The first time we visited Arches National Park, we left hot, tired, dirty, dehydrated and amazed! This park has so much to offer visitors, you won’t mind pushing yourself to your limits to see it all. This amazing national park is full of awesome geological wonders. While other geological wonders may all start to look the same after a while – cough, Grand canyon, cough – excuse me, tickle in the throat. However, Arches National park is one of those magical places that doesn’t loose it’s magic with time or experience. Every arch is different and different lighting makes them unique to visit over and over again. So explore the top things to do in Arches National Park today and plan your trip to this unique desert paradise. We hope you enjoy it as much as we have!
Take in the Scenic Drive
There is one main road that leads into and out of Arches National park. This is one of the easiest things to do in Arches and is accessible to everyone. This is also a great option for people who are short on time as you can easily complete it in half a day. The drive alone takes about 1.5 hours. However, once you make all the stops at the beautiful viewpoints it will take much longer. If you aren’t short on time, consider making this drive but peppering it with hikes throughout the day.
Windows Section
Arches make great windows to frame the nearby scenery with. This is one of the most scenic parts of the park because of the close proximity of North/South Window to Turret Arch. You can hike the short 1 mile hike to Windows to get some great views of Turret Arch. You get some serious views for your hike with this short three arch hike that takes about 45 minutes. To get here, you’ll take a side road that also has some great viewpoints of arches to see in the distance.
Hike to Delicate Arch
This is the ultimate Utah experience and it tops the list of things to do in Arches National Park. This arch dots so many photos and even makes a cameo on the Utah license plate. This is a moderately difficult hike, made even more difficult during high heat. This is a 3 mile round trip hike that takes hikers over smooth angled sandstone. This hike is semi-well marked by piles of rocks, but it’s easy to loose your way. So remember to follow other people. This hike takes about 2.5 hours. However, this hike is totally worth it. Visit early in the morning or later in the afternoon to avoid the heat and the crowds. We started our hike just after sunrise and by the time we got there there were only a few other groups. You can walk right up under the arch. However, be mindful of others taking photos and keep your visits to the area under the arch short and sweet.
People love to visit this arch at sunrise and sunset to get some really great photos. However, we love to visit early in the morning, after sunrise to get to see the arch with very few people around.
Stop at the Scenic Overlooks
There are so many amazing scenic overlooks in Arches. We recommend stopping at them all! You’ll see towering red rock, delicate greenery and tiny arches in the distance. The drive through Arches National Park is actually considered a scenic route so enjoy the scenery! Some of our favorite view points are Courthouse Towers, Park avenue and the Fiery Furnace.
Double Arch
This is our favorite arch and is one of the easiest arches to access. You get to this arch after a short walk from a nearby parking lot. This is another amazing thing to do in Arches National Park because you can climb right under the double arches and look up. This is our favorite viewpoint in the entire park. Have no shame, just lay right down and enjoy the view of the sky under the slight shade of Double Arch.
Hike to Broken Arch and Sand Dune Arch
Take in the 1.5 hour hike to Broken Arch. On the way back, enjoy a stop at the very unique Sand Dune arch that is tucked away in the sandstone cliffs. This is a cool hidden arch in the park that is very different from the other things to do in Arches. This is something good to do when it is hot as it is one of the few places in the park that you’ll find shade.
Hike to Landscape Arch
This is another great arch to visit as it is a relatively easy hike. This 1.9 mile hike is pretty easy, flat and well marked. At the destination, you’ll see Landscape arch which is considered to be the 5th longest natural stone arch in the world and is longer than a football field. This hike takes about an hour. So hike and be awed!
Devils Garden Trail
This is a big bang for your buck hike! With a high density of arches located on this trail, you get to see a lot. However this is a 8.2 mile trail and is considered moderate to challenging, with rough trails and some climbing involved. So you will have to put in the work.
However, you see 8 arches if you complete the full hike, which does include a bit of extra hiking to see every arch as they often have individual out and back trailheads to the viewpoints. Because this is such a long hike, it’s recommended that you complete it in the morning or evening to avoid the midday heat.
Start your hike with a short trail spur to Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch. Then keep hiking until you get to to Landscape Arch. Turn around here if you’re tired, thirsty or if hiking just isn’t fun any more. After this point the trail gets rough.
However, if you keep going you’ll get to a trail spur for Navajo and Partition Arch and then hike on to Double O Arch, Private Arch and Dark Angel overlook. If you do this full trail, the trail gets very primitive so make sure to take a map and follow the very subtle markers. This hike takes about 3 hours without stops so prepare to spend a good portion of time here.
See Balanced Rock
Balanced rock is one of the shortest and easiest hikes at Arches National Park at .3 miles. Just wind your way around a giant balanced rock in the middle of nowhere with nothing around it. You’ll wonder at its size, balance and the great mystery of how is this standing with nothing else around??
Fiery Furnace
This is a great things to do in Arches for people staying more than one day. These hikes are only available by guided ranger walk or with a hiking permit. Hiking here is considered challenging as you’ll wind your way through slots, walk along ravines and tackle rough terrain. However, it is one of the most unique hikes in the park and is worth the time and effort if you are staying for multiple days. If you want to do the ranger led hike, which we recommend so you don’t get lost in the maze, you’ll need to reserve the walk ahead of time here.
We hope that this helps you get inspired to visit Arches National Park and plan an amazing vacation for yourself. Please leave any questions you may have in the comment section below.
