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13 Easy Hikes in Arches National Park for a Simple Walk with Good Views

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Whether you’re a beginner hiker or you’re visiting with a short amount of time, this post on the best easy hikes in Arches National Park will help you plan your trip.

As one of the most popular parks to visit run by the National Park Service, Arches National Park is filled with many things to do. Hitting the trails is one of the most popular things to do when visiting any park, and the same is true at Arches.

Below are all of the best easy hikes in Arches National Park!

Arches National Park Easy Hikes at a Glance

If you are limited on time, no worries! Check out this table to see the best hikes at a glance.

TitleDistance
Delicate Arch Viewpoint0.7 miles
Sand Dune Arch Trail0.3 miles
Double Arch Trail0.6 miles
Balanced Rock Loop Trail0.3 miles
The Windows and Turret Arch1.2 miles
Tower Arch Trail2.4 miles
Wolfe Ranch & Petroglyph Trail0.5 miles
Skyline Arch Hike0.4 miles
Navajo Arch2.9 miles
Broken Arch1.7 miles
Landscape Arch1.9 miles
Park Avenue Trail1.8 miles
Pine Tree Arch & Tunnel Arch1 mile

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Before hiking, make sure you have these essentials:

🎒 Hiking backpack: Here’s the one I use & love!
💧 Water bladder: This is the water bladder I recommend!
💦 Water bottle: I love and use the Hydroflask 32 oz!
🥾 Hiking boots: These are the hiking boots I use!
🩹 First aid kit: This is a great first aid kit for your backpack!
🥨 Snacks: Clif Bars are my go-to on the trail!
🌲 Hiking poles: These hiking poles are a great option!
❄️ Microspikes: These are the ones I use when the trails are icy!
☀️ Sunscreen: This is a great hiking sunscreen!

Easy Hikes in Arches National Park

Delicate Arch Viewpoint

Length: 0.7 miles

Average Time: 30 minutes

delicate arch viewpoint

One of the best arches in Arches National Park is Delicate Arch, which is popularly seen on the Utah license plates.

It’s not the easiest hike to get to Delicate Arch, but it is super accessible to go to the Delicate Arch Viewpoint, where you can still get an epic photo of it.

This 0.7-mile round-trip loop trail is a lot easier than the Delicate Arch hike. It’s super accessible, especially to get to the lower viewpoint.

It’s completely flat from the parking lot to get to the lower outlook, where you can snap a photo of Delicate Arch in the distance.

The first viewpoint is the perfect spot to go if you want a view of Delicate Arch while visiting Arches National Park with kids.

If you’d prefer to get an even better view, continue walking on and hike up to the upper viewpoint. This viewpoint is a bit more challenging to get to despite being short. It’s pretty uphill, but it’s the perfect way to see Delicate Arch without the strenuous hike.

Sand Dune Arch Trail

Length: 0.3 miles

Average Time: 20 minutes

Hikers exploring the Sand Dune Arch trail, walking through a natural sandstone archway in a desert landscape under a clear blue sky.

Another of the easy hikes in Arches National Park is the Sand Dune Arch Trail. At just 0.3 miles, it doesn’t take more than 20 minutes to get there and back unless you take tons of photos once you get to the arch.

Because this arch trail is short, not many people do it, making it somewhat of a hidden gem. The area is shady, too, compared to the rest of the park, and it’s an easy trail to hike with the family.

This is a perfect easy hike in Arches if you want to see some of the incredible scenery without all of the hard work!

Double Arch Trail

Length: 0.6 miles

Average Time: 20 minutes

double arch in arches national park

Another of the best easy hikes in Arches National Park is the Double Arch Trail, one of my favorites! This hiking trail is a little over half a mile long, and there’s not much of an elevation at all. It’s an out-and-back trail that’s open year-round.

While you can easily see Double Arch from the parking lot without hiking, it’s genuinely worth it to take the short walk over to the arch. You truly can’t understand how large it is without walking over to it and standing under it!

Balanced Rock Loop Trail

Length: 0.3 miles

Average Time: 20 minutes

balanced rock viewpoint at sunset

When visiting Arches National Park, you can’t miss out on the Balanced Rock Loop Trail.

The main attraction of this hike is exactly what it sounds like: a giant rock balanced on top of a skinnier rock! The trail is super easy and loops around the rock while offering epic views of the rest of the park.

It’s genuinely one of the best hikes in Arches National Park. It’s family-friendly, easily accessible, and only has about 55 feet of elevation gain along the way.

If you’re wondering where a great place to stargaze is while visiting Arches National Park, be sure to park at the parking lot near Balanced Rock.

The views of the sun setting over Balanced Rock are incredible, and you can also look up and see the gorgeous stars.

Spots for parking here tend to go quickly, but not as quickly as the ones near Delicate Arch. For watching the stars, be sure to get there about an hour before the sun starts to set.

The Windows and Turret Arch

Length: 1.2 miles

Average Time: 45 minutes

girl standing under a giant arch

While this trail takes a bit longer, it’s still very much worth it as one of the best hikes in Arches National Park. Essentially, the hike includes three different arches: North Window, South Window, and Turret Arch.

This national park hike is relatively easy but does have an elevation gain of around 150 feet. It’s another one of the easy trails in Arches National Park that isn’t super busy, but the parking lot can get full during peak season.

The Windows and Turret Arch trail is kid-friendly and is very well-marked. There isn’t much shade along the way, so it’s another excellent hike to do in the morning!

Tower Arch Trail

Length: 2.4 miles

Average Time: 1.5 hours

A natural sandstone arch with a clear view of the sky, showcasing the striking orange-red rock formations of Arches National Park with a lone green shrub clinging to the rocky slope, symbolizing resilience in the arid desert landscape.

If you’re looking for a more advanced, easy trail in Arches, consider doing the Tower Arch Trail. It’s about 2.5 miles long and tends to be not used as often as the trails like Delicate Arch or Landscape Arch.

There are about 600 feet of elevation gain, so it is harder to hike than others on this list, but it is still one of the easier ones to hike in the park. The trail is relatively well marked as well, with cairns throughout the entire route.

Wolfe Ranch & Petroglyph Trail

Length: 0.5 miles

Average Time: 25 minutes

The Wolfe Ranch & Petroglyph Trail is an epic easy hike that’s extremely kid-friendly in Arches National Park. At only half a mile long, this trail is relatively accessible and is a great way to see the petroglyphs that Utah is so well known for.

The trail is relatively flat along the way, but there’s not a whole lot of shade, so try to go there early in the morning if you want to avoid the heat that the sun can bring. There are some cliffs near the arch, so be careful if you’re not a fan of heights.

Skyline Arch Hike

Length: 0.4 miles

Average Time: 20 minutes

Skyline Arch is one of the best national park hikes for all skill levels. It’s worth the extra twenty minutes to do this hike and see the incredible skyline arch.

Truthfully, even if you don’t decide to do the hike, you can get a great view of the arch from the parking lot.

Many people overlook this hike, so it’s usually not super busy. It’s a terrific hike in Arches to consider doing as a warm-up or cool-down before doing other hikes throughout the park!

Navajo Arch

Length: 2.9 miles

Average Time: 2 hours

shady navajo arch by the water

Navajo Arch is one of the most beautiful and underrated arches to see in the national park. It’s a bit longer at around 3 miles long, but it’s still a kid-friendly trail that’s accessible all year round.

Despite being easy, note that some parts of the trail can be a bit rocky.

This is a popular easy hike in Arches National Park to do after hiking Landscape Arch. The arch is also in the shade and tends not to be super crowded, so it provides an excellent escape if you’re looking for something a little more off the beaten path.

Broken Arch

Length: 1.7 miles

Average Time: 40 minutes

Another of the Arches National Park easy hikes is Broken Arch. It won’t take more than forty minutes max to explore and visit, but of course, it can take longer if you stop and take lots of photos along the way.

This trail is so great because it also features scenic views of more than one arch along the way. The hike to Broken Arch is kid-friendly, and there’s a parking lot right nearby. You can also hike to this one from the campground.

Landscape Arch

Length: 1.9 miles

Average Time: 50 minutes

landscape arch in arches national park

Easily, one of the best arches in Arches National Park is Landscape Arch. It’s just shy of two miles to get to it, but it’s one arch you won’t want to miss because it’s the largest of its kind. The out-and-back trail is pretty heavily trafficked, but it’s well worth it.

This is another of the easy kid-friendly hikes in Arches and is reasonably accessible. The arch is incredibly thin and could further deteriorate at any time, so it’s worth seeing it when you visit the park!

Park Avenue Trail

Length: 1.8 miles

Average Time: 50 minutes

Hikers on a trail within a canyon at Arches National Park, with towering red rock formations on either side under a vast blue sky with wispy clouds. A sign at the trailhead provides a notice for park visitors.

The Park Avenue Trail is one of the most underrated easy hikes at Arches National Park!

Many people drive right by it because it’s located near the entrance of the park. Instead of driving by it, take the time to stop and do the hike because it’s less than 2 miles.

The hike takes you right into a beautiful area right through tons of the huge rock formations in the park. It’s well-marked with cairns, and the scenery is spectacular. Plus, a lot of the hike is pretty flat.

Pine Tree Arch & Tunnel Arch

Length: 1 mile

Average Time: 30 minutes

Last but not least is the Pine Tree Arch & Tunnel Arch, which is only one mile long. It’s kid-friendly and has an incredible view, especially right behind Pine Tree Arch. This trail can get a bit busy as the day goes on, so consider doing it early in the morning or later in the evening.

Pine Tree Arch has a sandy area, unlike many other arches throughout the park. There is a bit of a steep climb if you want to go up to the arch and take a photo closer to it, but even the views without the climb will take your breath away.

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Final Thoughts: Arches Easy Hikes

This post was all about the best easy hikes in Arches National Park. Hopefully, you found some new ones to add to your Arches itinerary! Don’t forget to save this post by sharing it or pinning it for later.

Check out our vlog from our trip to Arches National Park & Capitol Reef!

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