11 Best Easy Hikes in Arches National Park

Wanting to hit the trails in Arches National Park without committing to an all-day trek? This massive 76,519-acre park in Moab, Utah, isn’t just for marathon hikers—it’s packed with stunning beauty you can explore on trails that take an hour or less! Below, we’ve rounded up 11 of Arches National Park’s top easy hikes to get you started.

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🥾 Top 5 Easy Hikes in Arches National Park

👪 Most Popular: Windows Loop Trail is the #1-rated easy trail in Arches National Park on AllTrails!

💛 Most Unique: Sand Dune Arch Trail is a trail almost completely on sand.

📸 Most Photogenic: Park Avenue Viewpoint & Trail offers super unique and highly photogenic views.

🌄 Best for Sunset: Balanced Rock Loop is a pleasant, easy trail, perfect for sunset.

💚 Our Favorite: Double Arch Trail was our favorite easy trail in Arches National Park!

Please respect the outdoors and Leave No Trace! Before embarking on your outdoor adventure, review the seven principles of Leave No Trace, which include planning ahead and preparing, traveling and camping on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly (pack out what you pack in), leaving what you find, minimizing campfire impacts, respecting wildlife, and being considerate of others. Abiding by these principles helps keep these places beautiful so others can enjoy them for years to come!

1. Park Avenue Viewpoint & Trail

As one of the very first stops inside Arches National Park, Park Avenue Viewpoint and Trail offers an impressive introduction to the park’s towering rock formations. It gets its name from the grand spires on one side of the canyon, said to resemble Manhattan’s Wall Street. While there are no arches visible in this area, the sheer scale of the landscape is worth the stop.

You have a few options here: simply enjoy the viewpoint (a quick 15 minutes), opt for the 30-minute one-way trail down to Courthouse Towers Viewpoint (where you can be picked up or hike back), or do the full hour round-trip.

We recommend that the average visitor just hit the viewpoint and move on if you’re on a time crunch. However, if you have multiple days in the park, the full trail takes you through a unique landscape that stands out from the rest of the park.

⏰ When to hike? This trail is best enjoyed well after sunrise and before sunset, when the sun fully illuminates both sides of the valley.

Estimated Time: 1 hour
Length: 1.8 miles / 2.9 km
Elevation Gain: 308 ft / 94 m
Difficulty: Easy

2. Balanced Rock Loop

Balanced Rock Loop is a beautiful, short hike that’s suitable for nearly all visitors. Leading you almost immediately to Balanced Rock itself, this trail then circles a few other rock structures before looping back to the parking lot. This trail delivers both close-up views of Balanced Rock as well as impressive vistas of the surrounding landscape of Arches National Park.

A quarter of the loop is paved, making a portion of this trail wheelchair accessible. You can walk clockwise to the rock, which shows you about 80% of the entire trail’s beauty, then either continue the full loop around the rock and back, or simply turn back at Balanced Rock.

⏰ When to hike? This trail is fantastic any time of day—sunrise, midday, and even sunset!

Estimated Time: 10 minutes
Length: 0.3 miles / 0.5 km
Elevation Gain: 46 ft / 14 m
Difficulty: Easy

3. Double Arch Trail

Double Arch Trail is a fantastic and quick hike, typically taking only about 20 minutes round-trip to the base of these impressive formations and back. The majority of the path is flat and easy, making it accessible for almost all hikers.

While the main trail brings you right to the arches’ base, there’s an optional, more challenging rock scramble that leads directly up into the massive structure. This climb, especially tricky on the way down, offers truly breathtaking views from the top, but we don’t recommend it if you’re afraid of heights or inexperienced. We loved doing the entire trail, finding it one of our favorite short hikes in all of Arches National Park!

⏰ When to hike? Start this trail 1.5 hours before sunset to see some really beautiful light on the arches and experience slightly fewer crowds.

Estimated Time: 20 minutes
Length: 0.6 miles / 1 km
Elevation Gain: 95 ft / 29 m
Difficulty: Easy

4. Windows Loop Trail

Windows Loop Trail is another one of our favorite easy hikes in Arches National Park, especially since it shares a parking lot with Double Arch! This trail is fantastic for sunset views, and it’s incredibly rewarding for arch-lovers, letting you see three iconic arches (North Window, South Window, and Turret Arch) all on one path.

The loop starts off paved, making it accessible for all, but once it wraps around The Windows, it transitions into a rougher, more primitive trail. This trail gives you the best of both worlds: impressive sights with some crowds on the main section, then a peaceful, less-trafficked primitive path if you continue. You can also take short offshoots for closer looks at the arches.

⏰ When to hike? Particularly impressive at sunset, but beautiful the entire day.

Estimated Time: 20 minutes
Length: 0.7 miles / 1.1 km
Elevation Gain: 127 ft / 39 m
Difficulty: Easy

5. Delicate Arch Viewpoint Trail

Delicate Arch Viewpoint Trail leads you to the back of Delicate Arch, the most popular arch in Arches National Park. Although you’re quite far away from the arch itself, you can see it clearly off in the distance, especially with the help of binoculars.

This trail is 100% paved, but it does have a slight incline towards the end of the trail. Overall, this is a great backup trail if you don’t have the time or ability for the 1.5-hour moderate hike to Delicate Arch, or if you can’t find parking at the Delicate Arch Trailhead.

⏰ When to hike? This viewpoint is beautiful at any time of day.

Estimated Time: 30 minutes
Length: 1 mile / 1.6 km
Elevation Gain: 177 ft / 54 m
Difficulty: Easy

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6. Fiery Furnace Viewpoint

Fiery Furnace Viewpoint Trail is a quick 5-minute viewpoint trail that is a worthy stop if you weren’t able to secure a permit to hike the more challenging Fiery Furnace Trail. The stroll to this viewpoint is very short, but it gives you a chance to appreciate how dense the fins and rock formations are in Fiery Furnace.

⏰ When to hike? If the heat isn’t too intense, visit in the afternoon, when the light casts shadows that highlight the area’s landscape.

Estimated Time: 5 minutes
Length: 0.2 miles / 0.3 km
Elevation Gain: 10 ft / 3 m
Difficulty: Easy

7. Sand Dune Arch Trail

Sand Dune Arch Trail is a relatively short and easy trail, taking just 15 minutes in total. However, you will be hiking through dense sand, so if you have balance issues, you’ll want to be cautious. And although it is less visited than other trails in the park, we still recommend it for those who’ve already hit the other, main hikes in Arches and are looking for a less-visited, unique route.

Unlike many other trails in Arches National Park that feature wide-open vistas, Sand Dune Arch Trail has you walking between two fins that tower above you, closing out the outside world for the duration of the trail. This route was so unique, we felt like we were worlds away from the other trails in the park.

You have the option to just go to Sand Dune Arch and then back to the parking lot, or continue on the Broken Arch Trail (next trail in this list) to extend your hike. Broken Arch Trail shares the same trailhead as Sand Dune Arch Trail.

⏰ When to hike? If you’re looking for a shady trail with a cool breeze, hit this trail in the morning!

Estimated Time: 15 minutes
Length: 0.3 miles / 0.5 km
Elevation Gain: 125 ft / 38 m
Difficulty: Easy

8. Broken Arch Trail

Broken Arch Trail is a slightly longer trail than Sand Dune Arch Trail (it took us about 45 minutes in total), and is accessible from the same trailhead. Although a bit longer, it’s significantly easier than Sand Dune as you’re walking on a flat, dirt trail, not on soft sand; however, there is a sign that specifies the trail goes through the arch, requiring hikers to do the rock scramble if they choose to do the whole loop. To make this an easy hike, you could opt not to climb the rocks through the arch, simply see the arch, and then turn around.

This trail gets its name from a piece at the top of the arch that has broken off, making the arch appear as though it’s crumbling. Our favorite part about hiking here was that you can hike underneath and even through the arch itself!

We saw only one person over several hours while hiking this trail at sunrise, so you can expect a fairly quiet experience! If you’re looking to extend your hiking time by 15 more minutes, you can continue onto the nearby Tapestry Arch Trail.

⏰ When to hike? This trail is beautiful at any time of day, but if you come for sunrise, the far side of the arch is beautifully lit up, and you can also see the sun coming up over the horizon.

Estimated Time: 45 minutes
Length: 1.8 miles / 2.9 km
Elevation Gain: 187 ft / 57 m
Difficulty: Easy

9. Skyline Arch Trail

Skyline Arch Trail is not a popular trail by any means, but super short, flat, and located right off Main Park Road. It’s a convenient trail to stretch your legs on if you’ve been in the car for a while, or are staying nearby at Devils Garden Campground.

You can see Skyline Arch from Main Park Road as you drive by, but we recommend hiking the short, 10-minute out-and-back trail for a better view. When you get to the arch itself, it’s located high up above you, so you’ll be admiring it from the trail, rather than climbing up to it like some other trails.

⏰ When to hike? This quick trail can be hiked any time of day, whenever you pass by it.

Estimated Time: 10 minutes
Length: 0.4 miles / 0.6 km
Elevation Gain: 36 ft / 11 m
Difficulty: Easy

10. Devils Garden Trail (Stopping at Landscape Arch)

The Devil’s Garden Trail is an 8-mile (12.9-km) trail that offers a challenging yet rewarding all-day hike. However, if you do the section to Landscape Arch, keeping left at the fork in the trail, you’ll see some of the most famous arches in the park within just 1 mile’s distance (1.6 km) before turning back, knocking this trail down to an easy-moderate hike.

Landscape Arch is the widest arch in the park, and one of the widest on Earth—at its base, it’s about a football field wide! It’s unknown how long it will stay up, so if you are interested in seeing the arch, it’s best to plan your trip to Arches sooner rather than later.

On the way to Landscape Arch, you will see Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch off the main trail to the right. Once you get to Landscape Arch, you have the option to follow the trail to the left until you reach a small viewing area with great views of the arch. Most people don’t make it to this area, so you’ll probably have it all to yourself if you go!

The section of trail from the trailhead to Landscape Arch, Tunnel Arch, and Pine Tree Arch is pretty solid to each viewpoint area. That being said, the full trail is a bit sandy and rocky, so if you want to stay on the easy trail, simply end your hike when you reach the Landscape Arch info placard.

⏰ When to hike? Start in the early morning if you’d like to watch the sunrise over Landscape Arch.

Estimated Time: 1 hour (Shorter Version)
Length: 2 miles / 3.2 km (Shorter Version)
Elevation Gain: 32 ft / 10 m (Shorter Version)
Difficulty: Easy/Moderate (Shorter Version)

11. Arches Visitor Center Nature Trail

The Arches Visitor Center Nature Trail is a very short, paved hike located right at the Arches Visitors Center. It’s a great trail to do after exploring the exhibition space and watching the park film. As this trail is so easy and quick, we couldn’t find a link on AllTrails, but you can’t miss it if you’re at the Visitors Center! It’s right behind the building, on the left when looking at the building from the parking lot.

⏰ When to hike? Whenever you naturally stop in the Visitors Center.

Estimated Time: 5 minutes
Length: 0.1 miles / 0.2km
Elevation Gain: 0 ft / 0 m
Difficulty: Easy

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🗺️ Map of the Best Easy Hikes in Arches National Park

Here we’ve compiled a map of all the easy hikes in Arches National Park that we’ve mentioned in this article. This is intended to give you a general idea of their location in the park. However, we still recommend following a hiking guide, such as AllTrails, for accessing the specific trailhead and navigating the trails.

How to use this map: We have saved the locations from this guide on this map. You can save this map to your Google Maps by pressing the star icon. In your Google Maps, click the menu icon and then Saved Maps, where this map will appear.

🎒 Arches National Park Hiking Essentials

Some of the biggest essentials while hiking in Arches National Park are ample hydration and sun protection. Our favorite ways to hit both of these are by carrying water bladders instead of tons of heavy water bottles and wearing a mix of sunscreen, sun shirts, and wide-brimmed hats. In this section, we outline everything else that came in handy for us.

Sun Protection

Sunscreen – No matter the time of year you visit, sunscreen is essential to protect your skin from the sun.
Sunglasses – Protect your eyes with your favorite pair of sunglasses.
Wide-brimmed hat – As part of sun safety, we love pairing sunscreen with wide-brimmed hats.
Sun Shirts – Light, sunshirts are great for protecting against the sun! Here is Elliot’s favorite long-sleeve sun shirt and Jen’s favorite long-sleeve sun shirt.
Refillable Water Bottle – Staying hydrated is a key part of sun safety. We love this water bottle featuring all of the US National Parks with stickers to check off your visits.
Water Bladders – A water bladder is super helpful to pack in more water without adding extra weight.

Hiking Essentials

Hiking pants – We recommend hiking pants to protect against the sun and trails with higher grasses. Elliot’s favorite hiking pants and Jen’s favorite hiking pants.
Layers – As the weather can vary in Arches, come prepared with layers of fleece jackets, long sleeves, and even coats if you’re coming in the middle of winter.
Rainjacket – You never know what weather awaits you when travelling in a national park. If you’re looking for a new rain jacket fit for hiking, this is Elliot’s favorite rain jacket and Jen’s favorite rain jacket.
Hiking Boots – Solid footwear with good traction is a must when hiking. Here are Elliot’s favorite trail runners and Jen’s favorite hiking boots.
Lightweight backpack – Elliot carries this backpack with the included rain cover, while Jen carries this backpack.
Hat and Gloves – Especially if you’re visiting in the shoulder seasons (spring and fall) or winter, packing a hat and gloves for extra warmth is a must.
Snacks – We always make sure to pack protein-rich, lightweight snacks with us while hiking.
Electrolytes – No matter how long the hike, we always bring our favorite electrolyte powder with us to refuel in the hot Utah heat.

Safety Essentials

Trail Maps – We love using AllTrails+ to download maps ahead of time.
GPS – We carry the Garmin InReach Mini 2 with us on all trails for safety.
First Aid Kit – This first aid kit is one of those items we hope to never have to use but always carry, just in case.
Headlamp – A headlamp is especially useful when going on sunrise, sunset, or night hikes in Arches National Park.

📅 The Best Time to Hike in Arches National Park

If you can swing it, November and March are the perfect months to visit Arches National Park as they tend to experience fewer crowds and more comfortable temperatures. That being said, here’s a breakdown of what you can expect from each season in Arches.

May – October: This 6-month period experiences the highest crowds of the entire year, lots of programming, weather fit for water activities, and many hours of daylight. Downsides include crowding on popular trails, difficulty parking, extreme mid-day temps, and some potential difficulty finding lodging.
November – February: The winter months experience low crowds with ample parking and lodging, but frigid conditions with the possibility of ice and snow. Park programming also slows down, so your experience will be mostly self-guided.
March – April: With medium crowds mid-week and higher crowds on the weekends, Spring in Arches looks like comfortable temperatures, ample park programming, and fairly abundant lodging opportunities.

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