How to Spend One Day in Arches National Park

Arches National Park is one of the Big 5 National Parks in Utah. Most people who see the national parks try to see all five in one visit and the best way to do that is on a Utah road trip. You may only have a short time to travel across Utah and are looking at spending a shorter amount of time at the parks. If you only have one day in Arches National Park, prepare to do a lot of hiking!

Arches is located just outside of Moab, Utah and happens to be nearby another national park: Canyonlands. Both parks are pretty close to the town which makes Moab a great, central area to stay around. From Moab, Arches is just a 10 minute drive up the road (Canyonlands is 35 minutes).

About Arches National Park

Arches National Park is a very ‘wild west’ looking park with red rock outcroppings all over the 76 acres. The main thing you will see here? Arches. Lots of them. In fact, there are more than 2,000 natural stone arches in this park!

The great thing about this park is that it is all pretty accessible. There are many scenic drives and viewpoints that you can drive up to. If you don’t want to hike a lot, you don’t have to. But it still has a good variety of hikes if you do and some of the most impressive arches are at the end of a hike.

One Day in Arches National Park

To spend one day in Arches National Park, the itinerary I’m suggesting is actually to start in the back of the park and make your way to the front. That’s because the most difficult hikes of the day are in the back and the easier sections are at the front.

It’s easy to get distracted and stop along the way because there are so many pullover viewpoints, but you definitely don’t want to be hiking the toughest hike when the sun is strongest overhead. And you can leisurely make your way back and determine how much time you have for other stops.

Delicate Arch

Your first stop of the day should be to the Delicate Arch. The Delicate Arch is one of the most famous arches in the park and there are several ways to see it. It’s about 14 miles from the visitor’s center and will take about 30-35 minutes to drive to the hiking trail. There are two different trail heads–the one that is further away takes you all the way to the top and the closer trail leads you to two viewpoints.

To the top of the arch: To get up close and personal, take the 3.2 mile hike right up to the arch. The trail is marked ‘difficult’ with elevation and there’s no shade and slick rock. There are steep inclines and the hike will take about an hour and a half. If you want to hike all the way to the top, you should do this hike first and early. It will be the most strenuous hike of the day.

To the viewpoints: The closer trailhead leads you to two viewpoints: the lower and upper viewpoint. The Lower Viewpoint lets you view it from afar. The walkway is 100 yards away, flat and wheel chair accessible. The Upper Viewpoint gets you a little closer and is where my picture above is from. The trail is an uphill hike that’s moderately difficult and is about .5 miles long.

Devil’s Garden (Landscape Arch)

Next, you’ll drive to the furthest area of the park which is Devil’s Garden. From the Delicate Arch, it’s about a 15 minute drive to this section. The Devil’s Garden trail has several arches that you can hike to but since you’re only here for a day, we’re heading to one of the closer and most popular ones: the Landscape Arch.

The hike through Devil’s Garden to the Landscape Arch is 1.9 miles. It’s an easy hike through beautiful rocks and landscape and is really enjoyable. You can take short side hikes to see the Tunnel Arch or Pine Tree Arch along the way. Once you reach the Landscape Arch, there is a little bit of an incline to get to the viewing section.

The Landscape Arch is North America’s longest arch at 306 feet long. At one point you were allowed to walk up to it, but now you can only admire it from a short distance. This hike will take approximately 45 minutes to an hour to complete.

If you want to hike a bit further, just past Landscape Arch is a steeper section that leads to a junction for Navajo Arch and Partition Arch. They are each about .3 miles from the trail on different trails and you can’t cut through between the two. So it’s a little over half a mile to hike to each of them and they are a little steeper than what you’ve hiked through already.

Optional Stops on the Way Back

There are several viewpoints that you’ll come across on the way back towards the entrance of Arches. You certainly don’t have to stop at every viewpoint since you are only here for a day. Of the three below, Fiery Furnace has the most unique landscape and if you’re going to stop at any, I’d stop at this one. But each one is a quick stop if you want to see it.

Fiery Furnace Viewpoint – Takes a few minutes to walk to the viewpoint. You’ll see towering sandstone formations against the mountains in the background. Light hits the formations at sunset making them look fiery.

Salt Valley Overlook – Open views of salt valley.

Panorama Point – Wide open view of the park, no formations to see.

The Windows

One of the most popular sections is The Windows as it is easy to drive up to and walk around the rocks, and has many arches in one area. From Devil’s Garden, it will take about 20 minutes to drive to this area. Here you can see some of the largest arches and the double arch.

There are two hikes to do in the Windows Section: The Double Arch Trail and the Windows Loop Trail. This section was unfortunately closed when we were here, so we were only able to look from afar.

The Windows Loop Trail: This trail is a 1.2 mile loop trail and takes about 30 minutes to complete. It has a wide loop that takes you to the North Window and South Window and a smaller loop that takes you to the Turret Arch. The trail is mostly flat and easy with a slight elevation and rockier ground at the end.

The Double Arch Trail: This trail is right next to the other and is a .6 mile trail that leads to two conjoined double arches. It’s a quick and easy trail that takes about 15 minutes to complete. You can also see the Parade of Elephants along the way, rock formations that look like elephants in a row.

Optional Stop: Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden is a quick stop on the way in (or out) of The Windows section. It’s a viewpoint/easy area to walk around to see some other unique formations.

Balanced Rock

The Balanced Rock has a short trail around the formation but this is actually a formation you can see from the main road. With all the hiking at the other locations, it’s best to view this one from the car.

La Sal Mountains Viewpoint

This is another spot that you can pull right up to and walk right up to the viewpoint. And this is one of the best viewpoints in my opinion.

You’ll walk out onto a large flat rock with 360° views of the area around it, which includes the La Sal Mountains and the Courthouse Towers. (There’s a separate viewpoint for the Courthouse Towers but you can see them here too.)

Park Avenue Viewpoint

This is the first viewpoint within the park and the last that you’ll get to as you finish your day in Arches National Park. This viewpoint is easy to walk up to and snap a shot before you end your day.

If you aren’t incredibly hiked out, you can also take the steps down and hike into the valley between the rocks. The trail is 1-mile long and goes through the formations to the Courthouse Towers (another viewpoint). However, you’ll either have to turn around and hike back, or walk along the road to get back to your car.

Where to Stay

Hotels:

• River Canyon Lodge – $$ Cute lodge off the main strip
• Red Cliffs Lodge – $$$ Right next to the Colorado River, beautiful scenery
• La Quinta by Wyndham Moab – $$ Good ratings, free breakfast
• Sage Creek – $$$ Luxury condos with a great pool area/view
• Sunny Acres Cabin – $ Secluded log cabin outside of Moab

Camping:

In the National Park: Arches has one campground, the Devil’s Garden Campground ($25/night). It has 50 sites and has water, tables, grills and toilets. But reservations are essential since spots typically book out months in advance.

In Moab: If (like us) you planned your trip last minuted, you can find camping outside the park or camp near Moab where there are many options. (Plus, Moab has AMAZING Mexican restaurants in case you don’t want to have a camp dinner).

We stayed at the Sandflats Campground ($15/night), which was a great place to camp! It was a little outside the town and was a nice, secluded spot. There were picnic tables, grills and outhouses.

What to Bring

• Water bottles for the many hikes (Water is available at the Visitor’s Center and the Devil’s Garden Campground all year round, and the Devil’s Garden Trailhead seasonally).
• Snacks + a packed picnic lunch
• Sunscreen
• Good hiking shoes
• Hat to block the sun

It’s a lot to do and a lot to walk in one day, but Arches is a great place to explore, even if only for one day!

What’s Nearby

• Moab, Utah – Moab is a great central place to stay while exploring the parks and also a great spot to refill supplies, etc. It’s also a hugely popular place for off-roading.
• Canyonlands National Park – This national park is on the other side of Moab. Island in the Sky is an accessible section of the park with fantastic viewpoints.
• Dead Horse Point State Park – This state park has an overlook into a deep canyon with a horseshoe-like bend from the Colorado River.
• Goblin Valley State Park – This state park has otherworldly landscape with rock formations referred to as ‘goblins’. It’s located about an hour and a half outside of Moab. You can explore through the valleys and climb on the rock formations.

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