Arches National Park

Moab, Utah, is one of my favorite places on earth to visit. Located in the southeastern part of the state, it’s home to two nearby national parks: Arches and Canyonlands, not to mention Dead Horse Point State Park.

This is Chris from Indiana. He saw me trying to photograph this small rock formation in the foreground with Delicate Arch in the background and decided to be funny.

Born and raised in Utah, it wasn’t until college that I visited Arches. Every spring, the College of Eastern Utah, where I attended for two years, offered spring excursions to the area. Then at Utah State University, where I received my undergraduate degree, our Newman Club also ventured to Arches for a spring break visit.

Over the years, after moving to Wisconsin, my wife and our kids would make trips to visit family in Utah and we would always stop in Moab. Our most recent visit was this summer, after attending family celebrations in Salt Lake City.

Mid-July is not the best time of year to venture out into the desert to gaze at the 76,000 acres of red sandstone rock formations, petrified dunes and 2,000-plus natural arches, yet there we were with thousands of other tourists in 90 to 100-degree temperatures.

Back in my college days, a visit to Arches was not met by long lines of cars. Today, however, the national park has resorted to timed entry reservations to ease overcrowding from the nearly 2 million visitors each year. Visitors between April 1 and Oct. 31 must go online and reserve their timed entry, which takes place between 7am and 4pm. In addition to the $2 timed entry fee, there is a $30 entry fee per car. 

As an avid photographer, Arches never disappoints. But if you’re interested in capturing the best shots, you’ll need to do it in the early morning or late afternoon/evening to capture what photographers call the golden hour. This actually works out well, since arriving early morning or evening negates the $2 timed entry fee!

We learned this after reserving the latest entry fee time: 3 to 4 p.m. One of the park rangers advised us that visitors could enter before 7 a.m. and after 4 p.m., which is what we did the next day. 

A photo taken in late afternoon at North Window.

As you can see by these contrasting photos of the North Window (one shot in the late afternoon and one close to sunset), timing is everything for colorful photos.

This photo taken at North Window minutes before sunset.

One of the handouts we received from the park ranger was a newspaper that included tips for such things as hiking, cycling, stargazing and, yes, photography. The guide cautions that light painting (using artificial light sources to illuminate features at night) is prohibited. 

It states that the best early morning spots for photos are Moab Fault, Three Gossips, Sheep Rock, Turret Arch, Double Arch, Cache Valley, Delicate Arch Viewpoint, Wolf Ranch, Landscape Arch and Double O Arch.

The best evening spots are Park Avenue, La Sal Mountains Viewpoint, Courthouse Towers, Petrified Dunes, Balanced Rock (see the sunset shot in slideshow), Garden of Eden, Skyline Arch and Tower Arch.

If Arches is on your bucket list, think about making a trip during the off-season, maybe early spring or late fall. Weather conditions are manageable, especially if you’re making the 1.5 mile hike to Delicate Arch. Start by visiting the Arches website. 

Pro tip: When you wrap up your visit to Arches, be sure to stop in at Moab Brewery for a cold one and regale others with tales of your magnificent Arches photo adventure.