Is Arches NP worth it?
 

We were planning on taking an early morning tour next month but with the time pressure we are not sure. How long does it take to drive through? Is it worth it? I mean the pictures I have seen look incredible but it always seems to be of the same arch. If we do go, should we take our time and leave the car behind? Any info would be very helpful.

Absolutely! A quick drive through might take a couple of hours. It's worth getting out of the car and taking one or more hikes. Some may be guided by NPS personnel.

The hike to Delicate Arch is a "must-do." The hike takes about 45 minutes each way, and is fairly easy to moderate. There are other great sights, such as Wall Street. It's a canyon that looks (so they say) like Manhattan (a silhouette of office buildings). It's right off the main road, and is about a 5-10 walk to a goor view.

I'm with the other poster! Arches is beautiful and manageable enough to do in a few hours. The trails are right off the main road, so you can get out of the car and easily do a number of them in an afternoon. The arch you keep seeing pictures of is probably "Delicate Arch". Although it is the most famous , there are more natural bridges throughout Arches. If you are going to do a trip through southern Utah, you would be foolish to skip Arches.

How long of a drive is it to Salt Lake City, specifically West Lake? What is the best route to take? Thanks for all the advice!

I agree with the other posters Arches is a wonderful park. The hike to Delicate Arch was the most memorable of all our hikes in southern Utah and we did many in Arches, Bryce, and Zion and Canyonlands. I think it took about 6 hours to drive from SLC can't remember the exact route. By all means do Arches!

We did the drive out of Salt Lake about 3 years ago. We took I-15 south to a little below Provo, and got off on 6. Take 6 to I-70. we stopped for lunch in Price, a neat little ole town. It took, if I remember correctly, about a little over 4 hours (excluding lunch). I think somewhere south of Price there's an old ghost town that's about 10 miles off the main road. It was pretty neat. There were (small) signs for the place.

Arches was fabulous! we were there last summer. If I remember correctly, they post warnings about NOT hiking off the paved paths, because you can easily get lost among all the labyrinths. Definitely do the guided hike, and bring plenty of film!

joan refers to fiery furnace hike....a ranger lead hike that costs about $7 i think. another good hike is to broken arch taking the entire loop through the arch and the campgrounds.