🎧 Prefer to Listen?
Enjoy travel adventures, practical tips, and life reflections on Travel Tricks and Tips.
▶️ Listen on Spotify | ▶️ Listen on Apple Podcasts | ▶️ Listen on iHeartRadio
There are some national parks where you have to hike for miles before you reach the scenery you came to see. Arches National Park in Utah is different. The experience begins right from the road.
Driving through the park puts you among enormous sandstone formations, towering rock walls and some of the most recognizable natural arches in America. You can enjoy a surprising amount of Arches National Park simply by driving, stopping at overlooks and taking short walks. But if you enjoy hiking, there are trails ranging from easy walks to more demanding adventures across exposed desert terrain.
That combination is one of the things I enjoyed about Arches. You decide how much you want to hike.
Getting to Arches National Park — Prepare for the Drive
Getting to Arches National Park is part of the adventure. The park sits in southeastern Utah, just five miles north of Moab on U.S. Highway 191, in a part of the state where the landscape can feel enormous, open and surprisingly remote.
Depending on the direction you're coming from, you may spend a considerable amount of time driving through wide-open desert country. There are stretches where towns and services are widely separated, and the scenery can make you realize just how isolated parts of Utah really are. This is not the kind of road trip where I like watching the fuel gauge get close to empty.
If you're arriving from Interstate 70, you leave I-70 around Crescent Junction and head south on U.S. 191 toward Moab and Arches National Park. The park entrance is approximately 28 miles south of I-70 and about five miles north of Moab.
My advice is simple: prepare before heading into the more remote parts of the drive. Fill your gas tank when you have the opportunity, carry drinking water and snacks, and don't assume there will always be a gas station or convenience store just a few miles down the road. I also like having an offline map available when traveling through remote areas.
Once you reach Moab, things change. Moab is the main community serving Arches and has gas stations, restaurants, lodging, groceries and other services. This is a good place to fuel the vehicle, stock up on water and food, and make sure you have everything you need before entering the park.
There are no gas stations inside Arches National Park, so I strongly recommend entering with plenty of fuel. Cellphone coverage inside the park can also be spotty, and there is no public Wi-Fi.
Flying to Arches National Park
If you're flying and renting a car, there are several options.
Canyonlands Field Airport (CNY) is the closest airport, approximately 11 miles from the Arches entrance.
Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) in Colorado is approximately 109 miles away and is another option for travelers wanting a larger regional airport.
For travelers looking for a major international airport with more flight choices, Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) is approximately 230 miles from the park entrance. From there, Arches becomes part of a much longer Utah road trip.
Whichever route you choose, a vehicle is extremely useful. There is no public transportation inside Arches National Park, and most visitors explore the park by driving the scenic road and stopping at viewpoints and trailheads.
And that's one of the great things about Arches: you don't have to hike every trail to experience the park.
You can drive through spectacular scenery, stop at overlooks, get close to many of the formations by car, take a short walk when you want to, or park and tackle one of the longer hikes.
Just arrive prepared—with fuel in the tank, plenty of water in the car and enough time to enjoy the journey instead of rushing through it.
 |
| Delicate Arch |
You Can Drive, Stop and Hike at Your Own Pace
One thing I would tell anyone planning a first visit is not to think of Arches National Park as a place where you have to park your car and disappear into the wilderness for the entire day.
The park road takes you close to many of the major areas. You can drive for a while, stop when something catches your attention, take photographs, walk a short trail and then continue to the next location.
That makes Arches a good destination for people with different hiking abilities. One person may be perfectly happy enjoying the scenery from overlooks and taking shorter walks, while another may want to spend several hours hiking deeper into Devils Garden.
You can create your own combination of scenic driving, photography, short walks and longer hikes.
And believe me, you'll probably be stopping for photographs more often than you expect.
If there is one formation most associated with Arches National Park, it is Delicate Arch.
The hike from Wolfe Ranch is approximately 3 miles round trip, with more than 500 feet of elevation gain. It crosses open desert and climbs across a broad section of slickrock before reaching the arch.
Don't let the relatively short mileage fool you. There is little shade, and the Utah sun can make the hike considerably more demanding.
The reward is that famous view of Delicate Arch standing almost impossibly against the surrounding landscape.
If you don't want to make the full hike, there are also Delicate Arch viewpoints that allow you to see the arch from a distance. That's another example of why I like the flexibility of visiting Arches—you don't necessarily have to complete the longest trail to experience the landmark.
The Rock Formations Almost Don't Look Real
The arches may get most of the attention, but one of the things that fascinated me most about Arches National Park was simply how the rocks are formed. The unusual sandstone formations seem to continue for miles, and sometimes you find yourself looking at them and wondering how they can possibly remain standing.
There are enormous rocks that appear to be balanced on top of other rocks at angles that don't seem possible. You look at some of them and naturally wonder, Will that rock eventually fall? That's part of what makes driving through Arches so interesting. Even between the major attractions, the landscape itself gives you something to look at.
Then there are the arches themselves. Arches National Park contains more than 2,000 documented natural stone arches, along with pinnacles, fins and other unusual geological formations. Some arches are enormous and substantial, while others have sections of sandstone that look incredibly thin. Standing there looking at them, it's difficult not to wonder how something that appears so fragile can remain suspended in the air.
Of course, these formations are constantly changing. Wind, water, freezing temperatures and erosion helped create this landscape, and those same natural forces continue to reshape it today.
Delicate Arch — Utah's Famous Symbol
The best-known formation is Delicate Arch, and even if you've never visited Arches National Park, there's a good chance you've seen it before.
Delicate Arch has become a symbol of Utah and appears on the state's “Life Elevated” license plate. Seeing something you've encountered countless times in photographs and then realizing that you're actually standing in the landscape where it exists is a completely different experience.
But don't make the mistake of thinking Delicate Arch is all there is to see. There are arches everywhere, including Landscape Arch, Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch, Double Arch and The Windows, along with countless other formations.
That is why I wouldn't rush through this park.
A Paradise for Photographers and Artists
When I visited, I noticed photographers taking picture after picture and artists stopping to sketch and paint the landscape. It's easy to understand why.
As the sunlight changes, so do the rocks. Their colors, shadows and textures can look different depending on where you're standing and the time of day. You can photograph the same formation from several angles and come away with completely different pictures.
I found myself doing exactly what many other visitors were doing—stopping again and again just to take another photograph.
And although Utah can be extremely hot in summer, I remember how different it could feel when you reached the shade of the massive rock formations. Getting out of the direct sun and feeling a breeze pass through a shaded area was a welcome change from the exposed desert.
Arches Is Still Changing
Something else worth remembering when you're looking at these formations is that they aren't permanent.
Arches form through a very long process of erosion, and eventually some formations do collapse. Wall Arch, which was once one of the named arches in Devils Garden, collapsed in 2008.
That puts the landscape into perspective.
When you're standing underneath a huge arch or looking at a remarkably thin piece of sandstone stretching through the air, you're seeing one moment in a geological process that is still happening today.
Landscape Arch and Devils Garden
Another area worth exploring is Devils Garden, which gives you several hiking choices.
The hike to Landscape Arch is approximately 1.8 miles round trip. Landscape Arch is extraordinarily thin compared with its tremendous span, and seeing something that delicate-looking created naturally from sandstone is remarkable.
If you're looking for more adventure, you don't necessarily have to turn around at Landscape Arch.
Continuing farther into Devils Garden takes you into much more challenging terrain, with sandstone fins, scrambling, narrow sections and more exposure. There are routes toward Double O Arch, Dark Angel and the Primitive Trail.
This is where Arches changes from sightseeing with some hiking into a much more serious desert hiking experience.
For visitors who want a shorter hike, The Windows is an excellent area.
The approximately one-mile loop takes you near North Window, South Window and Turret Arch. You get impressive scenery without committing several hours to a trail.
It's also a good example of something I noticed throughout Arches: sometimes you can drive quite close to an attraction, park and then explore it on foot.
Don't Miss Double Arch
Nearby is Double Arch, reached by a short walk of roughly 0.6 mile round trip.
This is one of those places where photographs don't completely communicate the scale. Once you get closer and stand beneath the enormous openings in the sandstone, you realize just how massive these formations are.
Yes, Your Shoes Are Going to Get Dirty!
Here's something the beautiful photographs don't always tell you about hiking in Arches National Park:
It's dusty.
Some areas have very fine, powdery soil. When conditions are dry and people are walking ahead of you, dust can get kicked into the air. The fine soil works its way onto your shoes and lower legs surprisingly quickly.
So don't arrive wearing the brand-new hiking shoes you're determined to keep spotless!
Your shoes may look considerably different at the end of the day than they did when you started.
But that's part of hiking in a desert environment. You're not walking along a perfectly manicured path. Depending on the trail, you may encounter loose sand and dirt, rocky surfaces, slickrock and uneven terrain.
Desert Hiking Is Different
Another mistake would be judging these hikes only by mileage.
A three-mile hike in an exposed Utah desert is not necessarily the same experience as a three-mile shaded woodland hike.
There can be very little protection from the sun. Temperatures can become extremely hot, and the dry air can make it easy to underestimate how much water you're losing.
Carry plenty of water, use sun protection and don't wait until you're thirsty to start drinking.
If you're planning a hike later in the day, pay attention to sunset. A headlamp or flashlight is a small item that can become extremely important if your return takes longer than expected.
Protect the Desert While You're Hiking
There's another feature of Arches that hikers should understand.
Some of what looks like ordinary dark, crusty desert soil is actually biological soil crust, a living community of organisms that helps stabilize the desert soil.
Walking over it can cause damage that takes a very long time to recover.
Stay on established trails, rock surfaces and designated areas rather than creating shortcuts simply to get a better photograph.
The landscape is beautiful partly because generations of visitors have the opportunity—and responsibility—to protect it.
You Don't Have to Be a Serious Hiker to Enjoy Arches
This may be the most important thing I would tell someone considering Arches National Park.
Go even if you're not a long-distance hiker.
Drive the scenic road. Stop at the overlooks. Get out and take photographs. Choose one of the shorter walks. If you're comfortable doing more, tackle Delicate Arch or explore farther into Devils Garden.
Arches allows you to build the visit around your own ability and available time.
For me, that's part of its appeal. You can spend one moment standing beside your car admiring an enormous sandstone formation and the next walking across desert terrain toward an arch you've seen countless times in photographs.
And don't worry when you return to the car with dusty shoes.
That's evidence that you didn't just look at Utah—you walked on it.
Why Utah Stays With Me
Of all the places I have traveled, Utah is one of those states that always stays in my mind. There is something about the landscape that is difficult to forget. The magnificent rock formations, natural arches, national parks, lonely highways and the sheer amount of wilderness make it feel unlike almost anywhere else.
Arches National Park is only one part of that experience. Utah is filled with remarkable landmarks and protected landscapes, and sometimes the journey between them is just as memorable as the destination. You can drive for miles surrounded by open country, towering rock formations and seemingly endless desert, and it reminds you just how vast the American West really is.
Perhaps that's what I remember most—the sheer wilderness. In our everyday lives, we're surrounded by buildings, traffic and constant activity. Then you arrive somewhere like Utah, look across that enormous landscape and realize how small we are compared with what nature has created over millions of years.
Utah will always have a special place in my travel memories. The arches, the unusual rocks that seem to balance impossibly on one another, the dusty hiking trails and those long stretches of wilderness are images I don't easily forget.
And I know myself well enough to say this: I'll probably return to Utah a hundred more times if I get the opportunity. There will always be another trail to hike, another national park to explore, another lonely highway to drive and another incredible landscape waiting around the next bend.
Every time I see those red rocks again, I don't just remember Utah—I start thinking about when I can go back.
Enjoying Travel Ideas USA?
Our travel stories, advice, and planning resources are completely free. Your optional support helps us keep creating. Contributions are appreciated, never required.
❤️ Support Travel Ideas USADiscipline keeps you going. Consistency gets you there.
▶ Listen on iHeartRadio | ▶ Listen on Spotify | ▶ Listen on Apple Podcasts
— FowzerThe Reflective Explorer
Comments
Post a Comment