Family Adventure Guide to Arches National Park

Ready to explore incredible rock formations filled with natural stone arches, hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive rock fins, and giant balanced rocks? Join us on our family adventure in Arches National Park!

After leaving Mesa Verde in Cortez, Colorado, we traveled to Utah to visit the "Mighty Five" National Parks. This is the part of the trip where we strapped on our hiking boots and set out to explore the trails through America’s beautiful natural wonders!

Visiting Moab, Utah

Our first stop in Utah was Moab. Moab is home to two of the amazing Mighty Five National Parks – Arches and Canyonlands. While being pretty close together, they are each so uniquely different! Admittedly, Arches NP was high up on my “must see” locations, so I was super excited to get here. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Moab … I was warned to keep my expectations low. But, I was pleasantly surprised and really liked Moab. It had an “outdoor adventure” feel with a hint of commercialism creeping in. Don’t expect to find fine dining or excellent restaurants, but the people are so welcoming and the atmosphere is amazing!

Moab has experienced periods of great growth and downsizing. During the 1940s and 1950s, Uranium was discovered in Moab and people flocked there. So much so, that the population quadrupled and by the 1950’s Moab became known as the “Uranium Capital of the World.” The government pulled out and stopped buying Uranium in the 1970s and eventually the uranium mill closed, leaving 12 million tons of mildly radioactive uranium tailings covered over with a layer of protective soil. Years later, there were concerns about leaching into the ground water and the Colorado river, so the Department of Energy assumed responsibility for cleaning up the site (which is still going on today).

We spent four nights and two full days in Moab - leaving us with a full day in each National Park. We set of to explore Arches National Park early on our first morning. We could have easily split Arches NP into two separate days of hiking, but we managed to see a lot in a full day. Arches NP also has amazing night sky viewing. Our kiddos go to bed early, so we did not get to experience it on this visit.

Our Family Adventure in Arches National Park

Arches NP is home to over 2,000 natural stone arches, hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive rock fins, and giant balanced rocks -- in fact, it has the world’s largest concentration of natural sandstone arches! It is also filled with window formations, rock bridges, newly forming arches and collapsing arches (new arches are constantly forming and existing arches continue to weather until they eventually collapse).

To control crowds entering the park, Arches NP requires a timed entry pass for entry from 7 am to 4 pm between April 1 and October 31. The park will release tickets first-come, first-served on Recreation.gov three months in advance in monthly blocks at 8 am MST/MDT (so April entry is reserved in January, etc.). You can enter before 7 am or after 4 pm without a timed entry. These sell fast! So I recommend being online, logged in and ready the morning of the release. We had an early 7 am timed entry into the park so we could do a little hiking before the sun was too high in the sky over the exposed hiking areas (and to beat some of the crowds).

Devil's Garden: Landscape, Pine Tree, and Tunnel Arches

Our strategy was to hit the most exposed trail / the trailhead where the parking area fills up the quickest first. So once we entered, we drove all the way to the back of the park (about 18 miles) to the Devil’s Garden Trailhead. From the trailhead we hiked to the Landscape Arch along a pretty well marked trail (the primitive trail forks off right before reaching the arch). The trail twists through sheer sandstone walls that hide views of the arches from the trailhead.

Landscape Arch is a long thin arch that stretches 306 feet across the sky – making it one of the longest stone arches in the world. In 1991 a large slab of the rock fell, leaving some narrow sections (some as thin as 6 feet across).

We visited a couple viewpoints and then hiked up the rocks as far as we felt comfortable with the girls. The drop-offs were more than a little scary, so Spider Monkey and I hung back about mid-way up while Dustin and Buttercup climbed to the summit.

On our hike back we took the spur trail to the Pine Tree and Tunnel Arches. The spur branches after about a quarter mile to the different arches. Go left to Pine Tree Arch and right to Tunnel Arch.

After checking out these two large arches, we hiked back to the main trail and then back to the trailhead.

Follow along on our adventures in Devil's Garden:

Landscape Arch Trail Details:

Start: Devils Garden Trailhead Parking Area

Distance: 1.8 miles; out-and-back (taking the spur trail to Pine Tree and Tunnel Arches adds 0.5 miles out and back)

Difficulty: Easy; well-maintained trail of sand and rocks

Approximate Time: 1-2 hours

Skyline & Sand Dune Arch

After leaving Devil’s Garden, we slowly made our way back towards the entrance of Arches NP, stopping at various pull-offs and trailheads. One of the first stops was the trail to Skyline Arch. The trail is a short out-and-back hike up a slight incline. The Arch sits atop a tall fin of rocks, so it is visible from many areas within the park.

Skyline Arch Trail Details:

Start: Near the far north end of the main park road, south of Devil’s Garden

Distance: 0.4 miles; out-and-back

Difficulty: Easy

Approximate Time: 15 minutes

Our next stop was one of the girls’ favorites – Sand Dune Arch. Sand Dune Arch is a giant shaded sandbox of fine red sand, where the girls could have dug and played for hours. From the parking lot, follow the trail a couple minutes to the junction of the Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch trails. The Sand Dune Arch trail takes you through thin corridors with giant sheer rock faces and a floor of soft red sand. You cannot climb on the actual arch, but there are some fun rocks behind it that Dustin explored while the girls played. Then the girls took turns sliding down the rocks into the sand.

Follow along on our adventures at the Sand Dune Arch:

Sand Dune Arch Trail Details:

Start: Near the far north end of the main park road, south of Devil’s Garden

Distance: 0.4 miles; out-and-back

Difficulty: Easy but through deep red sand

Approximate Time: 0.5 hours + (depending on how long the kiddos play in the sand)

Salt Valley Overlooks, Delicate Arch & Panorama Point

We drove past the Fiery Furnace area, stopping to take some photos of the landscape along the way. This area is very exposed … hence the name. To hike the Fiery Furnace, you need a permit or a ranger guide hike. Both options require reservations and advanced planning -- not something for young kiddos like ours.

After passing the Fiery Furnace area, we entered the Salt Valley area and crossed over the Salt Valley Wash. Salt Valley occupies 11 miles of Arches National Park. Around this area the landscape becomes green with glittery sparkles all over. It is really a crazy sight! The glittery sparkles are gypsum, and the green comes from iron-rich volcanic ash that fell into an ancient lake that was here 150 million years ago. The lake was salty, which deprived the lake of oxygen and turned the iron into beautiful shades of green and turquoise. There are numerous pull-offs throughout this stretch of road that each provide amazing views of the Salt Valley landscape.

The spur on the road to the left leads to the Delicate Arch trail and overlooks. Delicate Arch is one of the most famous rock formations in Utah and is featured on their license plate. It is 64 feet tall and 45 feet wide, making it the largest free-standing arch. The first parking area is for those hiking to the arch. By this point, the sun was hot, and we were only mid-way through the park. So, we did not hike to Delicate Arch. Instead, we drove less than a mile further to the parking area for the shorter hike to the viewpoints. The Lower Viewpoint follows a short, hard-packed trail and provides a very distant view of the arch.

The trail to the Upper Delicate Arch viewpoint starts out along an easy path, but then begins climbing steeply. The trail provides beautiful views of the sparkling green landscape! In hindsight, I think we would have really enjoyed an early morning hike to Delicate Arch, instead of hiking past Landscape Arch in Devil’s Garden. Delicate Arch is visible in the distance from the viewpoints, but it was too far away to grab the girls’ attention. Plus, I didn’t I realized just how steep the rock climb was in Devil’s Garden once you pass Landscape Arch. If I was doing this trip again, I would stop first to hike to Delicate Arch, then make my way to the back of the park and hike to Landscape Arch.

You can see how tiny Delicate Arch looks from the viewpoints (even with a zoom lens)!

Delicate Arch Trail Details:

Start: Wolfe Ranch Cabin

Distance: 3.2 miles

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult

Approximate Time: 2-3 hours

Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint Trail Details:

Start: Delicate Arch Viewpoint Parking Lot

Distance: 1 mile; out-and-back

Difficulty: Easy, but steep 0.5 mile climb

Approximate Time: 30-45 minutes

After viewing Delicate Arch, we continued to drive towards the front of the park, stopping at various numerous pull-offs and taking in the landscape of the Lower Salt Valley, including a spur for Panorama Point. From Panorama Point, you can see for miles!

Windows Section: Garden of Eden

Then we took Windows Road to the left towards the Windows Section of the park. The road first curves around and offers a little pull-off viewpoint for the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden is an open area of rock towers and fins waiting to be explored – and another of our family favorites!! Arches National Park classifies this area as a “viewpoint”. But it is really an open trail where you can explore and climb around the sandstone features. You can climb up all around to explore the baby / soon-to-be arches.

You can also view Owl Rock (a giant stone sentinel that looks over the valley) from the parking area.

There were very few people in this area, so it was a great place to explore. Just remember to watch out for the cryptobiotic soil!

The Windows Section: North Window, South Window, & Turret Arch

Continuing along Windows Road, you can see Elephant Butte in the distance before arriving at the end of the road and the crowded Window Section parking area. This area is the most popular in the park, so it is highly concentrated with people! The North and South Windows are formed from openings in the same sandstone fin. These window arches stand side-by-side with a rock formation known as Nose Bridge between them. When viewed together, the two windows and bridge are known as “The Spectacles,” since they look like a pair of glasses.

We made a 1-mile loop, starting with the North Window and ending with the Turret Arch. The short hike starts from the parking area along a flat and hard-packed section of the trail. Then the trail splits to the various arches.

The trail becomes more uneven after the split and requires climbing up stone steps before reaching the North Window. The hike is pretty easy, but not accessible by stroller. Before we knew it, we were standing under the giant North Window arch! We spent some time here climbing and exploring under the arch before continuing to the South Window.

After backtracking a short distance, you find the short spur trail that takes you to the South Window. This arch is perched higher up on a cliff, so you can’t get as close as you can with the North Window. On the plus side, it is much less crowded, so you have a better chance of getting a family photo without people in the background.

Finishing up the Windows Loop, we continued the trek up the steps to Turret Arch. The arch gains its name from the towering spire on the side of the giant sandstone fin. This arch is smaller than the two windows, but you can get walk through it and explore the area before heading back to the parking area.

Windows Loop Trail Details:

Start: Windows Section Parking Lot

Distance: 1 mile loop

Difficulty: Easy

Approximate Time: 1 hour

The Windows Section: Double Arch

Double Arch is the tallest and second longest arch in Arches National Park. The Arch consists of two arches that share the same stone as a foundation for both outer legs. Unlike most of the other arches in the park, Double Arch was formed from water erosion from atop the sandstone (rather than wind and water erosion from the sides). The arch is accessible from the Windows Section parking area or a separate Double Arch parking area. Rather than moving the car, we took a connector trail that joined the two parking areas. The connector trail is well marked along a slightly sloping flat and hard-packed section of the trail.

Once you cross the Double Arch Parking Lot, you can access the short trail to Double Arch. The trail is hard-packed and easy to follow. When you reach the Double Arch, you can hike up and explore under the arch.

During our visit, a fire along the primitive trail was growing and the Rangers were urging visitors to move their cars from the Windows Section Parking lot, so we did not stay long to adventure under Double Arch.

Double Arch Trail Details:

Start: Double Arch Trailhead (also accessible via a connector trail from the Windows Section Parking Area)

Distance: 0.6 miles (out-and-back)

Difficulty: Easy

Approximate Time: 30 minutes

Balanced Rock

Once back in our car, we exited the Windows Section and made a quick stop to visit Balanced Rock from the parking lot. Even though it looks small from the parking lot, Balanced Rock stands 128 feet (39 m) tall. Ironically, there is not a “balanced rock” here. The top boulder of Entrada Sandstone is attached the Dewey Bridge mudstone pedestal. The exposure of these two rock strata layers is ideal for the formation of arches and balanced rocks. Eventually, the 3,600 ton boulder will fall as erosion continues.

Balanced Rock Trail Details:

Start: Balanced Rock Parking Lot

Distance: 0.3 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Approximate Time: 15-20 minutes

There are tons of other viewpoints along the road back to the park entrance, but we had a very full day of adventures. So, we opted to just stop at the Visitor Center so the girls could turn in their Junior Ranger books and get sworn in.

Visitor Information

Address: 5 miles north of Moab, Utah, on US 191

Hours: 24 hours

Cost: National Park entrance pass required (included in your America The Beautiful annual pass), plus timed entry pass ($2 fee paid online) from 7 am to 4 pm between April 1 and October 31

Tour Time: Varies greatly! We spent about 10 hours in Arches NP, but could have broken this into 2 days and spent longer exploring different areas.

Disclaimer: Always make sure to check out the latest information from the park website before you arrive.

The Family Verdict

I had reviewed the park map before our visit and determined what areas our crazy crew would enjoy the most, but there are plenty of other areas in Arches NP that you can enjoy. We visited in June (luckily, it was not extremely hot yet this year!) so I tried to keep our longer hikes to the morning before the sun was too high overhead.

Overall, Arches NP was beautiful! There was a great balance of viewpoints that did not require a ton of hiking and fun trails for added adventure.

If you loved this family adventure guide, check out my review of Lower Antelope Canyon and follow along on our road trip through the American Southwest!

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