Easiest Hikes in Arches National Park for Families

Arches was the last National Park in Utah we visited.  Both Arches and Canyonlands are located near Moab, Utah, so we were able to stay in one hotel to visit both parks. We left our hotel early and were in line at Arches by 8am. 

Timed Entry

Arches requires “timed-entry,” which means that you have to make a reservation to enter the park at a certain time.  You choose a one-hour time-frame, but if you don’t show within that hour, you won’t be able to enter (until after hours).

If your reservation is set for an early time, you can always leave and come back later in the day.  We were supposed to spend a full day in both Canyonlands and Arches; however, our flight was canceled and move up so we had to head to the airport much earlier than expected.  We decided to get to Arches first thing in the morning so we could get on the road and head back to Salt Lake City.  Our flight was super early the following morning so we wanted to get our car returned and head to our hotel to relax before we needed to get up to catch our flight.  

What to see in Arches

The day we headed to Arches was much cooler than it had been all week, plus it was raining.  We still did some hikes, but certainly not as many as we hoped.  Our kids were also pretty tuckered out by this part of our trip, so we opted for easy hikes or quick stop offs—similar to Canyonlands.

Our trek began at the Visitor’s center where our kiddos got their Jr. Ranger books.  From there, we headed to Balanced Rock, which was a pretty quick (10 minute) hike.  Then we did the Windows loop and Turret Arch, and finally headed to the Double Arch.

These hikes were all on the shorter side.  The kids enjoyed being able to climb the rocks to get under the arches.  The hikes were pretty easy too.  I would just suggest having some grippy shoes if you’re planning to do any climbing.

View Points

Once we finished up with those hikes, we did check out the Delicate Arch Viewpoint.  I would have loved to do the full hike, but I knew my kids wouldn’t make it.  And to be quite honest, I was pretty tired too.  So we opted for just the view point.  We also stopped at a few of the other view points along the way such as the La Sal Mountains View Point, Petrified Dunes View Point and the Panorama Point View Point.

It started raining harder and we had almost a four-hour drive ahead of us so we decided to leave the park and head back to Salt Lake City.

Mighty 5 National Parks

Arches was definitely a cool park.  I’d love to come back to Utah at some point, but I think we’d start at Arches next time so we are full of energy and can see more of the park!

What I loved about all of the five parks is that you can see them at your own pace.  If you are a hard-core hiker, there are plenty of strenuous hikes that you would enjoy.  If you aren’t big into hiking or don’t get around as easily, then there is still so much to see. 

Bottom line—if you want to see real beauty, add these Mighty 5 National Parks to your list because you’ll be amazed at the views you’ll see!

What would you recommend in Arches or Moab?

Have you hiked Arches?  What were your favorite hikes?  Any recommendations for food in Moab?  We’d love to hear your suggestions!

Ready to travel to Utah? Check out our posts on Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Kanab, UT.