Tips for First-Time Hikers to Arches National Park

Arches National Parks Sign, Utah

I had been to Utah several times to ski, but had never hiked there. Recognizing that I had zero experience in desert terrain, I did a lot of research.  Here are my tips if you’re visiting Arches National Park for the first time!

1. Start with the Arches National Park website. It has a ton of information.

2. Wear the right stuff – good hiking shoes and hiking socks, quick dry t-shirts (because cotton gets wet and gross), and pants you can move in. Bring a hat because the sun is brutal! Dress in layers - the temperature swing can vary from cool to brutally hot.

3. Bring sunscreen and bug spray. They are your friends.

4. Bring water and snacks. It’s hot and you’re moving.  We brought nuts, dried fruit, a couple granola bars, water, and Gatorade. Don’t bring anything that melts, like chocolate.

5. Go on a ranger-led hike.  You’ll learn about the history of the area, and tips for the best ways to navigate a trail.

   

   Arches National Park

6. Make reservations.  Arches National Park requires a timed entry reservation to enter the park. To make a reservation, you need to first create an account on Recreation.gov .  Even if you have a National Parks pass, you still need a reservation to enter.  Once you have an account with Reacreation.gov, you can make reservations not just for your entry, but for ranger-led hikes, too. You can also use Recreation.gov to make reservations at other national parks

7. Making a reservation may take some planning and effort.  We made our reservations for Arches in February - as soon as reservations opened - for our trip in May.  For our ranger-led hike, we could only make reservations seven days in advance.  Pro tip – be ready as soon as the reservations open - our ranger-led hike filled up fast.  We wanted to do the Fiery Furnace ranger-led hike.  Reservations opened at 8am (MDT or Mountain Time) one week before we intended to go.  I had the website teed up for 8am MDT (10am Eastern Time),  I made the reservations exactly at 8am.  By 8:05am, the tickets were sold out.

8. There are  fees.  Even if you have a National Parks pass, there is a fee for a ranger-led hike and for a reservation to enter Arches.  The fee for our ranger led hike was$16 per person.  The fee for a timed park reservation was $2 per vehicle per day, but if you are on a ranger-led hike, you don’t have to make a reservation and you’ll save the $2.

9. The visitor center is a great place to start.  It has a lot of history about the area.  You also need to stop there to get your ticket for your ranger-led hike, so while you’re there, you might as well learn something about the area you’ll be hiking.

10. Go early in the day.  It gets very hot very quickly.  It also gets crowded.

11. If you know someone who has experience hiking at Arches, ask them for advice.  my work colleague, who is a very experienced hiker particularly at Arches, gave me great tips about what to do…and what not to do.

12.  Stay on marked trails.  While trails are fairly well marked with rocks, rail ties, or even paved, sometimes they aren’t.  In instances when you can’t figure out where the trail goes, a good rule of thumb is to stay on rocks, not sand or soil.  The sand/soil contains living organisms that the park is trying to preserve.  It’s difficult to protect if people are walking everywhere.

13.  AllTrails is a helpful tool.  AllTrails is a hiking app that will help you navigate a trail.  I’ve used AllTrails both in the U.S. and outside the U.S.  There’s a free version and paid versions, but so far, the free version has worked for me. The free version doesn’t allow you to download maps for offline use, but I used the free version at Arches, and it was fine.  I also took a compass, just for safe measure.

14.  Rangers patrol the area, not only for your protection, but also to protect the park and its ecosystem.  See tip 12.

15.  Trails can be challenging, even if they’re marked “easy”, especially, if you’re not used to rocky, desert terrain or live at sea level.  The altitude of Arches ranges from 4,000 to 5,600 feet.  If you live at sea level like me, you’ll get out of breath quicker at Arches.

16.  Many of the arches in Arches National Park are visible from the road, so you can see them from your vehicle – but where’s the fun in that?

I’m sure there are many more tips to get you ready for your trip to Arches National Park, but these will get you started.  Now, go plan your trip!

Arches National Park, Utah