Arches National Park for Beginners (Hikes & Recommendations)
Of all the Mighty Five National Parks in Utah, we think Arches is the best one of the best for beginners (right next to Bryce Canyon).
It’s a relatively easy park to navigate. There’s one primary road in and out – the Arches Scenic Drive.
There are hikes for folks of all levels, but no hikes that were too challenging (for us anyway).
The hardest part about visiting the park is that it’s in the middle of the Utah desert. But once you are out there, Arches is one of the best places we’ve visited.
Let’s tell you all about Arches National Park for beginners!
Notes from the Newbies
Gus
Arches is interesting because even though it’s a fairly small park, there are loads of hikes and things to do! We loved how easy it was to navigate and, of course, we loved seeing the iconic arches spread throughout the park!
Katie
I’ll start off by saying that I had high expectations for Arches. When a park is hyped up, it’s easy for it to be kind of a let down – but Arches did not disappoint. The hike to Delicate Arch was one of the top 2 things we did in all of Utah!
Arches National Park Basics
| Date Established | 1971 |
| Annual Visitors (2022) | 1,460,652 |
| Rank in Popularity (by visitors) | 20th |
| #1 Reason to Visit | Natural Sandstone Arches |
| Highest Visited Month | June (171,859 visitors in 2022) |
| Lowest Visited Month | January (40,621 visitors in 2022) |
| Closest Major Airport | Salt Lake City International (235 miles) |
Map of Arches National Park
As you plan your trip to Arches, it’ll be useful to download at this map. Get a sense of the park, start highlighting where you want to stop first or last (we’ll also make our recommendation below!)
Tips Before You Visit Arches
Remember the Timed Entry System: Pick an Early Time
From April 1 to October 31 2023, timed entry is required to visit Arches National Park between 7am-4pm. We recommend selecting the earliest possible time slot.
In 2022 – with input from the public – the National Park Service implemented timed entry in order to enter the park.
The primary reason this was created was to address how quickly annual visitations grew – 73% growth in just 10 years! Just behind Zion National park, it’s probably the second-most popular national park in Utah.
Tickets are first-come, first-served and available on Recreation.gov up to 3 months in advance. And the tickets are good for a 1-day personal vehicle entrance.
It costs $2 to reserve your ticket (processing fee) + your Annual National Park Pass or paid entrance fee. It was all relatively easy to understand!
How to Bypass Timed Entry
Look I’m not saying we recommend this entirely, but plenty of people did it – so it just feels fair to share.
You can bypass timed entry by simply arriving before 7am or after 4pm.
Our timed entry was for 7am (the earliest possible), but we found that there were already several dozen cars driving into the park and people already on hikes!
Based on the FAQs on the NPS website, there are zero consequences for arriving early without timed entrance. The biggest consequence is less sleep!
So, if you’re up for an early morning – bypass the timed entrance before 7am and start exploring Arches National Park!
Bring Plenty of Water
Our second tip is to bring plenty of water because there is very little tree coverage throughout the park.
Even in early spring (which is the best time to visit) with slightly cooler temperatures, the sun still felt like it was blazing down on us.
We prepped well by bringing an extra water cube and water bladders for our backpacks.
There are plenty of signs around the park reminding visitors to drink water and a few areas where you can even refill! But don’t find yourself in a risky situation without water on a long trail.
I’ve learned this from Katie, “you never know, so you might as well prepare!”
Most Popular Arch in the Park: Delicate Arch
Delicate Arch is one of the most iconic views in all of Utah! It is even on a version of the Utah license plate!
This hike is consistently ranked as one of the top things to do in Arches.
And it perfectly represents what you’ll find throughout the park – unique, almost unbelievable stone arches carved out of the earth.
This was one of the hikes we were most excited for in Utah – and it did not disappoint.
Delicate Arch Hike Basics
- Location: From the entrance of the park to the Delicate Arch trailhead is about 25 minutes (12 miles).
- Best Time to Hike: Morning – before 10am if possible.
- Length: 3.2 miles round-trip
- Average Time to Complete: 1.5-2 hours
- Level: Moderately Challenging
- Why it’s Popular: Photo opportunities in front of Delicate Arch – one of the most impressive arches in Utah!
Our Experience at Delicate Arch
This was the first hike we took on our first morning in Arches.
We already knew it was a popular trail, but before 7:30 am there were already folks arriving!
It thankfully was not overly packed (yet), but I could see how it would fill up if you arrived any time after 9am. So – get there early!
The hike itself was moderately challenging. The beginning of the hike is all inclined up the slabs of rock. It evens out a bit as you make your way out to the arch.
Once you reach Delicate Arch, I think you’ll be surprised at how big the arch actually is.
I thought it would be a measly arch in the distance, but you can walk right up to it, grab a photo in front, and truly marvel at its size.
One of the coolest experiences we had in Utah.
The biggest downfall of this hike is…its popularity.
If you want a quiet, peaceful hike: this ain’t it.
There were folks playing music, chatting it up, and even a line in front of Delicate Arch for pictures. It’s definitely one of the busier hikes we’ve been on in any national park.
Everyone should take the hike despite the number of people you’ll encounter. The trick is to get there early!
Our Other Favorite Hikes around Arches National Park
Besides Delicate Arch, there’s plenty more to see in the park. The Devils Garden area and Windows section of the park were our two other favorites!
Devils Garden Trail to Landscape, Partition, and Navajo Arches
The Devils Garden Trailhead is located at the end of the scenic drive. It’s about 35 minutes from the park entrance.
There are several different routes you can take within the Devil’s Garden. If you choose to do the entire loop, it is 7.9 miles round trip and very challenging.
But! Here’s the route we took that is about 2.9 miles round-trip:
- Start at the Devils Garden Trailhead
- Head toward Landscape Arch
- Take the Primitive Loop Trail up to Navajo Arch Trail
- Hike to Navajo Arch
- Hike back down to Partition Arch
- Then hike back down the way you came
The Primitive Loop portion up to the Navajo Arch Trail is the most daunting. There is a portion of the hike where it feels like you are scaling the rocks. We definitely paused a few moments to make sure we felt safe enough to continue.
Thankfully we were able to safely make it up and see some incredible views of the surrounding red rocks.
Landscape Arch is the largest natural arch in the world, spanning 290 feet. It almost looks like a potato chip. There are lots of signs around warning hikers to NOT climb the arch as it’s very delicate and unlikely to hold any additional weight.
The Navajo Arch is tucked underneath a giant rock with a few bushes and trees around it. The sandy ground was relieving after climbing through rocks for an hour – it was quite peaceful.
Partition Arch gives you a window to the surrounding rocky valley. It’s gigantic and provides incredible framing for pictures.
The Windows Area
The Windows Trail is located about 23 minutes from the park entrance is another one of the most popular hikes in arches.
There are two popular hikes in this area: Double Arch and the Windows Trail.We stayed only on the Windows Trail (but will go back for Double Arch next time!).
The entire loop is only 1.2 miles, fairly easy, and should take you about an hour to complete.
The three popular arches in the area are Turret Arch, South Window Arch, and North Window Arch.
This hike is incredible because you can walk underneath and through most of the arches here.
Our favorite part was the Windows Sand Loop Trail, as it gave us a full 360 view of the arches. There were less people than we expected on this portion of the trail. It was still generally easy to navigate, but definitely requires a bit more effort.
We loved seeing the North Window Arch from “behind” as it looked somewhat like a dinosaur eye (at least that’s what I thought!)
One Day in Arches National Park
If you start your day early enough, you can see most of the viewpoints in the park all in one day. Your ideal one day can look like:
- Morning at Delicate Arch
- Mid-day in the Devil’s Garden
- Late afternoon in the Windows Area
There are plenty of other pull outs along the Arches National Park Scenic Road, so you can plan some time to pause and view the surrounding area. Try to stop at the Fiery Furnace overlook for Bryce Canyon-esque hoodoos.
A few additional short hikes you can consider taking are the Park Avenue Trail (1.8 miles and ~1 hour) and Balanced Rock (0.3 miles and 10 minutes).
The biggest benefit of spending multiple days around Moab and Arches, is the opportunity to see the neighboring Canyonlands National Park.
Final Thoughts: Arches National Park for Beginners
Our experience at Arches NP was incredible. It’s easily one of our favorite parks in Utah. And I’m positive we’ll be back some day with our family!
When we look back on this trip, our favorite parts were:
- Seeing unique sandstone arches all over the park
- Moderately challenging hikes to beautiful viewpoints
- And ultimately how incredible Delicate Arch was to see in-person.
As you plan your trip to Arches, we hope this guide has given you just enough to get you excited and started with your itinerary!
