Guide to Arches National Park

Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, let’s get back to our regularly scheduled program. Up next on our Utah road trip was Moab so we could visit Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Dead Horse Point State Park. Since there is so much to see and do in Moab I figured I would break it down by park for you so it isn’t too overwhelming. So, here is your guide to Arches National Park.

Things to Know Before Visiting

Bring Water! There are not a lot of shaded areas in the park and it was one of our hottest stops in Utah. There are refill stations within the park, but just make sure you are drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated. Places like Arizona and Utah have a dry heat so your sweat is drying before you even know you are sweating so it is so important to stay hydrated.

Arches is located in Moab, Utah which has tons of places to stay and eat. Like I mentioned early, Moab is home to two different National Parks as well as a state park. The entrance to each National park is $30 and is good for 7 days. If you plan to visit more National Parks in the year, I would recommend the “America the Beautiful” pass. It is $80 for the year and allows you to get into any of the national parks without paying the $30 each time.

Another thing to note about Moab is that it is an outdoorsy adventure town. There are so many other things to do besides the parks. A ton of people rent ATVs and off-road vehicles and go on tours to explore. There is a dinosaur museum, horseback riding, shopping, etc. I mean there is a HUGE range of things to do here.

Must See Places in Arches National Park

Balanced Rock is a super easy one to check out. You can literally see it from the road, but we still took the time to do the short .3 mile loop to get up close to it. When you get up close and get to read about the rock you really see just how impressive this formation really is.

The Windows is technically an area of the park where a couple of different archways are located. But this is also where you can do a short hike to see the North window and the South window. If you are wanting to see both arches side by side. I recommend hiking the primitive trail which takes you around to the backside of the arches so you can have a grand view of both of them. The primitive trail isn’t marked very well and does make this hike longer and less easy so keep that in mind.

Double Arch is another super easy hike and you get to see one of the coolest arches in the park! It is a .5 mile hike that is relatively flat with an up-close view of two amazing arches. Hence the name double arch! This thing is massive and just absolutely insane to see!

Delicate Arch is the iconic arch that is pretty much like a logo for Arches National Park. This was an insane arch to see! It is a 3-mile roundtrip hike, that is pretty much all uphill on your way out to it. Once you get there though, the arch is unlike any other and definitely worth it. It was a pretty tough hike so If you feel like this hike will be too strenuous, they do have viewpoints for it where you can view it off in the distance.

I am so grateful that we took the time to see these arches and got the opportunity to see them. It has taken thousands of years to form them and I know they won’t be around forever. So I highly recommend checking them out if you get the chance to. If you are looking for other places to visit in Utah, check out our Ultimate Utah Road Trip Itinerary. Happy Travels My Friends!