Arches National Park

The world’s largest concentration of natural sandstone arches.

Tips to Visit Arches

Hiking to Delicate Arch? In September-October and March-June, you can take a free shuttle to the trailhead. Read more ... 

Tips for visiting in popular seasons: 

1. Purchase a pass at the Moab Information Center, in downtown Moab, or online and help speed up your entry 
2. Check the Arches Entrance Station Webcam
3. Arrive before 7 AM or after 2 PM 
4. Stay flexible when enjoying the park; if popular locations are busy, explore lesser-traveled areas

Timed Entry Reservations Are Not Required for 2026

Timed entry reservations are not required to visit Arches National Park in 2026. While reservations were mandatory in prior years, they will not be required this year. You can enter the park at anytime without a reservation. Read more…

National Park Fees Update for 2026

Entrance to Arches is not affected by the surcharge applied to eleven of the most-visited national parks in the United States, including Utah's Bryce Canyon and Zion. Read more... 

Plan Your Visit

You’re probably coming to Arches to see Delicate Arch. But there are more than 2,000 of the park’s namesake formations here, the densest collection of natural sandstone arches on Earth. The park’s 76,000 acres hold other strange and beautiful rock features too: sandstone fins, balanced rocks, pinnacles and spires, petrified sand dunes. The paved scenic drive links most of the famous viewpoints together, and trails range from short jaunts to full-day excursions. As a certified International Dark Sky Park, an entirely different experience awaits you in Arches after sunset. 

You won’t be alone out here. More than 1.5 million people visit each year from every corner of the world, and there's real joy in standing under Delicate Arch among strangers, everyone awestruck at once. Strike up a conversation. Offer to take a family's photo and let them take yours. Half the magic of a place like this is sharing it.

If you’d rather have a stretch of rock to yourself, that’s here too, you’ll just need to plan a bit further ahead. Ask rangers for their recommendations, try a lesser-known route, or arrive early at popular trailheads (like, catch the sunrise early). 

Whatever your park plan is, start in town at the Moab Information Center on Main Street. You can buy your park pass there to speed up your entrance, and local staff will provide expert trail recommendations for the experience you’re looking for.

Distance from Moab: 5 miles (8 km)

Hours: Open year-round, 24 hours a day. While the park is open 24/7, the visitor center has seasonal hours. You can usually plan on it being open from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., but check on the park’s website.

Entrance Fee: $30 per vehicle, good for 7 days, or use your America the Beautiful pass. Buy your pass at nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/fees.htm

Before You Go: Entry rules can change by season. Check nps.gov/arch

When to Visit

Each season offers a new experience in Arches National Park. 

• Winter (Dec-Feb): Solitude, quiet, chance to see snow on red rocks. 
• Spring (March-May): Wildflowers, increasing visitation 
• Summer (June-September): Fewer crowds, desert heat, early mornings, stargazing 
• Fall (October-November): Extremely popular time to visit the park, perfect weather, golden-leaved cottonwood trees

Current Entrance Webcam

Arches National Park Itinerary

HALF - DAY
Drive main 36-mile (58-km) park road and hike some of the easy short trails, like Park Avenue Trail and the Windows.

FULL - DAY
Plan to drive to the end of the park, but add time to hike to the iconic sites, like Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, or Double O arch, then stay to watch the sunset. Bring a picnic lunch with you! 

MULTIPLE DAYS
Spend a day with the full-day itinerary above, then go deeper: complete the full Primitive Loop in Devils Garden, or get permits to explore the Fiery Furnace. 

PAIR IT WITH
Half of visitors skip Canyonlands — but locals know Canyonlands is the real main attraction. Don’t miss the nearby Island in the Sky district, where you stand thousands of feet above the Colorado and Green rivers.

Park Highlights

The desert is alive! And you can protect it.

The crusty sand you see next to the trail is actually alive! It’s “biocrust”, a living skin of microorganisms like lichen and fungi that bind sand together and retain moisture. Those little guys are the reason why many of our plants can thrive in the desert. 

Help protect the desert: this soil crust is exceptionally delicate, and can be crushed easily. Please stay on designated roads and trails while exploring in Moab.

Nonprofit Park Partners

Canyonlands Natural History Association

Canyonlands Natural History Association (CNHA) is a nonprofit organization assisting the National Park Service in its educational, interpretive and scientific programs throughout southeast Utah. Known as a "cooperating association," CNHA’s goals include enhancing visitors’ understanding and appreciation of public lands by providing a selection of quality, educational materials for sale in many visitor centers. Twenty percent of these sales is returned to the National Park Service and other federal land management agencies.

CNHA operates the bookstore at Arches Visitor Center.

Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks

The Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks: Bates Wilson Legacy Fund provides direct support to Arches and Canyonlands national parks and Natural Bridges and Hovenweep national monuments in order to enhance existing projects in these spectacular areas, and to conserve the land and its cultural treasures for present and future generations to enjoy.

This mission honors the legendary work of Superintendent Bates Wilson, who came to Arches in 1949, inspiring and leading the effort that resulted in the establishment of Canyonlands National Park in 1964. The Friends Group offices are in the Rock House behind Arches Visitor Center, where Bates once lived with his family.