Arches National Park is the crown jewel of Moab. With over 2,000 natural stone arches, it’s basically a red-rock playground where every corner looks like it belongs on a postcard. The best part? You don’t need weeks to explore it. In just a day or two, you can see most of the park’s highlights.
On my last trip, I timed it just right—school had just started back in Utah, it was over 100 degrees (yes, HOT), and somehow, the park was nearly empty. Normally, you can expect an hour wait at the entrance, but I drove right in. Worth the sweat.
Here’s everything you need to know, stop by stop.
This is one of the first stops in the park and a perfect way to set the tone. The viewpoint is just a one-minute walk from the parking lot, with towering sandstone walls that look like—you guessed it—a city avenue of skyscrapers. If you hike down, you’ll follow a primitive trail (rocky and uneven, not a groomed path) that drops you into the canyon. Walking between those massive cliffs makes you feel tiny in the best way.
Courthouse Towers stand tall just beyond Park Avenue. These massive stone monoliths resemble—you guessed it—giant courthouse buildings. While it’s more of a viewpoint than a hike, the scale is impressive. The morning light casts dramatic shadows across the desert floor, making this a quick but rewarding stop.
Balanced Rock looks like it shouldn’t be standing—but somehow it is. A huge boulder teeters on a narrow pedestal, and the short loop lets you see it from every angle. It’s a quick walk, but a must-stop.
Garden of Eden isn’t a full trail, but it’s a fun pullout where you can scramble up a few short rock mounds for a wider view of the park.
If you’re not up for the full hike to Delicate Arch, the lower viewpoint gives you a solid taste. The short trail climbs quickly, but the reward is worth it. Secret tip: don’t stop at the official viewpoint. Keep going down the rock slope and you’ll get a much better, direct view of the arch.
A quick stop with sweeping views over Fiery Furnace and the red rock valley beyond. Especially pretty at sunrise or sunset when the colors glow.
This was my favorite stop of the day. The trail leads into a shady slot between fins, with soft sand underfoot and an arch hidden inside. It feels like a secret little desert hideaway. In the morning, the whole area is shaded, which is a gift if you’re hiking in the heat.
A short and easy walk brings you to a massive window perched high in a sandstone wall. Quick but worth it.
This hike packs a lot into a couple of miles. Take the spur trail to Pine Tree Arch first (a short walk with one small hill), then Tunnel Arch. Both are quick detours. From there, continue on to Landscape Arch, one of the longest natural arches in the world at 306 feet. The span is so thin it looks like it could collapse at any moment (and large chunks already have). The trail continues into a much longer loop if you’re up for adventure, but I stopped at Landscape Arch when the sand and heat got to me.
This area is perfect for exploring multiple arches in one go. North and South Windows sit side by side, while Turret Arch rises nearby. If you want a fun detour, take the primitive trail around the back of North Window for a different angle. A couple of hours before sunset, the light peeks through Turret Arch in dramatic fashion—one of the best photo ops in the park.
Double Arch is one of the park’s showstoppers. Two arches soar above you, joined at one end, creating a three-dimensional effect that makes you feel tiny. The short walk makes this an easy addition to any itinerary, and it’s one of my absolute favorites.
This is the big one—the hike everyone comes to Arches to do. And I’ll be honest, it’s not easy. The trail climbs steadily uphill, across wide slickrock with zero shade. But when you finally round the corner and see Delicate Arch standing alone on the edge of a cliff, it’s unforgettable.
I went at sunset, and while my legs weren’t thrilled with the climb, the payoff was worth every sweaty step. My friend warned me that the arch is usually packed with people—50+ at times—but I lucked out with a smaller crowd. My advice: get there at least an hour before sunset so you have time to take photos and then relax as the arch glows in the fading light.
Arches National Park is one of those places that doesn’t feel real until you’re standing there. The arches are incredible, but it’s the mix of short walks, fun scrambles, and longer hikes that makes the park special. Whether you’re up for the full trek to Delicate Arch or just want to wander through Double Arch and the Windows, Arches has something for everyone.
Bring water, bring snacks, and bring a sense of wonder—you’ll need all three.
Four hours on a train through a canyon you can’t reach by car — such a fun experience! We picked the indoor seats with unlimited access to the open-air viewing car, which honestly felt like the only right call. You’re not stuck in an assigned seat the whole time we bounced between the two, snacks in hand, chasing the best light.
The scenery is the whole point. Red rock cliffs, the Verde River, a 734-foot tunnel, historic trestle bridges views most people visiting Sedona never see, because you literally can’t drive to them.
The charcuterie box that comes with your ticket is shockingly filling ✨ so skip lunch at the Copper Spike Café beforehand, save your appetite for dinner back in Sedona.
Four hours with no stops did start to feel long by the end, but the trade-off for scenery like this? Worth it.
Would I ride it again? Yes. Would I buy lunch first again? No.
Link in bio for the full review cost breakdown, what to pack, and exactly how early to arrive 🚂
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.
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