6 Best Sights in Arches National Park, Utah

The main park road and its two short spurs are extremely scenic and allow you to enjoy many park sights from your car. The main road leads through The Courthouse Towers, where you can see Sheep Rock and The Three Gossips, then alongside The Great Wall, The Petrified Dunes, and Balanced Rock. A drive to the Windows section takes you to attractions like Turret Arch, The North Window, and Double Arch, and you can see Skyline Arch along the roadside as you approach the Devils Garden Campground. The road to Delicate Arch allows hiking access to one of the park's main features. Allow about two hours to drive the 45-mile round-trip, more if you explore the spurs and their features and stop at viewpoints along the way.

To see the park's most famous freestanding arch up close takes effort and won't offer you much solitude—but it's worth every step. The 3-mile round-trip trail ascends via steep slickrock, sandy paths, and along one narrow ledge (at the very end) that might give pause to anyone afraid of heights. Plus, there's almost no shade. First-timers should start early to avoid the midday heat in summer. Still, at sunrise, sunset, and every hour in between, it's the park's busiest trail. Bring plenty of water, especially in the warmer months, as heatstroke and dehydration are very real possibilities. Allow two to three hours, depending on your fitness level and how long you care to linger at the arch. If you go at sunset or sunrise, bring a headlamp or flashlight. Don't miss Wolfe Ranch and some ancient rock art near the trailhead. Moderate–Difficult.

There are grills, water, picnic tables, and restrooms here and, depending on the time of day, some shade from junipers and rock walls. It's a good place for lunch before or after a hike.

Landscape Arch is a highlight of this trail but is just one of several arches within reach, depending on your ambitions. It's an easy 0.9-mile one-way (mostly gravel, relatively flat) trip to Landscape Arch, one of the longest stone spans in the world. Beyond Landscape Arch the scenery changes dramatically and the hike becomes more strenuous as you must climb and straddle slickrock fins and negotiate some short, steep inclines. Finally, around a sharp bend, the stacked spans that compose Double O Arch come suddenly into view. Allow up to three hours for this round-trip hike of just over 4 miles.

For a still longer (about a 7-mile round-trip) and more rigorous trek, venture on to see a formation called Dark Angel and then return to the trailhead on the primitive loop, making the short side hike to Private Arch. The hike to Dark Angel is a difficult route through fins. Other possible (and worthwhile) detours lead to Navajo Arch, Partition Arch, Tunnel Arch, and Pine Tree Arch. Allow about five hours for this adventure, take plenty of water, and watch your route carefully. Pick up the park's useful guide to Devils Garden, or download it from the website before you go. Moderate–Difficult.

Learn what it was like to travel down the Green and Colorado Rivers in the 1800s in wooden boats. A series of displays tracks the Powell Party's arduous, dangerous 1869 journey, and visitors can watch the award-winning film Journey Into the Unknown for a cinematic taste of the white-water adventure. The center also houses the River Runner's Hall of Fame, a tribute to those who have followed in Powell's wake. River-theme art occupies a gallery, and there's a dinosaur exhibit on the lower level.

One of the most scenic drives in the Four Corners region, Highway 128 intersects U.S. 191, 3 miles south of Arches. The 44-mile highway runs along the upper Colorado River, with 2,000-foot red rock cliffs rising on both sides. This gorgeous river corridor is home to a winery, orchards, and a couple of luxury lodging options. It also offers a spectacular view of world-class climbing destination Fisher Towers before winding north to Interstate 70. Give yourself an hour to 90 minutes to drive it, though be aware that traffic can get congested in the summer. For the full experience, go through the ghost town of Cisco by taking Exit 214 if you're heading east on I–70 and stop by the delightful Buzzard's Belly General Store. Full of snacks, soda, art, and fun knickknacks, it's an off-beat take on a general store, and you'll likely want to take some pictures to show your friends.