Arches National Park Timed Entry Pilot

Duration:

1 minute, 39 seconds

Visiting Arches? From April 1 to October 31, visitors are required to have a timed entry ticket to enter the park. In this video, Rangers help you plan your next trip and outline what you’ll need to enter the park.

Learn more about reserving your ticket.

 

For a fully accessible version of this infographic, click the image above.

NPS/Veronica Verdin

What You Need

From April 1 through October 31, 2023, visitors entering the park in a vehicle will need two things:

1. Timed Entry Ticket

2. Park Entrance Fee OR valid Park Pass (includes Annual, Senior, Access, Military, 4th Grade, or Volunteer passes). See all qualifying Entrance Fees and Passes.

Ticketed entry will run from 7 am to 4 pm daily. Those without a ticket may enter the park before 7 am or after 4 pm. The park is open 24/7.

Already Booked an Activity?

Timed entry tickets will not be required for those with camping, backcountry, Fiery Furnace, or special use permits; nor those with concessions contracts, commercial use authorizations, or academic fee waivers.

 

You Shared, We Listened

Between 2011 and 2021, visitation to Arches National Park grew over 73 percent, from just over 1 million to over 1.8 million visitors per year. This dramatic rise in visitation has increased entrance line wait times, parking lot congestion, and crowding on trails, which can negatively impact visitor experiences, visitor safety, and park resources.

The NPS met with the public in two September 2021 virtual public meetings to discuss potential solutions to these challenges and solicit comments about congestion management during a 30-day comment period from September 5–October 5, 2021.

After reviewing comments from members of the public, stakeholders, and elected officials, the NPS determined that a temporary timed entry pilot could help Arches proactively pace visitation into the park.

In 2022, Arches implemented its first pilot timed entry system. Data and visitor survey results from the 2022 pilot demonstrate that timed entry reservations improved the quality of visitor experiences, improved access to parking, increased vehicle processing time yet eliminated temporary closures, and helped protect Arches’ extraordinary landscape. Learn more about the 2022 findings here.

One of Several Possible Solutions

Timed entry is only one congestion management strategy out of several others, including shuttle systems. Information collected during this year’s temporary program will help Arches refine entrance road operations to determine timed entry’s viability as a longer-term solution. Timed entry, or another congestion management strategy, may be implemented more permanently under the larger visitor use plan that the park will begin in 2023. This planning effort, known as the Visitor Use Management Plan, will consider a variety of congestion management strategies in addition to timed entry and will engage the public throughout the process.

Ready to Make a Timed Entry Reservation?

Explore the following links to make your reservation, purchase passes, and learn more about the timed entry system.