How to Navigate Timed Entry at Arches National Park (2024)

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If you’ve done any sort of research about Arches National Park, you may have come across an article titled something like, “Arches National Park overrun with visitors, delays for entry over 5 hours”, or seen alerts on the Arches National Park website or twitter notifying people that the park is congested and experiencing delays.

As concerning it is to see these reports, be glad you learned about the issue ahead of time so you can follow the right steps to easily gain entry. Because worse yet is showing up to the park unaware of these challenges and being totally unprepared.

My Experience with Arches National Parks Entrance Delays

In preparing for my 2021 trip to see three of the “Mighty Five” National Parks in Utah, I began to hear rumblings of issues of congestion at national parks.

Visitation was high, there were long lines to get in, and claims of overcrowding. I did a bit of preliminary research, enough to know to expect possible delays in getting into the park, but it all became more real when we drove up to the entrance of Arches National Park and were greeted with a sign that said, “Park Full, come back in 3 hours.”

Why is Congestion an Issue at Arches National Park?

So what’s the deal with Arches, I mean everyone loves national parks, why is this one particularly tough to navigate?

Well, there are a number of factors that contribute to the entry delays at Arches. First, Arches is a smaller park, at only 76,680 acres it is in the bottom 30% of national parks by size. To put that in perspective that’s nearly 1/10th the size of Yosemite National Park.

At the same time, Arches is among the top 30% of parks by visitation. It is a popular park with over 1.6 million visitors each year. On top of that, Arches has only one entrance station and the number of parking spots it has can be a limiting factor.

So between the size of the park, the number of visitors, the single entry point, and limited parking spots, it’s not surprising the parks service has seen the need to address congestion.

History of Arches National Park Entrance Delays

The issue really hit a tipping point in 2021 during the COVID pandemic when visitation reached record levels as people used the park as a way to get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors and an alternative to international travel. But it had been an issue a long time in coming because visitation had been rapidly increasing, doubling in the decade and a half leading up to 2021.

So park entrance delays became more and more frequent even before the pandemic until they were nearly a daily occurrence at the park during peak season. In 2021, the park closed to entry more than 100 times.

Timed Entry at Arches National Park

Things are changing though at Arches. During the summer of 2022, the national park service piloted a timed entry reservation program which required each vehicle entering the park to have entry reservations. The new program didn’t guarantee everyone a spot, because there were limited spots available. Tickets were released three months in advance and would sell out quickly.

The pilot program ended in October 2022, and the national park service evaluated the results of the timed entry system to determine a path forward. Ultimately it was decided to continue the timed entry pilot.

Ensuring You Get Entry to Arches National Park

Timed entry reservations are required April-October, with tickets releasing three months in advance. This means you must have a reservation to get in. Rangers DO NOT sell tickets at the entrance. So review the release schedule on the National Parks website and purchase your $2 tickets as soon as possible to avoid scrambling later.

A limited amount of tickets are released the day prior if planning a last minute trip, but the national parks service encourages visitors to plan ahead whenever possible.

Being prompt to reserve tickets will ensure you get to be one of the limited amount of cars into the park daily. Ticketed entry or not, there’s not going to be a miracle solution to the congestion. The park will still be popular, and even with a ticket you may have to wait in a long line at the gate.

Avoiding Overcrowding at Arches National Park

When reserving your timed entry and planning your visit, there are a few things you can do to avoid the worst of the crowds.

1. Arrive Early

You might think that by early I mean 10am. But no. Early means be among the first to get into the park. The national park service website warns that trailheads can fill up even before 9am.

We arrived around 11am and it looked like the park had been closed for a while (this was before tickets were implemented to guarantee entry). Make your timed entry reservation for the earliest you can handle and enjoy a quieter morning in the park.

Researched Traveler Tip: Due to our travel plans we had to drive from the Bryce Canyon area to Moab making our arrival time later than ideal. I recommend staying nearer to the park to allow for the earliest possible arrival.

The good news is if you’re traveling from the eastern US and you haven’t adjusted to the time change yet, an early arrival may not feel like too much of an adjustment.

2. Or Arrive Late

Crowds thin out later in the afternoon as those who arrived in the morning leave for the day. Arrive after 3pm and close out your day viewing the beautiful red rocks bathed in the golden glow of the sun. Come back extra late for some stargazing!

3. Visit on Less Popular Days

Plan your visit to avoid peak tourist days. My recommendation: DON’T visit near a holiday – that’s just setting yourself up for problems. If you can visit on a weekday, you’ll find it generally less crowded than on a weekend, which can translate to less delays.

Summer is the busiest time in the park, and while I wouldn’t necessarily change my entire travel plans just to avoid crowds, be mindful of that. And if you want to visit from October-April, you’ll find it considerably less crowded and avoid some of the heat as well.

Personally I made a point to plan my visit later in September long after Labor Day and when many schools would be back in session.

These advance plans can help you find your way into Arches National Park with minimized delays. There may still be a line to get in or trailheads that are filling fast. But once you’re in the park sit back and enjoy the beautiful views. And remember, if you leave, as long as your entry ticket was validated, you can reenter anytime. But you’ll face whatever entrance conditions exist to get back in.

How to Get Into Arches Without A Ticket

So what can you do if you missed your chance to get a ticket? As much as you might like to take a spontaneous trip to Arches, if you want to avoid showing up to the park and being turned away, there are only a few things you can do.

Timed entry tickets to Arches are not required before 7am or after 4pm. So arrive early, with enough time to get through the gates before they start checking tickets, and you can still enjoy the day. This would be the perfect place to enjoy sunrise!

Same for the evening, arrive after the gate agents close up shop, and you’ll have free range of the park until after dark. Escape the heat of the day, the crowds, and the tickets by arriving before 7am or after 4pm.

What to Do While Waiting For Your Entry Time

Hopefully you can plan ahead to get in at your first choice of times, but if you’re like me and find yourself at the entrance of Arches without a chance to get in until later, never fear, there’s backup plans.

On our trip in September 2021 I was quite proud of myself for the quick rearranging of the itinerary I was able to pull off so we could still do everything on our list (and discover some hidden gems!).

Instead of waiting around staring at the entrance station until your entry time, explore elsewhere for a little while. Here’s some places I’d recommend.

1. Hike to Corona Arch and Bowtie Arch

You came to Arches National Park to see the largest concentration of natural arches in the world, and who says they’re all confined inside the park boundaries? I’d already planned to visit these arches on our trip, so when we found Arches closed, I knew exactly where to head.

Just 15 minutes away from Arches National Park down Route 279 is the trailhead to this hike. This hike ended up being one of our favorites in Moab from both in and outside the park. It features a unique jaunt across railroad tracks, up a ladder, and through an amazing desert landscape to a beautiful view of two large arches, one open and one closed.

I would recommend this hike even if Arches is open. It’s that good. Make some time later in the day or on your way out of town to do this hike. The trailhead to Corona and Bowtie Arch starts at a parking lot right of the road. It’s open all day with no entrance fees. Be aware there’s no water bottle filling stations here so fill your bottles before you head this way.

It took us around 45 minutes to hike out, we enjoyed the view for quite a while, and then made our hike back. This gave us a couple hours of hiking while we waited for the congestion at Arches to clear up. And contrary to the busyness at Arches, this hike was fairly secluded.

2. See the Petroglyphs

This was wild. To be honest I’m not sure if I had ever really considered that petroglyphs were real things that exist in the US and that they’re out in the open for viewing. We happened upon the sign pointing them out on our drive to the Corona/Bowtie trailhead and marked the spot to come back to after our hike.

This was really cool to me and something totally unexpected. There’s several places right along Route 279/Potash Road you can pull off and get up close to the petroglyphs on the side of the rocks.

Look for the signs indicating the pull off to the Petroglyphs, and also a parking lot further down the road with a short walk to view more along with some dinosaur tracks.

I’m still left wondering how this art was carved so high up on the rock wall.

3. Visit Canyonlands National Park

Still want to get the full national park experience and feeling left out waiting for Arches to open? Because of the abundance of national parks Utah has to offer, there is another one close by you can go to. Just 30 minutes away from Arches is the entrance to Canyonland National Park.

Canyonlands is more than 4 times the size of Arches National Park, and has fewer visitors than its extremely popular neighbor. This means you’ll have a much easier time gaining entrance and enjoying some solitude in this park.

There’s plenty of hikes in Canyonlands of all lengths and difficulties, so it shouldn’t be hard to pick out something to see, or just take a nice trip down the scenic drive enjoying the incredible vistas.

I couldn’t fit all five parks into my trip to Utah and this was one I did not get to visit, but next time I go back, I won’t miss it, it looks beautiful!

Everywhere you turn in Utah is incredible, so it’s not like all the beauty is confined within the park borders. Don’t be disappointed if you have to wait to get into Arches. Check out one of these spots and then return. It’s worth the wait, and I promise you won’t feel upset about getting to enjoy one or two of these alternatives.

Have a Great Time Enjoying the Arches!

Arches National Park is just as amazing as any national park. It comes with its own unique set of challenges, but nothing that can’t be navigated, even if your plans take an unexpected turn. I hope you get to enjoy all the arches in the park and maybe a few outside the park too.