The Best 6 Arches National Park Photos: Locations Included!

If you’ve ever seen Arches National Park photos, you know this place is beautiful.  In fact, the Delicate Arch is often the poster child for the National Parks Service.  And whether you want to see this park as a bucket list item, or you want the perfect Instagram photo, this post is for you!

The national parks of the United States are some of the most beautiful places in the country, or even the world, and Arches is no exception.  Today we’ll discuss the best locations for incredible Arches National Park photos.  

We’ll start with all the necessary facts about Arches National Park, like the fees, reservations, and other important details.  Then we’ll dive into some “No-Hike Locations” and some other “Hike-To Locations”.  Let’s go!

Important Links

• Arches National Park – National Park website
• Hiking the Devils Garden Trail
• Top Things to do in Moab Utah
• Everything to know about Canyonlands National Park
• Hiking Journal – Never Forget the Details of Your Favorite Hikes Again!
• Hiking the Delicate Arch Trail

Fees

Like all national parks, getting into Arches National Park requires a park pass.  A Standard Pass can be purchased for $30 at the entrance of the park and is valid for 7 days.  

Another option is the Annual Pass that is $55 for 12 months.  This pass gets you into Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park as well as Hovenweep National Monument and Natural Bridge National Monuments for 1 year.  

If you’re planning to visit at least 3 national parks/seashores/monuments within a year, your best option is an America the Beautiful Pass.  For just $80, this pass gets you and a car-full of guests into any park for free.  This pass is good for 12 months and an excellent investment.  My husband and I have been purchasing this pass since 2021 and they have saved us a TON of money!

Regardless of what pass you decide to purchase, a Park Pass is always required.  However, a Timed-Entry Reservation is only required part of the year.  So let’s look at the reservations for Arches National Park.

Timed-Entry Permits/Reservations

As national parks have gained popularity, there has been a need to limit the number of guests who enter the park each day.  Arches National Park (and other popular parks) limits the number of visitors requiring a Timed-Entry Permit or Reservation to be purchased ahead of time.  

The dates change each year, but the reservations are required between 7am – 4pm during the following months.  From Early April through Early July and the end of August through the end of October, reservations are required.  

All the details for these reservations can be found on the recreation.gov website.  The price of this reservation is $2 per vehicle, and this reservation does NOT guarantee you parking throughout the park.  

No Reservation?  Now What!?

If you aren’t able to get a reservation for the dates of your trip, you can always go around the reservation.  Remember, reservations are only required a few months of the year, and only between 7am and 4pm on those days.  

What do I mean by “Go Around the Reservation”?

• Option 1: go into the park before 7am or after 4pm.  If it’s going to be a hot day, it’s a good idea to get an early start anyway.  So if you enter the park before 6:30am, you’ll avoid the reservation altogether.  
• Option 2: go during the off season (July, August, November, December, January, February or March).  Be sure to check the exact dates, but if you go to Arches National Park during their “off-season”, you won’t need reservations at all.   

3 No-Hike Locations

Let’s start with the easy-to-access locations where you can take some incredible Arches National Park photos.  A few of these are fairly obvious and you might already know about them.  But let’s dive right in!

#1 – Double Arch

Double Arch is a stunning arch less than a quarter mile from the parking lot.  This structure is not only impressive from a distance, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger the closer you walk.  We were able to hike right up to the Double Arch and appreciate its magnitude.  

LOCATION: Location Link – This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Best Time to Photograph: The morning light was beautiful here, and I highly recommend visiting this arch in the morning.  If it’s cloudy, the arch won’t glow its famous orange-red color, but it’s still impressive.  

Need to Know: The parking lot in this area of the park is pretty large, but due to the popularity of this park, you’ll still want to arrive early to ensure you can snag a parking spot.  We saw the parking lot fill up by 10am.  

#2 – Turret Arch

Turret Arch is in the same parking lot that Double Arch is, however, it’s on the opposite side of the parking lot.  This arch is also quite impressive in size and you can walk through the arch.  This arch can also be seen from the Window Road at a few of the turn-outs along the way.  

LOCATION: Location Link: This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Best Time to Photograph: The Turret Arch will be best lit up in the afternoon light, so this is the best time to photograph it.  However, we went in the morning to ensure we got a parking spot and it was still beautiful.

Need to Know: The parking lot for Turret Arch, the Window Arches and Double Arch is quite large, but still fills up by mid-morning.  If you want to make sure to see them all, I’d get here before 9am, or come later in the afternoon.  

#3 – North/South Window Arch

The final no-hike locations in the park are the North Window Arch and the South Window Arch.  These 2 locations are right next to each other and located in the same parking lot as the Turret Arch and Double Arch are.  There is technically about a 0.2 mile path for you to walk right up to these arches, but it is quite an easy walk to reach them.  

LOCATION: Location Link: This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Best Time to Photograph: Both of the Window Arches will be best illuminated in the morning light.  But if you can only come here in the afternoon, you can always hike around to the back side of the window arches when they will be illuminated in the afternoon/evening light.  

Need to Know:  This area gets quite busy, but it’s totally worth it!  If you are looking for less crowds around these arches, you can always hike the Windows Sand Loop Trail.  This 1 mile loop takes you back behind both the North and the South Window Arches.  We only saw 3 other hikers when we took this loop.  

And now we’ve reached the more challenging section of the post! There are quite a few trails where you can take amazing Arches National Park photos.  Most of the trails here are fairly short, but shouldn’t be underestimated.  Let’s take a look.  

QUICK SAFETY POINT

Arches National Park is located between 4,000 and 5,600 feet of elevation.  This means you are closer to the sun and you might feel a little short of breath if you are from a lower area.  To combat this elevation, make sure you are drinking enough water and electrolytes.  

The park gets very hot in the summer months, so make sure you are packing all sun-protection necessities.  And on the other side of the coin, the park gets very cold in the winter.  So be aware of ice, and make sure you dress warm enough.  

3 Hike-to Locations

Next up are the harder-to-access locations that require a little bit of sweat equity.  If you’re looking to take some incredible and iconic Arches National Park photos, you’ll want to pack the hiking boots!

#1 – Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch is the most iconic location to take Arches National Park photos.  This incredible structure stands perfectly carved and impossibly tall, it almost appears man made.  However, DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE this hike.  It’s short, but we saw many people who had to turn around.  But take your time, pack plenty of water, and you’ll be rewarded with one of the best views in the park.

Location: Location Link – This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Trail Details – You can find all the details about this 3.2 mile hike right here. 

**Hot Tip Alert: Make sure you climb up to the Twisted Donut Arch (about a half mile or so before reaching Delicate Arch). This unique view is a must-see when hiking to Delicate Arch.

Best Time to Photograph Here: Delicate Arch faces northwest and is therefore only lit up in the afternoon hours.  Because of this, a few minutes before sunset the arch is illuminated a bright red color.  However, make sure you are prepared for how hot and crowded this area gets in the afternoon.

If you don’t want to deal with the crowds, the sunrise is also beautiful here, just not as brilliantly colored.  (The first photo above is sunrise and the second photo is at sunset.)

Need to Know: There are 2 main things you need to know about Delicate Arch.  The first is that the parking lot is much too small for how popular this trail is.  So if you get there in the morning, you’ll want to get there early.  And if you’re going for sunset, you’ll want to get there at least 2 hours before sunset to secure a spot.  

The second thing to know is the more obvious statement.  Delicate Arch is incredibly popular!  At sunset, we were joined by our closest 100+ friends to watch the arch change color.  Even at sunrise, the area was very populated.  So if you have the “perfect photo” in mind, make sure you get there early and claim your spot.  

#2 – Landscape Arch

Next up is another must-see arch to add to your Arches National Park photos list.  This is the longest arch in the whole park, and approximately the length of a football field.  The trail to get here is pretty easy and flat, but gets very crowded the later the day gets.

LOCATION: Location Link – This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Trail Details: You can find all the details about this quick 2 mile hike on AllTrails. 

Best Time to Photograph: The Landscape Arch is best lit in the morning.  So the best time to photograph this arch is at sunrise.  The arch turns a bright orange color and then fades to yellow before evening out in the morning sunlight.  

Need to Know: The parking lot is located in the Devil’s Garden Area and can get very crowded and full between 9 – 10am.  The trail to the view point of Landscape Arch is only about 2 miles round trip, but since there are other trails in this area, you’re competing with a lot of other hikers.  

#3 – The Devil’s Garden Loop

And speaking of the Devils Garden area, if you’re up for a challenge, you’ll love hiking the Devils Garden Trail.  This loop is about 8 miles and you’ll get to see a dozen arches, many fins, and unique structures.

LOCATION: Location Link – This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Trail Details: You can find all the details, including photos of all the arches you’ll see while hiking this trail right here!

Best Time to Photograph: most of the structures on this loop are best photographed in the morning light.  The Landscape Arch, Double O Arch and Partition Arch are just a few that really glow in the morning light.

Need to Know: The parking lot for the Devils Garden area gets very busy, despite it being a pretty large parking lot. Most people are just there to walk to the Landscape Arch, or maybe the Double O Arch and then leave.  But if you are looking to hike the entire 8 mile loop, you’ll want to get there early to ensure you snag a parking spot!

BONUS LOCATION – Driving the Park

If you are looking for driving locations to take amazing Arches National Park photos that involves never leaving your car, this bonus section is for you!

As a little bonus, I’ve included a quick suggestion to drive the entirety of the park.  This offers views to those who might not be able to walk very much.  

Arches, like most national parks, has a lovely scenic drive that you can take.  This road is a little over 17 miles from the visitor center to the dead end at Devil’s Garden.  Along this road are many pull-offs where you can view over a dozen arches right from the road.  

You can also take a drive down Delicate Arch Road, where you can get a clear view of the Window Arches from the road.  And then there is The Windows Road where you can see many arches including the Turret Arch, and other structures also from the road.

Driving this road is a great option if you are unable to walk very much or have young kids who can’t quite do the hiking here.  

Conclusion

These listed 6 locations are hardly all-inclusive, but they offer some great places to start.  And whether you want to hike, or mostly stay in the car, there are so many beautiful places to take incredible Arches National Park photos.

As always, feel free to email me at averagewildexperience@gmail.com with any questions.

-Happy Hiking and Photographing!