11 Best Hikes in Arches National Park

How Long to Visit Arches National Park

You can complete all 11 of the best hikes in Arches National Park within 3 days. If you just want to pick some of these hikes, while still getting a good taste of the park, we recommend 1.5-2 days here. Going on a Utah National Parks Road Trip? Check out our Utah National Parks eBook, with a detailed 10 day itinerary!

What to Bring to Arches National Park

First and foremost, we always recommend that you pack the 10 essentials. A few key items that are important to have on the best hikes in Arches National Park are hiking shoes, layers, sunscreen, plenty of water and AllTrails maps! We highly recommend the AllTrails+ membership so you can download the map. There’s not usually great service on the trails!

Want to get 30% off an AllTrails Plus membership? Use our code aplusk30 (you must redeem this code on the website, not the app)!

We use AllTrails Plus on every single hike and it is the most helpful hiking tool out there! Some of the features we love are offline maps (so we can navigate even without cell service), wrong-turn alerts, and its 3D maps feature, so we can get a feel for trails before we hike.

1. Balanced Rock Loop Trail

Miles: 0.3 miles
Elevation Gain: 55 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Trail Map & Current Conditions

The first, and shortest trail on our list of best hikes in Arches National Park in the Balanced Room Loop Trail. While you might not see any arches here, there are some really cool rock formations you’ll see along the way. Plus, It’s a super fast and very easy trail so you can fit it in any time throughout your Arches itinerary.

Parking here should be pretty easy any time of the day. Since the trail is so short, people are coming and going constantly!

A+K Tip: Snap photos of this 3,600 ton boulder from different locations along the trail. It looks a completely different shape from each angle!

Miles: 0.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 95 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Trail Map & Current Conditions

Easily one of the best hikes in Arches National Park is Double Arch. And it requires a super short hike to get there. Win-win!

The hike itself is flat and very easy, but at the end there’s an opportunity for scrambling if you want to get up to the base of the arches.

As the name implies, Double Arch is made up of two arches that share the same stone base. While Delicate Arch might be the most famous of the 2,000+ arches in the park, we think this was the most beautiful!

A+K Tip: Visit at sunset for the cool glow effect like we got in our photos!

Miles: 1.0 mile
Elevation Gain: 196 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Trail Map & Current Conditions

Another short and easy hike to unique arches is Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch Trail. This is part of a longer trail, which is also on this list of the best hikes in Arches National Park, the Devil’s Garden Loop Trail.

If you’re not up for the whole 8 mile trail mentioned below, this could be a great option to get a taste of what the longer trail has to offer.

Tunnel Arch isn’t the coolest (or closest up) arch you’ll see while hiking in Arches National Park, but it makes for a great, quick stop to Pine Tree Arch. This one is much more impressive because you can walk under it and enjoy great views over the park from here.

A+K Tip: Visit first thing in the morning to see Pine Tree Arch glow!

Miles: 1.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 154 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Trail Map & Current Conditions

This short, flat, loop trail takes you to see three arches and some great park views along the way. All three arches are unique and impressive sights to see.

Turret arch was our favorite of the three. It was unlike any other we saw along the best trails in Arches National Park. The shape of Turret arch looked like the side profile of a dog, and with the small round hole next to it, it looked like he was catching a ball!

After you pass the arches, the rest of the trail becomes a primitive trail, which makes for a more unique hiking experience!

A+K Tip: On your way to the arches, be sure to make a stop at the Garden of Eden for more park views and sandstone!

Miles: 1.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 298 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Trail Map & Current Conditions

Park Avenue is one of the best trails in Arches National Park that doesn’t have any arches along the way. But don’t let that deter you from making the almost two-mile trek, because it’s absolutely still worth adding to your Arches Itinerary!

The trail’s name comes from the fact that the rock formations along the trail are so tall you feel like you’re walking past the skyscrapers along Park Avenue. You’ll feel so tiny and in such wonder of this beautiful place!

A+K Tip: If you’re short on time, and you absolutely can’t fit in this hike, there is an overlook for Park Avenue instead.

Miles: 1.9 miles
Elevation Gain: 252 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Trail Map & Current Conditions

The third arch along the Devil’s Garden Loop Trail (more on that below) is the Landscape Arch. However if you don’t have time for the entire 8 mile hike, instead plan to do the Landscape Arch Trail. It’s only 1.9 miles long and has very little elevation gain.

This arch is the next most famous after Delicate Arch. Part of the fame comes from the fact that in 1991 a huge chunk of the arch fell, and a visitor happened to catch it on camera! It’s a crazy video to watch. Because of that, you can no longer walk under the arch, but it’s still really neat to see from a distance.

A+K Tip: This is a great shorter option if you can’t hike all of Devil’s Garden Loop. However, if you can, we highly recommend you continue on to see the rest of the trail!

You’ll get to walk through Broken arch to continue on to Tapestry arch, which looks like a huge stage!

A+K Tip: This trail can be a little hard to follow at some points, so having the AllTrails+ membership and downloading the map in advance is very helpful!

The trail itself does have some narrow spots with drop offs, but we didn’t find it to be too scary (and we hate those kinds of trails!). It’s a great reason to visit at sunrise, because you won’t have people coming the opposite direction that you have to squeeze past.

After you visit the arch, you can also stop by the Twisted Doughnut Arch, which also provides another viewpoint for Delicate!

Parking here can be tough since it is such a popular trail, so get here as early as possible or be prepared to circle for a spot.

A+K Tip: No matter what time you visit Delicate Arch there will be people there. But the time with the absolute fewest crowds will always be sunrise! So get up early and hit the trail!

Miles: 7.9 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,085 feet
Difficulty: Hard
Trail Map & Current Conditions

Our absolute favorite of the hikes in Arches National Park is the Devil’s Garden Loop Trail. We’ve mentioned it a few times above, since there’s some smaller loops that make up this longer trail. And if you have the time, energy and ability to do this hike, then it is an absolute must!

The hike is definitely long, at almost 8 miles, and there are a few parts where you might need to use your hands to climb up. But it is completely worth the effort, since you get to see 7 beautiful arches along the way.

An added bonus of this hike is that a majority of it is along a primitive trail. This makes it even more unique and exciting. Part of the primitive section requires hiking along the top of a fin and looking out over the fins below you. It’s a huge highlight of this trail!

Our favorite arch along the Devil’s Garden Loop Trail is the Partition Arch! You can stand under this one, plus there’s incredible views out over the park from here!

A+K Tip: You can do this hike clockwise or counter-clockwise. We recommend going clockwise. This way, you start with the busier and more popular arches, Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch and Landscape Arch. These are on maintained trails. Then you will hit the primitive trail second, finishing with some of the more difficult spots along the trail.

Miles: 2.1 miles (but this can vary depending on if you get lost)
Elevation Gain: 492 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Trail Map & Current Conditions

By far the most unique experience of the best hikes in Arches National Park is the Fiery Furnace Trail. This hike requires a permit, or to be led by a park ranger. Why, you ask? Because the trail is basically a natural maze! It’s a real-life escape room!

You’ll spend a few hours navigating the sandstone rocks, hitting dead ends, getting lost, scrambling and having a lot of fun!

It’s important to know that children under 5 are not allowed in the fiery furnace due to the difficulty of the terrain. However, lots of people have mentioned that they went with their kids (5 and over) and the kids had a blast!

A+K Tip: Prepare for this hike in advance by booking a tour or buying a permit. The ranger-led tours are typically offered May 1-September 28. If you prefer to get a self-guided permit, they are available up to seven days in advance and must be reserved at least two days in advance. Both options do sell out!