what must be seen if only have 1 day?
thanks

Melissa

Once again Melissa, you'll be entering Arhes National Park going through a ranger station where they'll provide you with a map of the park. (You should also purchase a southwest national park guidebook before you get there.) Even the entrance to Arches is amazing! Of all of Utah's parks, Arches was my favorite.
The most popular hike here is to the Delicate Arch. If you search this site, you'll come up with a ton of information for all of Utah's parks. If you take on this hike, go early in the a.m. We waited and hiked after dinner thinking it would eventually cool off. We all carried water and drank every drop! The hike to Delicate Arch was a highlight of our trip.
Driving throughout Arches is just incredible!

I would suggest as you drive in stop at all the scenic turn outs. Park Avenue is a must stop photo stop. Take the loop to see the windows section and take a short stroll over to the North Window and also Double Arch.

There is a Delicate Arch overlook but you see it from pretty far away.

The whole scenic drive is in itself a treat. At the end take the 2 mile round trip hike to Landscape Arch. It's a pretty easy trail but carry plenty of water.

If you feel up to it I highly recommend the 3 mile round trip hike to Delicate Arch. Save this for late afternoon - early evening because then you get the sun light on the arch. Again carry plenty of water. I really like using my misty-mate to keep cool.

http://www.mistymate.com/

Utahtea

P. S. Here are some pictures we took at Arches a few years ago.

http://pages.ivillage.com/utahtea2/id15.html

Utahtea

For anyone contemplating a trip to Arches: We were there in late August, and did a lot of driving through the park, as well as some hiking to various arches. We hiked the trail to the overlook and saw Delicate Arch in the distance, but my huge regret of the time there was that we didn't take the time to hike to the Arch itself. It looks to be spectacular and unique--I would recommend that anyone who could walk the comparatively short distance should do it.

Hiked to Delicate Arch and Double O Arch Labor Day weekend. What a blast!!! I reiterate, take plenty of water!! The view at Delicate Arch is worth the effort. It was a real treat walking the last couple of hundred yards on the trail and then turning the corner to see it.

If I could do one thing, it would be the Fiery Furnace ranger-led walk. Sign up for it as soon as you get there in the morning, or try calling in advance and see if they let you sign up over the phone.
You'll also have time to do some of the other things people have suggested-Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, etc, and those are great, but the Fiery Furnace walk really gets you away from the mobs and into a magical place.

My personal favorite in Arches would be the Devil's Garden trail (about 5 miles total) where you see at least 7 major arches. This trail also takes you over the back of one of the rock fins itself. Great stuff and it leaves you with plenty of time to do some of the shorter hikes to some of the other arches.