Arches National Park quickly became my favorite stop on our Utah Mighty 5 adventure. After tackling the strenuous Fiery Furnace, we returned with our daughter for a day of easier hikes to explore the park’s best arches. From Landscape Arch to Delicate Arch and Double Arch, check out how we explored Arches National Park in a day.
Looking for more Utah adventures? Be sure to check out our other experiences exploring the Utah Mighty 5.
Planning Our Visit to Arches National Park
Arches National Park is one of Utah’s most incredible places to explore. More than 2,000 natural stone arches fill the park, along with towering fins, balanced rocks, and other unique rock formations. Delicate Arch may be the most famous, but there are countless others to discover. Always check out the park’s official website for current park information before visiting.
We planned to start our morning at the visitor center before heading toward Devil’s Garden. After getting our passport stamps and using the restrooms, we turned on GuideAlong app for the drive. Along the way, we would stop at Sand Dune Arch and Skyline Arch before hiking to Landscape Arch. After the hike, we planned to have our picnic lunch since there are no places to eat inside the park.
From there, we planned to visit the Delicate Arch area and hike to the viewpoints. This would let us see the famous arch without tackling its longer, more strenuous trail. We would then finish in the Windows section, where several amazing arches are accessible on shorter trails. Our goal was to visit all three main areas and see as many major arches as possible.
Entering Arches National Park and Sand Dune Arch
We checked the park’s webcam before leaving and saw a huge line at the entrance. Since Arches was only five minutes away, we waited until after 9:30 AM, hoping the line had improved. Unfortunately, it hadn’t, and it still took about 20 minutes to get inside. Despite the long entrance line, we easily found a parking spot at the visitor center. We got our passport stamps and used the restrooms before heading toward Devil’s Garden.
We turned on GuideAlong to learn more about the park during the 18-mile drive to Devil’s Garden. The drive takes about 45 minutes, with our first stop at Sand Dune Arch, where the parking lot was already full. We parked along the road and started the 0.4-mile roundtrip trail around 11:00 AM.
The short trail becomes sandy as we walk through a narrow passage between large sandstone walls. We reach Sand Dune Arch in just 7 minutes, and our daughter enjoys climbing inside the arch.
Sand Dune Arch was an easy first hike, and our daughter was already having fun. The 2.3-mile Broken Arch Loop also starts here. Once on the trail, you can go left toward Broken Arch or right toward Sand Dune Arch. We chose the shorter route to save our energy for Devil’s Garden. Though we could still see Broken Arch from the parking lot. Then we headed toward our next quick stop at Skyline Arch.
Skyline Arch on the Way to Devil’s Garden
As we continued toward Devil’s Garden, Skyline Arch appeared high above us along the road. The parking lot is much smaller than Sand Dune Arch, but someone pulled out as we arrived. We quickly grabbed the open spot and started the trail toward the arch.
Skyline Arch was visible from the start of the trail, and the views got better as we walked closer. We reached the arch in less than 10 minutes. Standing below the arch, we could look through its massive opening, but reaching it would require climbing a steep rock wall.
Driving here, GuideAlong told us a huge boulder fell out of the arch in 1940, making the opening much larger. And we could still see the boulder and other fallen rocks below the arch. From parking to returning to the car, the entire stop took about 18 minutes.
It was another quick stop with impressive views and little hiking required. We then continued toward Devil’s Garden for our longest hike of our day. We planned to hike to Landscape Arch and back, including a spur to two additional arches.
Hiking Devil’s Garden to Landscape Arch
We arrived at Devil’s Garden around noon and found the huge parking loop packed. Driving toward the trailhead, we spotted a car backing out. After quickly grabbing the spot, we walked to the trailhead.
About 5 minutes into the hike, we reached a short spur leading to two additional arches. We took the spur and first went right toward Tunnel Arch. Like Skyline Arch, we had to look up to see this arch from a distance.
Tunnel Arch looks like it was drilled straight through the sandstone wall to the other side. From the viewpoint, we could get a great look at the opening and a smaller unnamed arch to its left. From the viewpoint, we returned to the spur and then walked downhill toward the other named arch.
Once we arrived at Pine Tree Arch, we could walk right underneath it to the other side. It was our first arch that we could actually walk through. And on the other side, we could see even more of the surrounding Devil’s Garden landscape.
The return to the main trail was entirely uphill, making this portion more challenging. The spur added about 0.4 miles to our hike and took a little more than 20 minutes to complete. After Pine Tree Arch, we returned to the main trail and continued through Devil’s Garden. The trail had no shade as we passed plenty of other hikers through the vast area. More than 15 minutes later, we saw our first glimpse of Landscape Arch.
Landscape Arch in Arches National Park
After our first glimpse of Landscape Arch in the distance, we noticed a small sign pointing toward it. From there, we continued along the trail, getting closer views as we approached. We could even see another arch to the right that we later learned was Partition Arch.
A fence separates the trail from the arch, so we continued along the designated path. Landscape Arch has the largest span in North America at 290 feet. Though a thin section of the arch makes it look like it could break at any moment.
Further along, we reached the Primitive Trail, which continues 1.1 miles to Double O and other arches. The trail becomes much more difficult, with scrambling and steep climbs over sandstone fins. Seeing hikers climbing ahead, we were happy we had already planned to turn around here.
Before turning back, we noticed a sign for a viewpoint and realized we had not reached it yet. After climbing over some rocks, we reached the viewpoint where the fence ends. From here, we had incredible views through Landscape Arch, with large rocks and green trees growing below.
After admiring the views, we headed back toward the trailhead. The return seemed easier, and we finished the 2.2 mile hike in about 1.5 hours. Once we reached the parking lot, we refilled our water bottles before heading back to the car. It was now 1:30 PM, and we were ready for lunch.
Wolfe Ranch and Petroglyphs at Delicate Arch
We already knew we would skip the full 3-mile Delicate Arch Trail and go to the viewpoints instead. But on the drive from Devil’s Garden, GuideAlong convinced us to stop anyway. We could at least walk to Wolfe Ranch and the petroglyphs near the beginning of the trail. After easily finding a parking spot by the trailhead, we ate our picnic lunch in the car first.
After lunch and a restroom break, it was just a short 3-minute walk to the historic cabin. Wolfe Ranch was established by John Wesley Wolfe in 1898, and the original one-room cabin still stands today. After checking out the ranch, we crossed the bridge over Salt Wash to reach the nearby petroglyph panel.
The petroglyphs were close enough to see clearly, and the panel was exquisite. We could easily recognize several bighorn sheep along with figures on horseback. After about 15 minutes and a leisurely ½-mile walk, we were back at the car and continued toward the viewpoints.
Seeing Delicate Arch without the Long Hike
Originally, we planned to hike the full Delicate Arch Trail on another day. It was too much for this busy day, especially with the other hikes we had planned. But after getting permits for Fiery Furnace, we did that experience instead. Still, we wanted to see Delicate Arch in person, so we headed to the viewpoints. It was the best way to see Utah’s iconic symbol without another long hike.
We drove down the road to the Delicate Arch Viewpoints and parked near the trailhead. The lower viewpoint was only a 1-minute walk, but the arch looked distant from there. We could zoom in with our cameras, but we wanted a closer look. So, we started up the ½-mile round-trip trail to the upper viewpoint. The trail climbed straight up, and our calves, or “baby cows” as our daughter calls them, were hurting again. Thankfully, it took only 7 minutes to reach the viewpoint.
Delicate Arch was much more visible from here, but it was still about a mile away across the canyon. We could clearly see the 52-foot-tall freestanding arch and a lot of people around it, though they looked like ants from this distance. Thankfully, we could easily zoom in for a closer look at this amazing arch.
After admiring the arch for a few minutes, we headed back down to the parking lot. Both viewpoints took us about 25 minutes altogether. Back in the car, we started GuideAlong again and continued to our next stop.
Exploring The Windows at Arches National Park
On the way to The Windows, GuideAlong directed us to Panorama Point for expansive views and a distant view of Balancing Rock. Around 3:30 PM, we turned into The Windows Section and drove to the end of the road to The Windows Trail. From the start of the trail, we could already see North Window towering ahead.
We decided to head there first and stopped along the way for a picture with the arch behind us. As we got closer, steps led us to the massive opening and views of the other side. From North Window, we could easily see Turret Arch across the way. So, we headed back to the main path to get a closer look.
From there, we walked toward Turret Arch, which stands in a separate rock formation from the Windows. Its opening was also massive, taller than it was wide and even larger than North Window. However, there were no steps leading through it, so we had to climb over rocks to get inside.
Our daughter climbed up Turret Arch first and laid across a rock underneath the opening. I followed her up, and we walked through the arch to the other side. We had it all to ourselves, which was really cool. Becky eventually climbed up to join us before we headed back down.
As we headed back, Becky wanted to return to the car. However, I convinced her to walk to the South Window viewpoint to see it up close. The main trail became a primitive path from here, but we headed back the way we came. The entire trail was about 1 mile and took about 50 minutes. However, we still had one more arch to explore.
Double Arch and One Last Stop
Even though it was getting late, I knew there was 1 more short hike across the parking lot. We could have walked over, but Becky was spent, so we drove around to the trailhead.
Double Arch was visible from the start of the trail, but it took about 10 minutes to reach the base. Along the way, we passed Elephant Arch. It really looked like an elephant with its long trunk because of the surrounding rock formation.
At the base of Double Arch, we could see plenty of people climbing inside the massive formation. Our daughter and I climbed up into the arch as well while Becky stayed below to take pictures.
Double Arch was unlike anything else we had seen, with two massive openings carved into the same formation. We explored the rocks before climbing back down. We finished the ½-mile round-trip trail right at 5:00 PM, after about 25 minutes. But we still wanted to see one more formation up close.
Before leaving the park, we made one final stop at Balancing Rock. We were tired by then, so we skipped the short trail around it. But we wanted to see this amazing rock formation before heading back to our resort to freshen up for dinner.
Our Arches National Park Recap
In 1 day, we spent nearly 7 hours exploring Arches National Park. We saw at least 12 named arches and covered about 5.6 miles across 7 short hikes. Landscape Arch was our longest hike, taking us to the longest arch in the park. But we also saw the most iconic, Delicate Arch, from a distance. We also explored The Windows, where several impressive arches are clustered together in one area. And GuideAlong was great once again, even convincing us to stop at Wolfe Ranch and the petroglyphs along the way.
So far, Arches National Park is my favorite on this trip. The arches and other rock formations are incredible, and we saw so much in a single day. We would love to come back and explore even more. But tomorrow, we’re headed to Bryce Canyon to complete the Utah Mighty 5.
Looking for more Utah adventures? Be sure to check out our other experiences exploring the Utah Mighty 5.