3 day itinerary

Northeastern Utah is abundant with national parks, hosted by the town of Moab, making it one of the best adventure playgrounds in America. Have a taste over 3 days whilst you see all the best of Arches NP!

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Day 1

Enjoy the southern half of Arches on your first day, giving plentiful opportunities to see the famous features which haven given the park its name. Drive through Park Avenue and begin with a short hike to approach Courthouse Towers if you have enough light in the early hours of the morning. The wide vistas make for a spectacular start!

The next segment of the park that awaits you is The Windows. This impressive series of formations is probably best viewed from North Window, looking out to Turret Arch - possibly giving you an Inception-type feeling (arch within an arch......) Various angles of these arches are available as you follow another short trail, with the Windows Loop tracking 1.2 miles that should take you less than an hour, even with a few stops of admiration!

Double Arch is located across the small road loop, and a very short hike can get you closer if you aren't satisfied with the view from The Windows Loop trail! Afterwards, you can give your feet a bit of a rest now as you drive towards one of Utah's most famous residents - Delicate Arch. This is one of the most popular hikes in the park, and will always be a pretty busy trail, especially in the peak season of May-October. But it's still worth the effort and crowds! This particular arch is famed for its isolated nature, as it sits on the edge of a sandstone panhole with the La Sal Mountains on the horizon. Starting from Wolfe Ranch, this hike should take you two to three hours, so make sure to enjoy your lunch at the halfway point before the return leg.

Day 2

Sandwiched between two busy days on foot in Arches National Park lies a massive adventure day based out of nearby Moab. A considerable selection of activities await you, with a couple of our favourites including the Hell's Revenge 4x4 off-roading experience, and Xtreme 3-hour experience! Or if you fancy something without a motor, white water rafting the Colorado River is quite the thrill!

End the evening with a view which we always recommend to adventurers in this area of Utah. Dead Horse Point State Park overlooks Canyonlands National Park - Arches much larger but lesser-known neighbour. Stare out over the Colorado River as it continues its way towards the Grand Canyon and enjoy the tranquility of this part of the world! Food wise, there's plenty of choices along the main Main Street of Moab - but a great pick is Antica Forma for some traditional wood-fired Neapolitan pizza which will finish off your hunger-inducing day very nicely!

Day 3

Head deeper into Arches for your third and final day today, passing many of the sights of day one on the way. Venture to the end of the main paved road of the park, passing Fiery Furnace on your way to Devil's Garden - another popular but slightly less frequently visited area of the park. Start off the day with a shorter hike to Skyline Arch, one of the most famous and celebrated in the park! Its formation is unusual, as it doubled in size after a rockfall about 80 years ago tore through the existing opening!

Our next recommendation is to then take on the much longer Devil's Garden Loop, coming in at just under 8 miles round trip. A largely flat hike, it does involve some small areas of scrambling, and its length in warmer weather conditions during late spring and summer makes it probably the hardest hike in the park.

The main areas of rock scrambling occur as you circle out to Double O Arch, which can be done clockwise or counterclockwise - the latter has some more steep sections which may be easier to slide down if hiked clockwise. One of the main draws of this hike is Landscape Arch, the longest arch in America, which always looks stunning against the clear blue skies that Utah often experiences. There are also some slightly higher sections and offshoots to Private Arch, Dark Angel and Partition Arch. Consider doing all of them to really appreciate everything about this trail!

The benefit of taking on Devil's Garden Loop earlier on in the day means you can decide how much energy you have left if you choose to complete another hike. The last main opportunity in this area is the loop to Broken Arch, at just over a couple of miles long. But you can also add a short junction off to Sand Dune Arch to really feel like you've completed the Devil's Garden area of the north of the park!

Return to the Windows section to watch sunset on your way out of the park, to

beautifully finish a great day exploring all the main areas of Arches National Park!

While you're in this amazing part of Utah, consider checking out our Canyonlands National Park Guide! And have a look at our Utah 5 itinerary, to see every national park of this glorious state!