Arches National Park, Utah. (October, 2022).  

We arrived at Arches National Park at about 10:00 AM on Monday, only to see the following sign: “Park is Full.  Return in 3-5 Hours.”  Rangers blocked the entrance.  Everyone was turned away. 

There is only one road into Arches, and the park is closed when the parking lots reach capacity.  Frustrating for sure, but it makes perfect sense.

Our plans quickly changed.  Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky district) is about 30 minutes away, so we headed there instead.  During the drive we rethought our plans to visit Arches.

October is still peak season for Arches.  Though a timed entry obtained in advance was not required (as it is from April 3 to October 3), the park regularly reaches capacity in mid-morning.  As best we could determine from the National Park Service website, we could expect the park to close shortly after 9:00 AM and reopen around 1:00 PM during the week. 

After some deliberation we decided to visit Arches over two days, once in the afternoon and again in the early morning.  We crossed our fingers that our timing would work.

Day One:  We arrive at 1:30 PM and sail right into the park.  I suspect that most of the early morning crowd clears out around noon.

Our destination for the day was Delicate Arch, arguably the most iconic arch in the park.  This is a very popular sunrise and sunset location.  We prayed that it would not be too crowded.  After stops at the Courthouse Towers Viewpoint and Panorama Point, we arrived at the Wolfe Ranch parking lot, the trailhead to Delicate Arch, around 3:00 PM.

Whew.  The parking lot was maybe one-third full.  The morning hikers were long gone and the late afternoon hikers had not arrived.

Delicate Arch trail is 1.5 miles each way and considered moderate to difficult.  The elevation gain is 480 feet, which does not sound bad until you realize that it is almost entirely within about a half mile stretch (the middle third of the trail) that involves walking up a massive rock in full sun.

It took us about an hour to reach Delicate Arch, making frequent stops along the way.  There were other hikers on the trail, but not many.  Our timing was impeccable.  There were maybe 20 people at Delicate Arch.  We spent about 25 minutes relaxing and taking photos before heading back down.

On the return hike we passed hundreds of folks heading up for late afternoon and sunset.  I could not imagine how crowded and unpleasant the arch area would be.  The parking lot was overflowing when we completed our hike at about 5:15 PM.

Prior to leaving the park we stopped at Balanced Rock and strolled the 0.3 mile loop around it, half of which is a sidewalk.  It was a nice and easy way to stretch after our hike, and a perfect way to end our first day in Arches.

Day Two:  We arrive at 7:30 AM and get in line with a dozen or so other cars.  Two entry lines were open, and we were about the seventh or eighth car in our line.  It took about 20 minutes to get into the park.

We had four stops planned, and hoped that the parking lot gods would be with us.  We knew the park would reach capacity in an hour or so, and by then parking would be scarce.

First up was the Windows.  The large parking lot was pretty full when we arrived, but we got a spot.  There we hiked the 1.2 miles Windows loop trail past Turret Arch and around the east side of the Windows. 

The Windows loop trail is relatively easy and definitely worth it.  Dozens of folks were walking to and from the Windows and Turret Arch from the parking lot on the west side of the formation.  But we came across exactly seven others on the loop trail around the east side of the Windows.  It was like being in a different park.

Across the parking lot is Double Arch, a fascinating formation reached by an easy 0.5 mile roundtrip walk.  This is the most popular and crowded arch in the Windows area.  We came, we saw, and we got the hell away from Double Arch fairly quickly as we were in danger of being overwhelmed by a few tour bus groups.

Next we drove to Sand Dune Arch.  The parking lot there is quite small, and we got the only available parking spot when we arrived.  Several cars pulled in shortly after us and had no choice but to leave and go elsewhere.  Once again, our timing was impeccable.

Sand Dune Arch is in a larger sandstone formation, close to the parking lot, only 0.3 miles roundtrip.  Presumably it is named after the twenty yards of deep sand you have to slog through to get to it.

Our favorite hike in Arches was to Broken Arch, a short 1.3 miles roundtrip across the grasslands from Sand Dune Arch.  First, walking across relatively level grasslands is a nice change of scenery from hiking over and around a lot of rocks and sand.  It is a very easy and leisurely walk.  Second, Broken Arch was free of visitors when we arrived.  Ten minutes later there were probably a dozen other hikers there, so we took off.

Our third stop for the day was Devils Garden at the rear of the park.  This is probably the largest parking area in Arches and we were again lucky to get a parking spot.  After a picnic lunch (in our car because the picnic tables were full) we headed out on our final hike of the day, to Landscape Arch, Pine Tree Arch, and Tunnel Arch.

The trail to these arches is hard packed gravel and well maintained.  Other than Double Arch, this was the most crowded trail.  Landscape Arch is 1.9 miles roundtrip, and spur trails to Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch add about another 0.6 miles total.  These are fairly easy trails, though the last thirty yards or so to the Landscape Arch viewpoint is through deep sand.

We really liked both Landscape Arch and Pine Tree Arch.  The only reason to see the entirely boring and unremarkable Tunnel Arch is because it is so close by.

On our way out of the park we made our fourth and final stop of the day at the Fiery Furnace Viewpoint.  There is a very popular, two hour, ranger guided hike through the Fiery Furnace sandstone formations which we did not take as it was sold out.  Based on what we have read and seen, the Fiery Furnace hike is a must do if you have the time and ability, and can secure a permit.

By this point in the day we were worn out.  About 2:30 PM we left the park and headed to McDonald’s to get a diet coke and sweet tea.

Overall we really liked Arches National Park, especially Stephanie.  Delicate Arch was great, but the rest of the park is perhaps slightly overrated.  Crowds and arches.  Stated another way, I’m glad we went, but I have zero interest in ever returning. 

Arches National Park, miles hiked:

Day One: 3.3 miles (Delicate Arch Trail and Balanced Rock Trail)

Day Two: 5.8 miles (Windows Loop Trail, Double Arch Trail, Sand Dune Arch Trail, Broken Arch Trail, and Devils Garden Trail to Landscape Arch, Pine Tree Arch, and Tunnel Arch)

We will be in Utah for several weeks to hike.  Just hike.  No museums, art galleries, cathedrals, or castles – just nature.  Hopefully in good weather.

Garrett and Stephanie

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