Arches National Park / Alma's Blog

We left Dead Horse Point State Park on UT-313 and then turned onto US-191S.

This route will take you directly to Arches National Park. The drive is only around 40 miles, but it will take about one hour to drive to the Park.

We like to stay at the Best Western Plus-Canyonlands located at 16 S. Main Street in Moab, Utah.

The hotel is located right on Main Street in the middle of plenty of restaurants, shops, and things to do. The hotel rooms are very nice, the bed is comfortable and their free breakfast in the morning is very good.

Best Western Plus-Canyonlands

Arches National Park has over 2,000 natural sandstone arches within the entire Park and is located only 4 miles North of the Moab area. It is a unique and beautiful park with great views of some of the world's most amazing arches. It is also a very easy drive to the Park from the Moab area. Since we love hiking, we always park in the parking lots designated for each trailhead and then hike to the arches so we can get a much better (up close and personal) look at them. Some of the hikes we take to view the arches are on easy trails, and a few are on moderate trails. Just remember that hiking to each Arch is always a much better way to see them. Even the views, as you look through each of the amazing arches, are outstanding!

Arches News & info (download)

Here are our favorite hikes to some of the Arches:

Double Arch consists of a duo of two massive arches connected that span 112 feet above the ground (I have seen Double Arch in advertisements on TV!). It is the tallest Arch in Arches National Park, and you can get there on a super easy trail from the Windows Parking lot area.

The North and South Windows Loop Trail is also easy to hike.

It will take you to what is also known as "The Spectacles." This trail is very scenic and will also take you to Turret Arch.

"The Spectacles."

Turret Arch

The Pine Tree Arch, Tunnel Arch, and Landscape Arch are all located on the Devil's Garden Trail. Landscape arch is the longest Arch in America and is at the end of this trailhead.

It has a whopping 306-foot opening!

Pine Tree Arch

Not into arches? How about a huge, gigantic "Balanced Rock"? We love stopping at Balanced Rock, which you can see right from your car as you drive by the area (on the main road) through the Park. We, of course, get out of our car and hike up to the Rock so we can get a much better look at it. I even had my husband stand under the Balanced Rock with a red clay-colored golf shirt on, and it was kind of like looking for "Waldo" in the pictures we took. He blended right into the landscape around him, and the Balanced Rock was so immense you really had to look to find him in the pictures. The big Rock was balanced precariously above his head! It was really kind of fun showing the grandkids the picture and then asking them to find where Heppaw (a/k/a Richard) was hiding! We also joked about hoping the Balanced Rock did not become "Un-Balanced" and decided to fall on his head while he was standing under it so I could take some great pictures!

Our most memorable hike, however, was up to the very famous "Delicate Arch ." This Arch is a free-standing arch, 60 feet high and 46 feet wide. It is one of Earth's most renowned rock arches and one of the top attractions in America's National Park System. The hike to see the Delicate Arch is what I would call a more moderate hike. You hike about 3/4ths of a mile up a slick rock trail. Do not worry; you will be able to find the trail to Delicate Arch.

Delicate Arch

Just look for all the other people hiking up the slick Rock in front of you, making their way up to the top to see this beautiful (and massive) Arch! The line of people hiking up from the bottom of this trail looks a little like an ant trail. When you reach the boulders at the top, you will have to tip-toe around a 5-6 ft. (narrow) ledge area, turn to the right, and then…there it is! A huge arch sitting at the edge of the world all by itself, barely attached to the sloping downward cliffside! Note: If you cannot physically hike to this beautiful Arch, no problem! There are two areas (the Lower and Upper viewpoints) in the Park where you can take some pictures of Delicate Arch. Your park map should show you exactly where you will need to drive so you can see the Arch (in the distance) without hiking up the slick rock trail.

For your information, the Delicate Arch is the Arch you see on all the vehicles in the United States with Utah License Plates. (Yep, it is that famous!!)

If you are in fairly good physical condition, this hike is a total must for you! You will never regret the effort it took to get up the slick rock trail to witness the fantastic Arch firsthand. A lot of people hike down to stand directly under the Arch so they can have someone else (from a distance) take a picture of them while they are beneath the Arch.

We did that, and it is a really fun thing to do. Delicate Arch, up close, is much larger than it appears from a distance, and your pictures will be totally amazing. One word of caution: Be careful when you go to stand directly beneath the Arch because the ground under the Arch has a pretty good slope towards the cliffside drop-off area! I could take some fabulous pictures of my husband when he went to stand under the Arch. Richard is tall, and he looks very small standing under the Arch. This is also another great place to get out the selfie stick you packed in your backpack so you can take some great pictures together with the Arch in the background. Some of our favorite pictures in Utah are with Delicate Arch proudly displayed behind us while we are perched on a big rock in front of it!

There are many more arches to see at Arches National Park. Some arches are in more remote areas of the Park, and some are on short, easy trails. You will have to pick and choose which trails you prefer to hike. The trails we mentioned above are just a few of our favorite hiking trails at the Park. So, please ensure you get a map at the Visitor's Center before planning a day or two to visit this Park.

Just a little reminder: The weekends at Arches National Park can be very crowded. Bus tours will drop off a lot of people, especially at Double Arch and some of the other popular (easy) hiking trails. So, we always make sure we visit Arches National Park on a weekday instead of a weekend.

Arches National Park is also designated as an "International Dark Sky Park".

So, if you are into stargazing, check out Arches at night. Please check with the Park Rangers at the Visitor's Center or online to find out exactly when stargazing events are happening at the Park.

The last time we visited Arches National Park was when Covid-19 happened in the United States. Therefore, we do not have any current recommendations regarding restaurants and shopping in the Moab area. However, I can tell you that when we last visited the Moab area, plenty of restaurants and shops were available, especially near our hotel on Main Street.

As you can probably tell, Moab happens to be one of our most favorite towns to visit in all of America! We enjoy every minute of visiting this area of Utah! We always stay at least three or four days, so we have plenty of time to visit the town, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Dead Horse Point State Park. Moab is so full of fun, with great places to eat, fabulous shops to spend your money, and so many exciting outdoor activities available everywhere. You can easily spend a week in this little corner of Utah and still not see and do it all! Rent an ATV, book a float trip, book a tour to one of the National Parks, book a whitewater rafting trip (depending on what time of the year you are visiting Moab), and hike trails until you cannot hike anymore in two National Parks and one fabulous State Park! (And I did not mention Moab in the winter months!) All of this you can do while seeing the most unique and amazing scenery in all of Utah. It really is a great place to experience total scenic overload! So, go visit Arches National Park (and the Moab area) and have a fabulous time enjoying the great outdoors!