Rock Out at Arches National Park

Arches National Park is full of massive natural stone arches, balanced rocks and more amazing creations of nature. It is really awe-inspiring. You can drive around the park stopping off at well-marked trails for some easy to moderate hikes to view the array of stone formations.

Arches National Park stands out in part because you can climb on some of the stones, but some are blocked for preservation or because they might be crumbling. Back in 2008, thousands of tons of a sandstone arch came tumbling down. The landscape is forever changing, so see these arches while they’re still around.

Reservations are required for the park 4/3/22-10/3/22. Book here. Download the Visitor Guide for some good information.

While there are so many things to see at Arches National Park, here are some of my favorite.

I stopped at Arches National Park on a Utah-Arizona road trip, check out my itinerary and hit the road!

Sunrise at The Windows

The Windows is a section of Arches National Park with a high concentration of arches and is a great place to catch a sunrise.

The massive north window can be seen from the parking lot and is a short 1 mile walk up some stone steps to catch the most amazing sunrise. The sunrises throughout the park are amazing but viewing a sunrise while standing under a massive natural stone bridge created over millions of years is quite the experience. Once the sun is up, you can see the amazing view.

Continue on the trail from the North Window to the Double Arch and Turret Arch.

Devil’s Garden 

Devil’s Garden is at the north end of the park and has a few hiking options. 

The shortest hike is an easy 1.8 miles to see Landscape Arch, one of the world’s longest natural bridges in the world spanning 290 feet. You used to be able to walk under it, but in 1991, a large piece of the arch fell, so now there’s just a path taking you by it. 

If you go further past Landscape Arch to the Double O Arch, it’s a 4-mile round trip hike. As the name suggests, there are 2 arches here, the larger arch is stacked on a smaller arch. 

You can continue on to do the whole Devil’s Garden hike, a total of 7.9 miles round trip, that goes through narrow ledges, steep landscapes and requires some scrambling over rocks. There are more rockscapes along the hike, but if you ask me, it isn’t quite worth it.

Balanced Rock

This is a small .3-mile loop trail to see Balanced Rock, a 128 feet fixture that looks like a massive rock balancing on a stone pedestal. It is actually a single stone that has been eroded to look like this balancing act. Eventually, the 3,000 ton boulder part of the stone will fall off.

Want more U.S. National Parks?

Check out my itineraries and get wandering!