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Delicate Arch in Arches National Park

By local experts at Discover Moab

Planning to visit Arches National Park this year? You’ll need a timed entry reservation, in addition to your parks pass! Nine national parks across the country require timed entry reservations this year.

During high visitation days of 2025, Arches National Park is implementing a timed entry system to reduce crowing in the park. That means during certain hours in certain months of the year, you need to reserve a time to enter the park, like you would make a table reservation at a restaurant. The system guarantees you will be able to enter the park during peak times of the year.

Reservations are required for visitors wishing to enter the park between 7 am and 4 pm daily, from April 1 to July 6 and from August 28 to October 31. Yes, that means there is a pause in the reservation requirement from July 7 to August 27. You can enter the park during those dates without a reservation.

Keep in mind, the park is open 24 hours! You can always enter the park outside of the hours of 7 am and 4 pm, and you do not need a reservation to do so. Starting your hikes early is a good way to avoid the heat, and Arches National Park is a dark sky park, meaning the night sky is spectacular!

When you enter the park at any time on any day of the year, you still need to pay the entrance fee to the park, which is $30 (or have a parks pass, such as the America the Beautiful pass). You can pay the entrance fee at the gate or pay online.

Landscape Arch at night: the Milky Way is pictured above it.
The Three Gossips pictured with a storm in the background

Okay, so, how do you enter the park between the hours of 7 am and 4 pm from April 1 to July 6 and August 28 to October 31?

  • Timed entry reservations are available six months in advance starting at 8 am MST. You can reserve your entry time on Recreation.gov for $2.
  • Next-day reservations become available at 7 pm daily. That means that if you missed reserving your entry time, you still have a chance to reserve a time the night before the day you want to go. Any unreserved timeslots remain open for same-day booking.
  • You can enter the park before 7 am or after 4 pm without a reservation.
  • You can enter the park without a reservation if you have booked a campsite or other activity within the park, such as a Fiery Furnace tour. You can book those activities at Recreation.gov.
  • When you arrive, you will also need to purchase a park pass at the gate (or online). Passes are $30 per vehicle. You can also buy an “America the Beautiful” pass for $80, which will get you into any National Park for a year.
For more information about the 2025 Timed Entry Pilot, including a complete schedule of ticket releases, visit: go.nps.gov/ArchesTicket! And save this graphic to your phone or social media pages:

A graphic that reads - To enter the park April 1-July 6 and August 28-October 31,2025 between 7am and 4 pm: One night to six months before you go: Reserve a time to enter the park on Recreation.gov; When you go: Pay the entrance fee or bring your park pass to the gate.

A view of The Windows section of Arches National Park, with the snow-covered La Sal Mountains in the background. The Windows, Arches National Park

To visit Arches National Park this summer (from April to October), visitors need to reserve a time to enter the park in addition to purchasing a park pass.



Press release by Arches National Park


In response to feedback from stakeholders and the general public, Arches National Park is changing its 2025 pilot timed entry reservation system to accept reservations up to six months in advance—twice as long as previously announced.

According to recent surveys, 15-26% of Arches’ visitors plan their trip six months or more in advance. “Enabling earlier reservations gives people more flexibility in planning their visit to Arches,” said Arches National Park Superintendent Lena Pace. “To accommodate all travel styles, we will also continue to release next-day tickets, which often remain open for same-day booking.”

The previously-announced decision to not require reservations from July 7 to August 27, 2025, (after July 4th weekend until just before Labor Day weekend) is also an adaptation based on feedback from past pilots. Visitation traditionally slows down during peak summer months when daytime temperatures are hottest, reducing the need to manage crowding in the park.

All other program parameters will remain the same. Visitors arriving between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the program is in effect will need to have booked a timed entry ticket in order to enter the park (unless they have camping, tour, or special use permits; concessions contracts; commercial use authorizations; academic or volunteer fee waivers; or are from an associated Tribal Nation). Visitors arriving before 7 a.m. or after 4 p.m., or between July 7 and August 7, 2025, will not need a timed entry ticket.

Tickets must be obtained before entering the park and will not be available at the park entrance. Visitors can reserve their tickets through Recreation.gov, either online or over the phone (1-877-444-6777), beginning at 8 a.m. MST on January 2, 2025. Reservations will be released up to six months in advance in blocks. On January 2, reservations will open for all dates in April, May, and June. On February 1, reservations will open for the month of July and unreserved times for April, May, and June will remain open. The full release schedule is as follows:
  • April to June reservations (April 1-June 30) open January 2.
  • July reservations (July 1-6) open February 1.
  • August reservations (August 28-31) open March 1.
  • September reservations (September 1-30) open April 1.
  • October reservations (October 1-31) open May 1.
Starting March 31, additional tickets will be released at 7 p.m. MT nightly for park visits the following day. Any unreserved tickets remain available for same-day booking.

After booking a reservation, visitors will receive a timed entry ticket that allows them to enter during a one-hour specified window. After entering, visitors may stay in the park for the remainder of the day. Ticket holders may exit and re-enter the park on the same day with a correctly validated ticket. The only cost associated with booking a reservation is a $2 Recreation.gov processing fee. 

Arches’ pilot timed entry program is an effort to improve visitors’ experiences through managed access. Visitation to Arches National Park grew 73 percent between 2011 and 2021, nearing 2 million people annually. This increase was concentrated during certain hours, causing congestion at key park destinations, reduced visitor enjoyment, and increased resource damage. During times of peak congestion prior to implementing these pilots, the park had to temporarily close its gate until crowding lessened, resulting in many visitors being unable to enter the park at their preferred time or at all. The vehicle reservation pilots in 2022, 2023, and 2024 were successful in reducing congestion, improving visitor experiences, providing reliable access, and distributing visitation throughout the day. Visitors arriving with the appropriate timed entry ticket and park pass were guaranteed entry to the park during the pilots.  

For more information about the 2025 pilot timed entry program, please visit go.nps.gov/ArchesTicket. Details and updates will also be posted on the Arches National Park Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram pages.

The most enjoyable trips to Arches are safe ones. When making your travel plans, draft an itinerary that matches your current health and fitness with the expected temperature and trail conditions at the time of your visit. Then, build in some flexibility so you can nimbly react to the unexpected, too.

Charlotte Quigley, an older woman, posing with her easel on the upper Mill Creek Trail. Charlotte Quigley, 2025 Community Artist in the Parks [Courtesy of the National Park Service]

Press release by the National Park Service

The National Park Service Southeast Utah Group is pleased to announce the selection of Charlotte Quigley as the 2025 Community Artist in the Parks (CAIP).

Quigley has a deep well of experience with both art and national parks. A life-long watercolorist, she also works in pastels and, more recently, oil paints. She has a master’s degree in art history and experience as a youth arts teacher, arts council director, and member of the Gallery Moab cooperative. After living at several national parks in New Mexico, Quigley moved to Moab 18 years ago. “I feel so fortunate to be in such a beautiful place, where there are so many amazing subjects so close at hand.”

About her upcoming tenure as Community Artist in the Parks, Quigley says, “I’m excited to have this opportunity to paint in the parks and encourage others in their creative endeavors. This is a chance to really focus on our beautiful landscape and share its unique characteristics with others.”

Created in 2009, the CAIP program highlights the connection between a local artist and the surrounding landscapes, particularly Arches and Canyonlands national parks and Hovenweep and Natural Bridges national monuments. Participating artists must reside in Grand, San Juan, or Montezuma counties.

As the Community Artist for 2025, Charlotte Quigley will create original work within the parks for a minimum of 24 hours per month, April through October, and share her inspiration and creative process with visitors. Her work will be sold in Canyonlands Natural History Association stores during her tenure.

For more information about the program and a schedule of the community artist’s park activities, visit go.nps.gov/CAIP.