Arches National Park is defined by natural arches spread across a red desert landscape. Short walks and longer hikes lead to formations that are all made from the same sandstone and still manage to look completely different from one another.
We used Moab as our base and combined Arches with Canyonlands. The town had supermarkets, restaurants, fuel, hotels and campsites, which made it the ideal place to briefly return to civilisation between several nights in the desert.
Moab was around three hours from Monument Valley and about four hours from Capitol Reef. Arches lies a little outside the cluster formed by Bryce Canyon, Zion, Antelope Canyon and the Grand Canyon, so combining it with Monument Valley and both accessible districts of Canyonlands made the most sense for our route.
In 2018 the entrance fee was USD 25 per car for seven days, and the America the Beautiful pass was accepted. How much time to plan depended almost entirely on the number of hikes: one full day worked for our route, while two days would have allowed several longer trails.
Starting early in Arches National Park
We drove into the park early because we wanted soft morning light and a head start on the hiking trail. Around 8 AM, queues already began forming at the entrance. The road inside the park is narrow and winding, so every extra car at the gate eventually becomes extra traffic at the viewpoints.
Arriving at around 7:30 AM worked well for us. The first section did not immediately reveal the famous arches, but the red formations were already impressive, especially with the snow-covered mountains of Colorado in the background.
One full day was enough for us to cover almost all of the viewpoints and short walks and add one long hike through Devil’s Garden. Two days would have made the schedule more relaxed, but we had a lot of Utah still ahead of us.
Double Arch, Turret Arch and the Windows
Double Arch was only a short walk from the parking area. Two enormous arches meet above one place, which makes it spectacular and also extremely popular. Sunrise or early morning is the best chance to see it without dozens of people standing in every photograph.
Turret Arch sits nearby and gave us the best view towards the North and South Windows. Walking directly beneath a formation is impressive, but sometimes the better photograph is taken from farther away. From Turret Arch, the two Windows were clearly visible together.
Delicate Arch and the shorter walks
Delicate Arch is Utah’s icon and, in our opinion, the most beautiful arch in the park. Reaching it closely requires a roughly five-kilometre return hike with little shade and some elevation. There are also two distant viewpoints for anyone short on time.
The upper viewpoint gave a reasonable view without doing the full hike, although it remained a distant one. With a telephoto lens of at least 85 mm it was still possible to take a good photograph from there. To stand directly below the arch, however, walking was the only option and the space had to be shared with many other visitors.
Broken Arch required a slightly longer but still easy walk. Its thin sandstone bridge looked as if somebody had cut a large opening through the middle. Sand Dune Arch was hidden between walls of red rock and offered something rare in Arches: shade.
Why we missed Fiery Furnace
Fiery Furnace was said to be THE hike in Arches. A permit or ranger-guided tour was required, and in 2018 reservations had to be arranged at the visitor centre. When we arrived on Friday, the next available place was the following Wednesday.
A ranger saw our disappointment and suggested the Primitive Trail through Devil’s Garden instead. We could not wait almost a week for Fiery Furnace, so the alternative became our main hike.
Primitive Trail through Devil’s Garden
The Primitive Trail was a moderately difficult loop of about 12 kilometres or seven miles. It passed several arches and involved more scrambling than the short roadside walks. We started between 9 and 9:30 AM before the trail became too busy.
We walked clockwise towards Double O Arch. This turned out to be a good choice because the largest slippery rock sections were easier for us to climb down than up. We watched people struggling in the opposite direction and would choose clockwise again.
The detours to Landscape Arch, Partition Arch and Navajo Arch were all worth taking. Double O Arch made a good place for a snack break. The detour to Dark Angel was less rewarding for us because the formation was already easy to see from a distance.
Pine Tree Arch could be added before or after the loop. We left it until the end, when we were already exhausted and hungry. Doing it first would have been the smarter decision.
Where we slept near Moab
Moab had every type of accommodation, from hotels and motels to campsites and RV parks. We were travelling on a limited budget and looked for land managed by the Bureau of Land Management instead.
The Bureau of Land Management operates many free or inexpensive camping areas where travellers can usually stay for no more than 14 nights. That sounded perfect for our budget, but around Arches those simple places were popular as well.
Even the inexpensive BLM sites around Arches filled up quickly. We eventually spent the night at Cowboy Camp near Canyonlands. Two cars were allowed on each site, and two American women kindly let us share theirs.
Our one-day Arches route
- Arrive before the main entrance queue.
- Visit Double Arch and the Windows in the morning.
- Choose one longer hike instead of trying to rush through several.
- Carry enough water because large parts of the park have no shade.
- Leave time for the smaller detours in Devil’s Garden.
As in most national parks, the harder a viewpoint was to reach, the fewer people we had to share it with. The long Primitive Trail became the part of Arches we enjoyed most, even though it was originally only our replacement plan.