Written by Kyle
Sometimes you don’t have days to spend in a national park….but does that mean you still shouldn’t go? We found ourselves passing through Moab on the way to Bonneville World of Speed, and Bee asked if we would swing through Arches National Park in the morning. I checked the NPS website and surprisingly there were timed entry passes available! September is still prime time here due to the warmer climate, so they are still requiring a timed entry pass in addition to your parks pass through the end of October.
We got up early and headed to the entrance with our timed entry ticket and National Park Pass in hand. The lines were super short at 8am and we breezed right in, taking in the sights on the drive in, stopping for an occasional photo, and we made our way to the two areas we decided to explore further.
We arrived at the Windows Viewpoint & Trail, parked, and headed up the trail. We were able to catch the sun rising through the windows, and there were not many people this early in the morning. We connected the few short trails and grabbed a few photos, then headed back to the truck.
We were able to spot many more of the natural features with the help of our handy map on the way to the Delicate Arch Viewpoint Trail. We double timed it up the trail (to us this was low altitude!) to view the arch. You could see tons of people who hit the trails bright and early to make the hike all the way to Delicate Arch, with the heat here an early start seems the smart move!
We made our way out of the park and pointed the truck north to SLC. So is it worth a couple hour detour to breeze through a national park? Verdict – Yes! We may not have had the days to explore the area, but even a quickly planned couple hour stop can allow you to see some of the key sights, get a couple miles hike in, and plan ahead for a (longer) future visit!
Ramble Around 