Arches National Park is packed with over 2,000 arches, but if you only have a limited amount of time, there are a handful that you absolutely can’t miss. These are the top 5 stops in Arches National Park—the ones that give you the best mix of easy access, iconic views, and unforgettable hikes. If you’re planning your Arches adventure, you might also love my guide to the Best Sunrise and Sunset Spots in Moab Utah to help you time each stop perfectly.
Trail Length: 3 miles round trip
Difficulty: Strenuous (steep slickrock, uneven terrain, no shade)
Elevation Gain: About 500 ft
Estimated Time: 2–3 hours
Best Time: Sunset
Delicate Arch is the arch—the one on Utah’s license plates and postcards. The hike to get there isn’t easy. It’s uphill most of the way, over wide slickrock with zero shade. But when you round the final corner and see the arch perched on the edge of a cliff, it’s unforgettable.
I did this at sunset, and while the climb was sweaty and steep, the payoff was worth it. My friend told me it can be wall-to-wall people (50+ sometimes), but I lucked out with a smaller crowd. If you go, plan to arrive at least an hour before sunset so you can snag photos and then just sit back and soak in the glow.
Shortcut option: If you don’t want to tackle the full hike, check out the Delicate Arch Viewpoints (Lower and Upper) for a great angle without the climb.
Trail Length: 1.9 miles round trip (from Devils Garden trailhead)
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate (sandy sections)
Elevation Gain: About 250 ft
Estimated Time: 1–1.5 hours
Best Time: Morning
Landscape Arch is the longest arch in the park at 306 feet across—and it looks impossibly thin, like it could collapse any second. Chunks have already fallen off in recent decades, so it feels like you’re witnessing a natural wonder that might not last forever.
The hike is mostly easy, though the sandy stretches slow you down. Along the way, you can make quick detours to Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch if you’ve got the energy. For even more breathtaking angles inside the park, check out my post on the Top 5 Epic Views Around Moab.
Trail Length: 0.3 miles round trip
Difficulty: Easy (soft sand)
Elevation Gain: Minimal
Estimated Time: 15–20 minutes
Best Time: Morning (fully shaded)
Sand Dune Arch feels like a secret hideout. The trail takes you into a shady slot between sandstone fins, with soft sand underfoot and an arch tucked inside. It’s especially fun for kids, but even as an adult, I loved how it felt tucked away and different from the wide-open desert. In the morning, the whole area is shaded—a big bonus if you’re visiting in summer.
Trail Length: 0.3 miles (loop, optional)
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: Minimal
Estimated Time: 15 minutes
Best Time: Sunrise or golden hour
Balanced Rock is exactly what it sounds like: a massive boulder perched precariously on a narrow pedestal. It looks like it could topple any second (though geologically, it’s been holding on for millennia). The short loop trail lets you circle around it for different perspectives, but honestly, it’s impressive even if you just pull over and admire it from the car.
If you're building a longer itinerary, my Spend a Weekend in Moab: The Perfect 3-Day Itinerary pairs perfectly with these stops.
Trail Length: 0.5 miles round trip
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: Minimal
Estimated Time: 20 minutes
Best Time: Anytime
Double Arch is one of my personal favorites. Two massive arches share the same base, curving into the sky in a dramatic 3D shape. The short, flat trail makes it easy to reach, and standing beneath both arches is awe-inspiring. It’s also a great spot for photos that really capture the scale of Arches National Park.
These five stops give you the best of Arches in a short amount of time. From the bucket-list hike to Delicate Arch, to the easy strolls at Double Arch and Sand Dune Arch, you’ll get a mix of effort and reward.
If you have just a day in Arches, make these your priorities—you’ll leave with photos and memories that capture exactly why this park is one of Utah’s most iconic. If you’re exploring more of the area, don’t miss my One Day in Arches National Park: The Perfect Itinerary for an easy route that includes these exact highlights.
I ate chilaquiles while a Cessna taxied past the window, and that’s just a normal Tuesday breakfast in Sedona.
@mesa_grill_sedona sits right beside the Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout, so along with your food you get red rock views stretching in every direction and a front-row seat to tiny planes lifting off. Chef Mercer Mohr runs the kitchen, serving up Southwestern comfort food from breakfast through dinner, chilaquiles, elevated diner classics, burgers, steaks, seafood, all of it.
The view is what pulls people in the door, but the food actually holds its own. Good enough that this place stays packed with locals, not just tourists passing through on their way to the lookout. It also picked up the 2025 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice and OpenTable Diners’ Choice awards, so it’s not just me saying it.
Indoor seating if you want the AC, a pet-friendly patio if your dog’s along for the trip. Either way, get there before plane-spotting turns into a wait for a table.
Link in bio for the full Sedona breakfast roundup ✈️🌵
Confession: my newsletter is where the good stuff lives. Not the polished, edited-for-the-grid stuff, the “here’s the hole-in-the-wall I almost skipped” stuff, the packing lists I actually use, the “don’t book this hotel” warnings before you waste your money on them.
The newsletter is basically me texting you before a trip instead of after one. Sign up and you’ll be the first to know where I’m headed next, plus a few things I’ll never post here.
Link in bio if you want in. ✈️
Yes, it’s only July. Start planning anyway. Fall books faster than people expect, and a few of these destinations are worth getting ahead of. Here are five places worth putting on your radar right now.
Ireland: Cooler temps, moody skies, dramatic coastline fall was made for it. Tourist crowds drop, the green stays, and the whole country feels a little more like itself.
Great Smoky Mountains, TN/NC: Fall foliage in the Smokies is the real thing. The color peaks mid-October and the views from the ridgelines are hard to argue with. It’s also one of the most visited national parks in the country, so going on a weekday makes a real difference.
New York City: Fall is NYC at its best comfortable temps, the energy of the city shifting into a new season, and every neighborhood doing something worth showing up for. It’s also just a great walking city when it’s not brutally hot.
Japan: Fall foliage season is as good as spring cherry blossoms and somehow less talked about. The colors are dramatic, the temples and gardens are stunning, and it’s worth planning around peak dates by region.
Mystic, Connecticut: Small, walkable, genuinely charming Mystic in fall feels like exactly what a New England autumn is supposed to look like. Easy to pair with a broader New England road trip if you want to extend it.
Full guides linked in bio 🍂
There are two kinds of travelers: people who plan a trip and then figure out where to eat, and people who book a restaurant and then build the rest of the itinerary around it.I am the second kind. I will not apologize for this.
The reservation gets locked in first. The hotel search happens within the same 24 hours. The flights get compared around the restaurant’s hours of operation. The rest of the trip exists to fill the days before and after the table I actually came for.
If this sounds unhinged, I completely understand. It has also resulted in some of the best meals of my life, so I’m going to keep doing it.
Drop a 🍽️ if you plan your trips around food too.
Let’s talk about when to actually book that Dubai trip you’ve been pinning for two years. I get asked this constantly, so here’s the honest breakdown: October through April is your window. Anything outside that and you’re basically touring in a sauna!
October and November give you warm days and cooler nights, which is basically the sweet spot for wandering around without melting. December through February is peak season: gorgeous weather. March and April are the quiet insider pick, right before summer heat shows up and ruins everyone’s plans.
Saving this for later? That’s what it’s here for. Full breakdown linked in bio.
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