Traveling to Arches National Park is like visiting another planet, one with thousands of natural sandstone arches, red rocks and landforms in amazing configurations, and light that seems to change every moment. The way the shadows play across the arches makes the park especially intriguing for photographers, who are drawn to capturing its enchanting vistas at dawn and dusk in particular. But Arches National Park is not just a shutterbug’s paradise.
Sitting 5 miles northwest of Moab, Utah, the park boasts 26 miles of scenic road and hikes for every level of fitness. Hikers can choose from a wide variety of trails, from short 20-minute walks to Balanced Rock and the Double Arch, to more remote and challenging treks through the Fiery Furnace and up to Delicate Arch. When you need to come back down to Earth, simply look up: the Colorado Plateau is home to some of the darkest skies in the contiguous United States, yielding impressive views of the Milky Way.
Size: 77,000 acres