Best Things to do in Arches National Park & Moab Utah
Arches National Park is only 10 minutes from Moab, Utah – the adventure capital of the west! Between the two there are so many fun things to do in Arches National Park, and within a short drive of Moab.
I’ve visited Arches several times, and I’m constantly finding new, fun things to do while visiting.
In this article:
- The best things to do in Arches National Park
- What to do in Moab Utah
- Nearby adventures
- Where to stay
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Arches National Park Overview
✈️ How To Get There: Fly into Salt Lake City (4 hour drive)
🏜️ Arches Must-See: Double Arch, Delicate Arch & The Windows
🎟️ Best Excursions: Self-guided driving tour, 4×4 adventure or a sunset tour
💵 Entrance Fee: $30 or free with an America The Beautiful Pass
🛌 Where To Stay: Gravity Haus or a vacation rental in Moab
TIP: I recommend booking your rental car with Discover Cars. As one of the largest rental car companies, they negotiate the best rates to save you money. They also let you cancel for free up to 48 hours before your pickup, so you can grab a good rate now without stressing if your plans change.
Best Things To Do In Arches National Park
My favorite things to do in Arches National Park include many great (but fairly short and easy) hikes. Sunrise at Delicate Arch is my top pick for best things to do in Arches National Park (although it’s great at any time of the day!) followed closely by The Windows section.
As one of the smallest National Parks, it’s very possible to see most of the park with just one day in Arches National Park. With more time, Moab and the surrounding areas are a great place to explore.
🎟️ Arches Timed-Entry Requirements:
No timed-entry vehicle reservations are required for 2026 visitors.
1. Hiking In Arches National Park
The best way to see Arches National Park is on foot! There are a wide variety of hiking trails at Arches National Park to fit your interests and skill level.
If you’re looking for some easier hikes you’ll find plenty of great options that allow you to see the parks unique features without breaking much of a sweat.
Or, if you’re looking for a bigger adventure you can also find a few longer hikes in Arches.
These are the best hikes in Arches National Park:
- Delicate Arch – 3.2 miles
- Double Arch – 0.6 miles
- Balanced Rock Loop – 0.3 miles
- The Windows – 0.7 miles
- Landscape Arch – 1.9 miles
- Double O Arch – 4.2 miles
- Devils Garden – 7.9 miles
- Fiery Furnace – 2.1 miles
The Devils Garden trail is 7.9 miles total, but you can do it in shorter sections. The first section of the trail takes you to Landscape Arch and Double O Arch.
Fiery Furnace is a short, but hard hike and requires a permit. The trail is fairly unmarked and navigates through a labyrinth of slot canyons which makes GPS signal unreliable.
You can also participate in a ranger led hike through Fiery Furnace. Unlike most of the ranger programs at Arches, this one requires a fee ($16pp) and advanced registration (7 days in advance).
TIP: If you’d prefer to hike with a group consider joining a scenic tour of Arches with short hikes and make some new friends!
2. Arches National Park Scenic Drive
If you’re not a big hiker, it’s still possible to see the beautiful landscape of Arches National Park along the scenic drive.
The scenic drive through Arches is just under 30-miles one-way, and takes you to all the main highlights in the park.
Main Park Road takes you all the way from the entrance to Devils Garden, the farthest point into the park accessible by car. There are two side roads: Windows Road and Delicate Arch Road.
If you’re arriving in the morning I recommend heading to Windows Road and Delicate Arch road first. They get busier later in the day and this way you can avoid the crowds.
However, if you’re arriving in late afternoon I would head all the way in to Devils Garden first, to avoid the crowded areas, and then backtrack through Delicate Arch and Windows Road once the crowds dwindle.
This self-guided driving tour of Arches National Park is a great way to learn more about the park, it’s history, and the features along the scenic drive.
The audio prompts use GPS, so it’ll share relevant information based on where in the park – no need to follow a specific route!
3. Guided Tours Of Arches National Park
There are some really fantastic options for guided tours in Arches National Park if you’re looking for a more hands-on experience with a local. Even better, this is a great way to avoid the crowds during summer.
I think one of the coolest ways to see this area of the country is on a 4×4 off-road tour. A lot of the best places to see are down rugged dirt roads that most vehicles can’t access.
This half day 4WD tour from Moab takes you to places in Arches most visitors don’t see – Tower Arch, Marching Men and Eye of the Whale. They’ll even point out fossilized dinosaur tracks!
Best Things To Do In Moab Utah
Moab is only 10 minutes from Arches National Park so it’s a great spot to stay during your visit.
It’s also a very unique town with lots of things to see. You could easily spend a week in Moab Utah and not run out of things to do.
1. Dead Horse Point State Park
Dead Horse Point State Park is about 40 minutes outside of Moab, near Canyonlands. It’s right on the Colorado River and has one of the best spots for sunset I’ve seen in the entire United States.
It’s a smaller state park, and very possible to explore in half a day. If you only have time for one thing here, I highly suggest watching sunset from Deadhorse Point. The views of the river below with the sun dipping over the horizon above the canyon are stunning.
2. Canyonlands National Park
While you’re in the area, be sure to spend at least one day in Canyonlands National Park. It’s one of the more underrated parks in my opinion – and it’s far less crowded than Arches during the busy summer months!
Unlike Arches, Canyonlands National Park is massive – but most of it is extremely rugged and requires a 4×4 vehicle to access.
If you don’t have a 4×4 vehicle, or if your rental car agreement doesn’t allow you to drive dirt roads there are guided tours of Canyonlands National Park backcountry from Moab.
There are four areas in Canyonlands, called districts. The most popular district is Island In The Sky, which is also the closest district to Moab and has the best Canyonlands hikes and viewpoints.
It’s hard to compare Canyonlands to Arches National Park, even though they’re so close to each other.
The geography is completely different – Arches has over 2,000 sandstone Arches and is relatively flat, whereas Canyonlands has massive, deep canyons and quite a bit of elevation change throughout the park.
My top recommendations for a Canyonlands itinerary are Mesa Arch, an easy 0.7 mile loop to a massive arch that frames the deep canyon beyond it, and Grand View Point Overlook.
From Grand View Point Overlook there’s a short 2 mile trail (Grand View Point Trail) that follows the canyon rim with incredible views of the deep canyon carved around it.
I hiked this trail during the heat of the day and it was scorching. I think this would be an incredible viewpoint for sunset because you can see almost 360° across the canyons.
3. Whitewater Rafting
Whitewater rafting is one of the most fun things to do in Moab Utah. I have so much fun every time I raft, and my stomach always hurts the next day from laughing so much.
The Colorado River is a great place to raft some rapids, and there’s a variety of difficulty depending on your skillset.
Even if you’ve never done it before, I highly recommend booking a half-day whitewater rafting tour on the Colorado River.
The guides will teach you everything you need to know, and it’s a very safe activity (even though it can look a bit intense).
4. Hike To Corona Arch
Corona Arch is a really unique hike just 20 minutes from Moab. It’s also one of the best places to hike with your dog, because Arches National Park doesn’t have many dog-friendly trails.
The trail to Corona Arch is 2.3 miles out-and-back, and passes Bowtie Arch along the route.
There are a few short sections that are steep and have ladders or cables to assist you (so if you’re hiking with your dog keep this in mind!)
My dog does great on steep climbs, but ladders are not his favorite, so I have to lift him up.
5. Drive La Sal Mountain Scenic Loop
The La Sal Mountains are just to the east of Moab, Utah. There’s a scenic loop road that takes you from Moab all the way around the mountain with some incredible views.
The loop is approximately 70 miles, and takes you through Castle Valley and up into the La Sal mountain range.
There are stunning views of the canyons below, and the temperatures are typically more mild because of the elevation.
There’s a short detour to Warner Lake, which is an excellent spot for a picnic lunch and a dip in the water. In the fall, the Aspen Trees here are bright gold!
6. Visit Goblin Valley State Park
Goblin Valley is an hour and a half from Moab, about halfway between Arches and Capitol Reef National Park. It’s the funkiest state park because it’s filled with unusual rock formations that look like little Goblins.
There are a few great hikes to do here, including The Goblin’s Lair (Chamber of the Basilisk), a 2.3 mile out-and-back trail.
The trail takes you to the Goblin’s Lair – a large cavernous formation you can explore up-close.
On your return, take Carmel Canyon Trail at the split to the Three Sisters Formation (the most popular goblin in the park).
7. Book An Adventure Tour In Moab
There are tons of adventure tours in Moab – like ziplining or canyoneering.
Moab is so full of outdoor adventures that it’s impossible to get bored here!
Other Great Things To Do In Arches National Park
In addition to hiking and the scenic drive, there are some other great things to do in Arches National Park! If you can make time for a ranger program I highly recommend it! They’re great at any park, and Arches doesn’t disappoint.
1. Ranger Programs At Arches National Park
One of the most underrated things to do in any National Park are the ranger programs!
These can be harder to plan for because the schedules typically vary by week, are based on weather forecasts, and are only released a week or two ahead of time. For the most part, they’re completely free!
The best way to find which programs are offered during your visit is to check the online calendar, stop into the visitors center when you arrive, or ask a ranger on duty.
Arches offers a variety of ranger-led programming, including guided walks, patio talks, evening events and occasional special programming like stargazing or artist events.
2. Stargazing
Did you know that under normal conditions you should be able to see 2,500 stars? Realistically, only one in 10 Americans lives in a location where the night gets dark enough to see them, though.
However, most of the parks on the Colorado Plateau offer great dark sky views, and Arches is one of them!
In 2019, Arches became certified as an official International Dark Sky Park. Be sure to stick around after sunset in Arches National Park, it’s a great location to see the Milky Way and other constellations.
Where To Stay Near Moab Utah
There are a ton of places to stay near Arches National Park and around Moab, including several great hotels and a few camping options, too.
My top recommendations for hotels in Moab include:
- Gravity Haus Moab – mid-range
- Hoodoo Moab – luxury hotel with full on-site spa
- Wingate by Wyndham Moab – budget-friendly
- Under Canvas Moab – unique experience
Best Way To Get To Moab Utah
The closest airport to Moab, Utah is Canyonlands Field Airport which is 20-minutes from Moab and right next to Arches National Park. However, this airport is quite small with fewer flight options and tends to be more expensive.
Instead, I recommend flying into Salt Lake City so you can get better flight deals. Alternatively, Denver and Las Vegas are also good options. Depending on where your Southwest road trip takes you these may be more convenient.
Distance from Salt Lake City to Moab: 3 hours
Distance from Denver to Moab: 8 hours
Distance from Las Vegas to Moab: 6.5 hours
Best Time To Visit Arches National Park and Moab Utah
The best time to visit Arches National Park and Moab Utah is during the spring or fall. Not only is the weather much better than summer, the crowds are also way more manageable.
During the summer, Arches is incredibly busy, and the entrance lines can be backed up for hours while people wait to get into the park. On top of that, Arches has timed-entry restrictions during the summer months.
I’ve visited Arches National Park in July and October, and October is a much better time to visit.
October weather in Arches is ideal with daytime temperatures in the 60°s and 70°s. July temperatures can get as hot as 100°F which makes hiking or spending time outside brutal.
Keep Planning Your Utah Trip!
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