Arches National Park Travel Guide

To see lots of arches, head down Devils Garden Trail. The central trail is four miles roundtrip, but side trails lead to additional arches.
Oft-photographed Delicate Arch has a spectacular setting high atop a sandstone ridge of gracefully curving slickrock. The hike is three miles roundtrip with a 480-foot elevation gain. Sweeping views take in many canyons and the distant La Sal Mountains.
Backcountry camping is allowed by permit, which is obtained only at the visitor center. In Arches, there are no designated backcountry campsites. No fires are allowed, and you must carry in your own water and practice low-impact camping techniques.
For wildlife viewing, your best bet is to wait until nightfall. Most of the smaller mammals here, such as packrats and jackrabbits, wait until the hot Utah sun (and most of the tourists) have left for the day to emerge from their burrows to feed. Far more rare are the bobcats and mountain lions that inhabit the park, stalking mule deer and keeping very much to themselves.
The scenic drive in Arches National Park is an 18-mile tour beginning at the visitor center and ending near the Devils Garden Campground. Major points of interest along this stretch are the Courthouse Towers, Tower of Babel, Balanced Rock, Garden of Eden, the Windows Section, Fiery Furnace, and Skyline Arch. Give yourself about three hours for this drive. It is a great introduction to the scenery of Arches.

Natural stone arches and fantastic rock formations, which look as if they were sculpted by an artist's hand, are the defining features of this park, and they exist in remarkable numbers and variety. Just as soon as you've seen the most beautiful, most colorful, most gigantic stone arch you can imagine, walk around the next bend and there's another—bigger, better, and more brilliant than the last. It would take forever to see them all, with more than 2,000 officially listed and more being discovered or "born" every day. Read More

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We will be driving past Arches National Park this December and would love to stop and spend the day. Are there hikes that are practical to do in the winter? Can a normal car with studded tires & chains drive through the park in December?
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