Arches Itinerary: What to See in 1, 2, or 3 Days

By Jocelyn Pion · Data: National Park Service · ← Complete guide Arches

Arches National Park packs more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches into an area about the size of a mid-sized city. You can spend 6 hours here or 3 full days and come away with completely different experiences depending on the time of day and the area you choose. Ideal length: 2 full days. The first covers the central highlights (Balanced Rock, The Windows Section, and Delicate Arch); the second heads north to Devils Garden, where the park's highest concentration of arches is found. One day is still possible if you start early and focus only on the top-priority sites.

How Much Time Do You Need to Visit Arches?

The Scenic Drive runs 27 miles from the visitor center to Devils Garden. You could drive it in 2 hours including photo stops, but that would mean missing the point of the park.

Here's our honest take based on how much time you have.

1 day: doable if you enter before 8 a.m. (the official NPS recommendation for avoiding entrance traffic). You can check off Balanced Rock, The Windows Section, Delicate Arch (3 miles round-trip, 480 feet of elevation gain), and Park Avenue on the way back. Fiery Furnace and Devils Garden will have to wait for another trip.

2 days: the length we recommend. You have enough time to hike without watching the clock, wait for the morning's golden light on Delicate Arch, and explore Devils Garden in its entirety.

3 days: for anyone who wants to add Fiery Furnace (reservation required, with a ranger-led tour or a solo visit with a permit), see the same sites in different light, or simply take a breather between outings. You won't run out of things to do.

After 3 days in the park alone, you start covering the same ground. At that point, it's better to combine Arches with Canyonlands (40 minutes west) or build a longer loop. Our Utah road trips cover the area.

Access, Entrances, and Getting Around the Park

From Moab: the park is 5 miles north of town via US 191. A traffic light on US 191 marks the only entrance. From Interstate 70, take exit 182 (Crescent Junction), then head south.

There is only one entrance (unlike Zion or Rocky Mountain). There is no through road. You enter, explore, and leave through the same gate.

You need a car. No public shuttle serves the trailheads inside the park. Plan to drive the Scenic Drive and park at each stop. The Delicate Arch and The Windows Section parking lots fill up by 9 a.m. during peak season.

Timed entry reservation: between April and October, the NPS uses a timed entry system at the entrance. Book ahead on recreation.gov. No reservation is required if you arrive before 7 a.m. or after 4 p.m.

Fees: $30 per vehicle (valid for 7 days), $25 per motorcycle, or $15 per person entering on foot or by bicycle. The America the Beautiful pass ($80 per year) covers admission to all federal parks. For entrance fees and annual passes, the National Parks Fees and Passes page explains the current costs and pass options.

The park is open 24 hours a day, year-round.

Arches' Areas

The Scenic Drive unfolds from south to north. Each stop has a parking area leading to one or more sites within walking distance. We divide the park into four areas to make planning easier.

The Entrance Corridor and Courthouse Towers

From the gate, the road climbs a ramp cut into the sandstone and opens onto Park Avenue, a canyon of cliffs that resembles a Manhattan avenue in canyon form. Visitors in a hurry often skip the Park Avenue walk (1.8 miles round-trip, with minimal elevation gain). That's a mistake. Across the road, Courthouse Towers includes Three Gossips and Tower of Babel, monoliths that immediately set the tone for the park's geology.

Balanced Rock and The Windows Section

Balanced Rock is the park's most photographed feature after Delicate Arch: a boulder weighing several dozen tons perched precariously on a slender pedestal. A 1-mile trail loops around it with little effort.

A few miles farther on, The Windows Section brings together North Window and South Window, two side-by-side arches nicknamed “the glasses,” along with Turret Arch and Double Arch. Double Arch is probably the most spectacular formation to view from the inside. You stand beneath two fused vaults framing the desert's blue sky. You can see all four sites in less than 2 hours with little elevation gain.

The Delicate Arch Area

This is Utah's icon, printed on the state's license plates. The trailhead starts at Wolfe Ranch, a restored 19th-century pioneer homestead that's worth a 10-minute stop along the way.

The hike to the arch is 3 miles round-trip with 480 feet of elevation gain. It isn't technically difficult, but the terrain is exposed, with a shady-free sandstone slab and a narrow traverse across a steep slope at elevation, and summer heat can make the outing strenuous. Set out at dawn or in the late afternoon if possible.

About half a mile from the trailhead, a viewpoint lets you see Delicate Arch from a distance without committing to the trail. That's useful for families with very young children, but nothing compares with the frontal view from the sandstone terrace in front of the arch.

Fiery Furnace and Devils Garden

Fiery Furnace is a maze of narrow red sandstone passages with no signs or official trail. A solo visit requires a permit, available online or in person ahead of time. Rangers also lead 2- to 3-hour guided tours. That's our preferred format for a first visit. The guides know the hidden passages and corners that no one finds alone.

Devils Garden occupies the northern end of the road. This is where you'll find the park's highest concentration of arches, including Landscape Arch, which spans 290 feet and is one of the longest in the world. The main trail to Landscape Arch (2 miles round-trip) is accessible to almost all visitors. Anyone who wants to continue to Dark Angel and complete the full loop faces 6.8 miles of exposed terrain.

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1: From the Entrance Corridor to The Windows Section, Ending at Delicate Arch

Morning: Arrive before 8 a.m. to avoid the line and the heat. Stop at Park Avenue for the low-angle light on the cliffs. Continue to Courthouse Towers, then head back toward Balanced Rock.

Late morning: Head for The Windows Section. Start with Double Arch, which is most impressive from the inside, then visit North and South Windows, and finish at Turret Arch. Allow 1.5 hours to see everything at a relaxed pace.

Afternoon: Make your way to Delicate Arch in the early afternoon so you arrive around 4 to 5 p.m., when the sandstone glows orange. The round-trip hike takes 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your pace. You'll make the return in the cooler air and, if your timing is right, emerge from the trailhead at sunset.

Evening: Head back to Moab for dinner. Find the best places to eat in Moab and around Arches in the dining guide.

Day 2: Fiery Furnace in the Morning, Devils Garden in the Afternoon

Early morning: Book your Fiery Furnace permit online the day before. Get to the Fiery Furnace viewpoint around 8 to 8:30 a.m. for the guided tour, or the solo session if you have a permit. The outing lasts 2 to 3 hours depending on the group.

Lunch: Have a picnic at the tables in the Devils Garden parking area. This is your last chance to eat before the long hike.

Afternoon: Start with Devils Garden. On the main trail, you'll reach Landscape Arch after 1 mile. If you still have the energy, continue to Navajo Arch, Partition Arch, and possibly Double O Arch (4.3 miles round-trip from the parking area). The full loop to Dark Angel (6.8 miles, exposed terrain, and sections that balance along sandstone ridges) is a serious hike. Allow 4 to 5 hours and bring at least 2 liters of water per person.

Sunset: Head back toward Balanced Rock or Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint for the evening light. The sandstone's orange tones turn blood red. It looks different from the morning, and often more dramatic.

Day 3: A Deeper Look and Some Breathing Room

The third day isn't for checking boxes. Go back to the places where you wanted to linger. In practice, that often means a second outing to Devils Garden for the full loop if you stopped at Landscape Arch the day before, a morning in Fiery Furnace if you missed the guided tour, or simply a slow walk through The Windows Section before the tour buses arrive.

This third day is also ideal for planning the rest of your trip. Our What to Do page lists every trail in the park, with durations and difficulty levels, if you want to fine-tune your plans.

Options for Different Trip Lengths

Express 1 day (6 to 8 hours): Balanced Rock, The Windows Section with Double Arch as the priority, and Delicate Arch. Enter before 8 a.m., skip Park Avenue on this first day, and ignore Fiery Furnace. It's doable, but the schedule is tight.

Classic 2 to 3 days: follow the itinerary above. Two days give you a comfortable pace. The third lets you go deeper and see the same sites in different light.

Regional road trip: Arches fits naturally into a Canyonlands, Capitol Reef National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Zion National Park loop, Utah's “Mighty Five.” Allow at least a week for all five parks. Our Utah road trips lay out these routes, including the distances and key stops.

Itinerary Map

The NPS publishes an official “Unigrid” map as a PDF. You can get one free at the entrance station or download it from nps.gov. It shows all the trailheads, numbered parking areas, and distances in miles, along with their elevation gain in feet.

The annotated map of Arches shows the points of interest on this itinerary, estimated times for each area, and the best photo spots for different times of day.

Where to Stay Along the Itinerary

Moab is the obvious base for any Arches trip. Hotels, motels, rentals, and campgrounds are 5 miles from the entrance. Inside the park, only Devils Garden Campground accommodates tents and RVs. Reservations are required between March and October on recreation.gov.

For lodging details, price ranges, and the places we genuinely recommend, see the Arches lodging guide. If you're traveling by RV, the Arches RV guide covers parking rules and sites with hookups around Moab.

Extend Your Trip: What to See Around Arches

The park is compact and well placed geographically for a longer itinerary. Three add-ons are easy choices.

Canyonlands' Island in the Sky: 40 minutes west of Moab, this mesa overlooks the confluence of the Colorado River and the Green River, with 360-degree panoramas. It complements Arches: canyon country versus arch country. Half a day is enough for the main viewpoints.

Dead Horse Point State Park: 30 minutes from Moab. From 2,000 feet above the Colorado, you can see the river's gooseneck below, often cited among Utah's most striking views. There is a separate entrance fee because this is a state park, and it isn't covered by the America the Beautiful pass.

Monument Valley: farther away, at 2 hours 45 minutes from Moab, but pairing it with Arches on a “red Utah” road trip is an obvious choice. Our regional guides cover the Colorado Plateau and show how these landscapes fit together.

The Ideal Itinerary for Your Available Time

If you have only one day, make Delicate Arch your late-afternoon priority and explore The Windows Section in the morning. With two days, add Fiery Furnace on the second morning and Devils Garden in the afternoon. With three days or more, slow down. Arches rewards visitors who return to the same spots at different times of day.

For everything related to when to visit, including the best seasons, crowds, and expected weather, the Arches seasons guide compares every month of the year.

Frequently Asked Questions