Management

About Us

The purpose of Arches National Park is to protect extraordinary examples of geologic features including arches, natural bridges, windows, spires, balanced rocks, as well as other features of geologic, historic, and scientific interest, and to provide opportunities to experience these resources and their associated values in their majestic natural settings.

Arches National Park is part of the Southeast Utah Group of parks, sharing staff and administrative offices with Canyonlands National Park, Hovenweep National Monument, and Natural Bridges National Monument. The Southeast Utah Group headquarters is in Moab, Utah.

Our Staff and Offices

Park Visitation Statistics

Your Fee Dollars at Work

Laws and Policies

 

Do Business With Us

Companies or individuals wishing to provide commercial services in the park such as guided hiking, tours and transportation, or photography tours, must have a commercial use authorization with our concessions and permit office. Read more about commercial services.

 

Founding Documents

Presidential Proclamation No. 1875 signed by President Herbert Hoover on April 12, 1929, established Arches National Monument for its "gigantic arches, natural bridges, windows, spires, balanced rocks, and other unique wind-worn sandstone formations, the preservation of which is desirable because of their educational and scenic value."

Just under a decade later, a second presidential proclamation signed November 25, 1938 by Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded the monument to preserve a contiguous 29,160 acres, "necessary for the proper care, management, and protection of the objects of scientific interest situated on the lands included" (Presidential Proclamation No. 2312).

The boundary was again modified by President Dwight Eisenhower (Proclamation No. 3360, signed July 26, 1960) and President Lyndon Johnson (No. 3887 signed January 21, 1969).

On November 12, 1971, Congress passed Public Law 92-155, signed by President Richard Nixon, creating Arches National Park. In 1998, President William Clinton signed Public Law 105-329 to expand the park boundaries once more.

In 2013, the park developed a Foundation Document to update a shared understanding of the park's purpose, significance, resources and values. This document can serve as a foundation for future planning and management decisions.