Arches National Park is a beautiful 76,679 acres park located on the Colorado River 4 miles north of Moab, Utah. It has many unique natural sandstone formations including balanced rocks, spires, fins and over 2,000 arches.  It was first designated a National Monument in April 1929 and redesignated a National Park in 1971.  Over 700,000 people visit Arches each year.

We spent most of our day at Arches driving and stopping along the scenic byway which traverses the park.  There are many pull-offs and trails of varying length and difficulty throughout the park.  Some of the arches are visible from the road or pull-offs and some require walking a trail.  The views in the park are stunning.  There are thousands of sandstone formations of all different shapes and sizes.  The salmon and buff colored sandstone is layered like a cake.  Massive multicolored fins of rock rise from the ground.   Some of those fins eroded over time and became arches.  Arches of varying sizes and age are located all throughout the park.  Over Forty two of these delicate arches have collapsed since the late 1970’s.  The early stages of new arch formations are also visible. Who knows how long it will take for those tiny young holes to develop and grow into full sized arches.  As you continue through the park you can see sandstone rocks appearing to defy gravity by precariously balancing atop spires and fins. Every turn of the road brings another beautiful formation into view. It truly is an amazing place that should be on everyones bucket list.

Visiting our nation’s parks was one of the reasons we began our journey around the United States.  So far their beauty has been breathtaking.  Arches National Park is certainly at or near the top of our list of the most beautiful parks in America.  Next week we visit Zion National Park in southern Utah and we can’t wait to see what that brings!

Check out more pictures of Arches NP on our Travel Gallery page.