the weather was perfect for hiking, and we had a blast exploring some of this park’s most impressive hiking trails. So here’s my guide for how to spend one amazing day in Arches.
Where to Stay
The closest town to Arches National Park is Moab, Utah, which is an adorable town with lots of hotels and campgrounds. We opted for an Airbnb that was more affordable than a hotel (which were shockingly pricy, in my opinion) but didn’t involve, you know, sleeping in a tent. I love the great outdoors, but I’m not about that life. Anyway, staying in Moab is perfect because you have lots of restaurants available for a hearty post-hike meal, and you will also be able to visit the other national park in the area, Canyonlands.
There are some campgrounds available within the national park itself, but the spots are booked up super fast, so I wouldn’t count on it.
Getting to Arches
From Moab, it is less than half an hour to the entrance to Arches National Park, so getting there is really easy.
However, there is one very important piece of information that I did not know about until less than a week before our trip: Timed Entry.
At the time of writing (summer 2022), Arches is implementing a timed entry system to try to combat overcrowding in the park. This means that you can only enter the park if you reserve a time slot beforehand on the national parks website. Currently, they are doing a trial run of this reservation system, which is set to expire in October, 2022. At that time, I’ll try to update this post if it becomes permanent or not. (Although I’m really bad about remembering to do stuff like that, so if it’s after October 2022, and you’re reading this, just double check the website yourself.)
*November 2022 update: the timed entry system is not currently in place, but may return next year.
Anyway, I learned about this reservation system late in the game, like only a few days before our trip. This resulted in some minor panic, but thankfully, there is a loophole in the system. You don’t need to reserve a time slot if you enter before 6:00 a.m. Well, we were already planning to go early, so now we just had to plan to go really early.
Delicate Arch
There is one think in Arches National Park that everyone goes to see, and I really mean everyone. It is Delicate Arch. This beautiful natural wonder is featured on the Utah license plate, and is one of the most photographed things in the whole country. So we beelined straight for Delicate Arch right when we entered the park around 5:30 in the morning.
We were not the first ones there. In fact, the parking lot was already quite full.
We were not surprised, but just be prepared that there is no scenario in which you will have Delicate Arch all to yourself, and during the bulk of the day, you will be lucky to find a parking spot, so prepare accordingly.
But it was worth it.
The hike to Delicate Arch is short, only about 3.5 miles roundtrip, and we walked most of the way there in the dark. We got to watch the sun rise from the beautiful arch, which really is breathtaking. It was very crowded, but everyone was cool about taking turns taking pictures with the arch.
Devil’s Garden Hike
There are lots of places to hike in Arches National Park, but the most popular (besides Delicate Arch) is probably the Devil’s Garden Trail. Don’t let this deter you, though! There are a few different ways to approach this hike, and if you do the adventurous version (which we did) it’s much less crowded once you get a little further from the start of the trail.
The Devil’s Garden Trail is popular because you see a ton of different arches from the trail, including the Landscape Arch and the Double O Arch, among many others. The whole trail is just under 8 miles, and it is generally considered a difficult hike. There’s a little bit of rock scrambling, but as long as you have enough water and snacks, it wasn’t anything too crazy.
From the Devil’s Garden parking lot, we hiked less than half a mile to the first arch, Tunnel Arch, and the nearby Pine Tree Arch. These are both just a few steps off the main trail. Back on the main trail, it’s a short easy walk to Landscape Arch, with lots of beautiful scenery along the way.
Landscape Arch is famous because some chunks of it fell off in the 90’s, and you can only view it from a distance for safety reasons. This is as far as many hikers make it, but not us. From here, we followed the sign towards the Primitive Loop Trail.
The landscape got more and more rugged as we walked, and soon we found ourselves facing a large wall of sandstone, which we had to scramble over. It probably would have been easier to hike the loop in the opposite direction, but you live and you learn, and we made it up without too much trouble. The whole time, I kept jumping from rock to rock saying “Wow, this is so cool!”
After walking through a wash and taking a short detour off the main trail to Private Arch, we eventually arrived at the Double O Arch, which made for some fun pictures. From here, it was just a scenic, downhill trek back to the parking lot. Along the way, we made stops at Partition Arch and Navajo Arch.
The last section of the loop was truly spectacular. We walked along a very narrow strip of sandstone (which Google tells me is called a “fin”). The steep drop-offs on either side of this narrow trail made my heart beat a little faster, but it was so much fun! By the time we made it back to the car, we were pretty exhausted, but we still had a few more things to see in Arches.
Double Arch and Turret Arch
After brief stops at Broken Arch and Sand Dune Arch (which may have been a poor decision considering how badly my feet were hurting!) we made our way to Double Arch and Turret Arch. These Arches are large and impressive, and it requires only a very short hike to see both (thank goodness). We started by walking to Turret Arch, which was neat, but the star of the show was definitely Double Arch. Plus, we got some seriously amazing photos!
By the time we had finished exploring Double Arch, it was past time for a well-deserved lunch. We made our way out of the park and headed into Moab for a big, cheesy pizza, then spent the afternoon at our Airbnb resting our weary legs. It had been an amazing day in Arches National Park!
Corona Arch
So, Corona Arch is not technically in Arches, but it’s right next door, so if you’re in the area and want to do a little extra hiking, check this spot out! The hike is not very long or difficult, and on the way, you can check out a few smaller arches, along with the giant arch called Corona Arch. We actually did this hike the morning after our day in Arches before driving back home, and it was a great final hike before leaving Moab.
There’s a reason Arches is one of the most popular national parks in the U.S. There are so many incredible rock formations, you start to lose track of them all, and it would be easy to explore this area for days and days, even if the park is relatively small. While this guide doesn’t cover every single thing there is to see and do in Arches, hopefully it provides some good ideas for how to make the most of one day in the national park.
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