Arches National Park offers spectacular views at almost every inch of the park, whether you are just driving through it or hiking on the trails, you can see a lot of the park. This park may look small on a map but you need more than a day to see this National Park. With 16 different trails and approximately 30 miles of hiking though these trails, there is a lot to explore. Many of the trails offer short hikes so pretty much anyone can enjoy them, and then there are the longer ones for more experienced hikers. If you would like a topo of the area, you can get one here. I will say this though, even experienced hikers have a hard time with these trails. With the desert heat pounding down on your body when your walking through sand and rock formations, it can be pretty tiring after a few hours of hiking. They say to drink a gallon of water when your out there and I believe it, mostly because I did it. If you think you brought enough water, you didn’t. Bring more! Trust me, you’ll be thankful you did when your parched on the trail later.
Driving through this National Park is just an incredible drive all in itself.
You also get to see the snow-caped mountains in the background. There is a lot of diversity here, and a lot of opportunities to get good color contrast in your photos. Hiking here is also amazing! You get a chance to see the rock formations up close. There are 16 trails and they are all different. Some shorter than others. Some just primarily in the sand, some paved, some with lots of steps, some going through arches, and more.
Be prepared to get your shoes filled with sand!
There are also signs set up on these trails to give you a chance to learn about these arches and how they were formed.You can also check out the visitor center for a more interactive experience.
The only wildlife I seen were rabbits and lizards. Don’t worry, no cougars. Darn!
I exceptionally enjoyed the trees there. I thought they were really beautiful, the dead ones and alive ones. This one tree reminded me of the white tree in Lord of the Rings, just a little bit. So I made sure I grabbed a picture of that.
I love the trees here!
Typically there is a lot of crowds in the summer time. In some areas it is difficult to take a picture with out getting other people in the shot. Be prepared to wait your turn to get a shot with just you and the arch.
Or you can just stand underneath it and take a picture of it looking up….
Good things there’s plenty of arch’s. When you travel on longer trails, even the North and South windows loop which is not that long, the crowds diminish very quickly. As an example the North and South Windows I had a very difficult time taking pictures of them without getting other people in the shot, but as soon as I walked on the loop, the trail loops behind the windows, and I had the exact same shots with no one in them.
When you are planning to visit Arches, try to be there before 8 am or this happens.
I went a little before 10 and I had to wait in a long line. Sometimes you might not even be able to get in because there is too many people. When you are stopping at some of these sites to hike, some of the parking lots are so full that you may not even be able to park there, and you will either have to wait or find something else to do and come back to that particular spot. It is not too bad, it’s just the more popular spots are more difficult to find parking. You won’t have to worry about this as much if you come early. Plus it will be a little cooler and you won’t get heat exhaustion as much. That or you can come later around 3 pm. The crowds tend to die down at this time too so you will be able adventure more. At least you will be able to get the sunset coming down on these beautiful rock formations!
One of my personal favorite hikes was the sand arch. I don’t know why, I just thought it was different. You got to walk through sand and high canyons. It’s just a short walk from the parking lot, but it is a fun walk. It almost reminded me of the narrows in Zion National Park but the sand version.
The town of Moab is literally right around the corner from this National Park. You can stay in the campground at Arches, but be prepared to book it way in advance because this park tends to fill up fast! Or you can stay in the town of Moab. That is what I have been doing. This town offers so much! There is 2 National Parks right outside of this town. Obviously Arches and there is also Canyonlands National Park. There is also a state park many people don’t know about. It is called dead horse point state park and it literally looks like the mini grand canyon. Check it out! The pictures look amazing! You can also get a map of Moab, Arches and Canyonlands all in one here.
Hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Shelly/livingonthedirt
Was at Arches last Oct and loved, loved, loved it! Since it was a little later in the year, it wasn’t so hot or crowded. My friend and I did almost all the trails in the park, except one that had the road to the trailhead closed due to high water, and one other we just didn’t think we were capable of handling. Fortunately, we did the Delicate Arch hike our first day, as that night the road washed out and was closed the rest of the week. We also spent some time at DeadHorse State Park and really liked it as well.
I heard Dead Horse State Park was amazing! I’m so glad you got to do Delicate Arch. Maybe i’ll go back late in the season like you and your friend did. Less crowds and colder weather does sound nice!!!