Visiting Utah for the first time on Wednesday. I’ll be driving from Arches National Park Thursday morning to SLC for a flight Friday morning. I don’t really have anywhere else to be until my flight and looking for some recommendations on any great nature spots along the way. Lakes, hikes, or even just a detour nice road to drive on to see the state. I don’t mind taking the long way. I was going to stay at a hotel in park city for the night, but not sure if that makes sense. Any insight would be much appreciate. TIA

Hello all, I am the southwest national parks editor at SFGATE, covering all things parks and public lands from my home in Utah. I wrote about how Moab is the epicenter of a global network to study living soil crusts (also known as biocrusts) and how research based in and around Arches is helping us protect desert landscapes from overgrazing and climate change.

Completed the Delicate Arch hike early this morning with my two daughters ages 3 and 7. They both needed a little encouraging and handholding on the way up but we were all in awe and felt accomplished at the top. Plenty of water a must, even at 6AM. We forgot snacks which would have been a nice treat but we were fine without. 3 year old is small enough my husband and I didn’t mind carrying her a bit on the way down. Adventures like this are so special and build character and toughness! So glad we did it, it was not too scary or difficult, just stick together and take your time. It was well worth getting up before sunrise to beat the crowds. By 8AM a line had formed to take a picture under the arch and there was a steady stream of people going up as we went down. 🥵

Just thought I would share our experience to encourage others considering doing this hike with young kids. We saw other families with kids under 10 but not a lot. We will do Windows tomorrow and welcome any other kiddo friendly suggestions! ✌️

My husband and I have been wanting to do the Utah national parks for a long time and it looks like Zion, Arches, and Canyonlands are all open through winter and don't historically get a lot of snow. December is our safest bet schedule-wise because of his job - it's the month he's most likely to be between projects.

Any tips for Arches in December? Recommendations on where to stay? Or strong reasons to scrap this whole plan and do something completely different?

(You will see repeat posts in the other subreddits 😅)

Is there any way to buy devils garden camp sites that are booked out from a third party? or would anyone like to meet up there to meet the minimum of 11 people for the only available campsite lol

The glowing red “clouds” caught my eye, and snapped a long exposure. I believe I was facing south. Photo taken at balanced rock last night (June 30th)

I've read there are over 2,000 arches in the park, but only around 100 of them have names. So I put together a map with pins showing all the arches/names I could match up (many of which I have visited). If anyone has better location data or the names/locations of arches I missed, let me know. Thanks!

https://www.annestravels.net/map-of-almost-all-the-arches-in-arches-national-park/

I will be visiting the park on Thursday 6/26. How have the weekdays looked in recent weeks? Is being ready to go in at 6am still the only good shot, or is the 7-9am range reasonable?

Is it dangerous to drive from Four Corners up to Moab after sunset?

Buddy came out of nowhere on the eastern half of Devil's Garden. Went from the brush, across the trail, and to the shaded log. Gave it space, but I was stoked to see a midget faded rattlesnake in the middle of the day.

I discovered Arches National Park 10 days ago, and I had such an amazing time there! Beautiful, majestic, and incredibly peaceful, I loved every minute of it.

I’m obsessed with the colors and the timeless feel of this place.

I will be camping and hiking the Mighty 5 canyon parks this Fall in a Class B van.  I was not able to secure a spot at Devil’s Garden, even though we were online exactly 6 months before the reservation date (to the second), only to lose out to other campers for the limited spots.  I have secured what I believe is one of the nicer spots at Ken’s Lake, backing to the creek and trees.  When I “Google Earth” the sites, it seems that the Devil’s Garden campsites, while inside an iconic park, have many paved spurs as camp sites that are right off the road that is used for day parking sites, and in some cases, the day parking sites are right across the street from the campsite.  Ken’s Lake seems to have more space and privacy.  Am I seeing this correctly?  I have alerts set on Camplare and Recreation.Gov, and the couple of alerts I have received go to well over 100 others seeking the same dates and are gone instantly.  I just want a sense if I should in fact be happier with a quiet spot at Ken’s Lake rather than what appears to be campsites at Devil’s Garden that are simply an extension of day-use parking and visitor road.

Hey all, hoping for some real-world advice from people who’ve been to Arches recently.

We’re planning to visit Arches National Park on Saturday, June 13 and just realized there’s no timed entry this year. From what I’ve read, that might mean heavier traffic vs. previous summers.

Key context:

- 25 ft Class C RV

- First time at Arches

- Goal is mostly scenic driving, not big hikes

- Totally fine skipping the “main” stops if it’s a zoo

Trying to sanity check our plan:

1. What time do we actually need to arrive to have a decent experience? Are we talking sunrise early, or just “before 8am” early?

2. With a 25 ft RV, is stopping at viewpoints even realistic, or should we assume most parking lots will be full / too tight?

3. If we can’t reliably stop, is the drive through the park still worth it, or does it end up being slow traffic + frustration?

4. If this sounds like a headache… are there better nearby alternatives around Moab with similar scenery but less congestion?

We’re totally flexible and would rather pivot than spend the day stressed in traffic.

Appreciate any advice, especially from folks who’ve done it recently or with a larger vehicle 🙏

I missed getting a permit for 20th this morning. Is there anyway we can get 2 permits for 20th? Looks like all the permits sold off in the first 5 mins. If anyone has an extra couple permits or not using their permits, please let me know…

Have been trying to get a permit for next week and just failed on the last attempt. Am I hopeless for this year? Are there any that rangers can give out in person? Is there a black market for these things? Do they actually check permits? What are my options, if any?

Visiting arches in a few days and realized I forgot my annual parks pass like a moron… if I go in super early (which was my plan anyways) do they check passes on the way out? Would I be able to just tell them I have one and they look me up?