Arches National Park Timed Entry Pilot System Comes to an End

In April of this year, Arches National Park started doing timed entry reservations and visitors were required to get an entry ticket for a specific time in advance. This was a pilot system, and it will be ending this next monday, October 3rd.

Timed entry system or not, you’re guaranteed a crowd at the popular Delicate Arch for sunset.

Be prepared for lines and crowds
Starting on October 4th, entry into the park will be back to what it was before the pilot system was implemented in April. In other words, visitors can arrive at any time, with no need for a timed reservation. This takes away having to worry about securing your entry time in advance, but it will likely lead to increased crowds, a long line to get into the park, and some parking lots may be full. To avoid all of these issues, I recommend getting up as early as you can in the morning. If you get in the park before 7am, you will probably have an uncrowded experience. From December to February though, visitation is quite low because of the cold weather, so you probably won’t have to worry about crowds during those months. Another way to avoid crowds in the busy season is to choose less visited hikes and sites, such as Broken Arch.

A silhouetted crowd for a sunrise at the popular North Window arch.

Will there be a timed entry system next year?
The purpose of the pilot system was to distribute visitation throughout the day, which would control some of the problems that have come about when the park gets congested. Now, they will evaluate how it impacted visitors and crowds, and then come up with a plan for the future. Over the next few months, those involved will be pouring over the data and feedback from visitors to determine if it makes sense to use the same timed entry reservations next year, and if they should make any modifications to it. So far the feedback has seemed overwhelmingly positive, so if I were a betting man I’d say we can expect the program to be back next year, even if there are some slight changes made to it. If you’re planning a trip in 2023 you can be better prepared by reading about the details of the timed entry system here.

If you are someone who likes avoiding crowds, Broken Arch is a great hike in Arches with hardly anyone compared to the popular Delicate Arch and Windows Area.