In recent summers, visitors eager to see the towering red rock arches and sculpted canyons of one of the United States’ most iconic landscapes were met with the same question: Did you get a reservation? Since 2022, Arches National Park has required timed-entry permits for vehicles arriving during peak seasons and daytime hours in order to curb crowding and traffic congestion. But this year, that system is taking a seasonal pause.
The National Park Service announced in early July that through August 27, 2025, it is suspending its timed-entry requirement. That means for the rest of the summer, travelers can visit the Utah park between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. without securing a spot in advance—a notable change for one of the country’s most popular national parks.
“Moab visitation traditionally dips a bit during the peak of summer heat,” Karen Henker, who oversees public affairs at Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, told Afar. “We figured, when the park isn’t crowded, a system to manage the arrival of visitors and prevent overcrowded parking lots isn’t needed. So far, that’s proven true; visitors who are braving the heat and smoky skies are finding plenty of space to park and hike.”
The National Park Service says the temporary suspension of the timed-entry requirement is tied to a natural dip in visitation during the peak heat of summer. July and August temperatures in the park frequently climb above 100 degrees, and far fewer tourists visit during that window compared to spring and fall.
Without the same level of vehicle congestion, park officials say the permit system simply isn’t necessary during this stretch—and pausing it gives the park a chance to study how visitation flows without the restrictions.
There are more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches throughout the park, including perhaps the most famous and photographed Delicate Arch.
Photo by CosmicTimeTraveler/Unsplash
Why did Arches National Park introduce timed entry in the first place? In 2021, visitation to Arches National Park had surged to more than 1.8 million people annually, with cars often being turned away at the entrance due to a lack of parking and road capacity. The intense traffic led to long wait times, a strain on the park’s natural resources, and a diminished visitor experience.
“By implementing a temporary, timed-entry reservation system, our goal is to better spread visitation throughout the day to reduce traffic congestion and visitor crowding. We believe this will create a higher-quality experience while maximizing access for our visitors,” Patricia Trap, the former superintendent of Arches National Park, stated in a 2021 press release announcing the timed-entry program. “Additionally, we will use data gathered from this pilot to adapt and improve this system throughout the season, as well as to inform our future responses going forward.”
The timed-entry program rolled out in 2022 and required visitors to book a one-hour arrival window in advance for any midday entrance between April 1 and October 31.
Arches is one of several national parks, including Acadia, Glacier, and Rocky Mountain, that have adopted timed-entry systems in recent years, part of a larger effort to protect the landscapes and prevent overcrowding in the parks. Yosemite National Park in California—which has tested multiple versions of timed entry over the past four years—rolled out a revised system for 2025 that’s narrower in scope but similar in intent, with permits only required during the busiest summer stretch (June 15 through August 15) and on select holiday weekends, and only for arrivals between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m for the 2025 season. Outside those windows, travelers can come and go without a reservation.
Make luxury glamping outpost Ulum in nearby Moab your headquarters while exploring Arches.
Courtesy of Ulum
Visiting Arches National Park
It’s worth noting that the rest of the reservation season at Arches National Park remains intact. Timed-entry tickets are still required from August 28 through October 31, 2025. Outside of those dates—or before 7 a.m. and after 4 p.m. daily—no permit is required. Those with existing camping, backcountry, Fiery Furnace (a labyrinthine hike through slot canyons and narrow passages that requires its own permit), or special-use permits also receive a timed-entry exception.
Timed-entry tickets are available at recreation.gov and require a $2 processing fee. Park entrance fees, which range from $15 to $30, can be purchased online (and come with the processing fee) or can be paid upon arrival at the park (those with a valid America the Beautiful pass or a free or discounted pass don’t have to pay an entrance fee, just the timed-entry processing fee).
The timed-entry program typically runs from April 1 to October 31, and it’s unclear whether the requirement will be waived in July and August 2026 as well.
Arches National Park is Utah at its most otherworldly. Spanning more than 76,000 acres in eastern Utah, just north of Moab on the Colorado Plateau, it’s known for being home to the highest concentration of natural stone arches on earth. It has more than 2,000 documented across the protected land, ranging from tiny specimens to the 306-foot-long Landscape Arch, that glow gold and crimson at sunrise and sunset.
The park’s winding scenic drive connects a greatest-hit lineup of formations, including the gravity-defying Delicate Arch (the one on the Utah license plate), Double Arch’s swooping twin spans, and the towering rock columns known as the Tree Gossips. Despite the rough-hewn terrain, many of the park’s most incredible sites are surprisingly accessible; short walks lead to major viewpoints (though, like its Mighty Five brethren, Arches is also packed with longer, more technical hikes, such as the Devils Garden Trail, a rugged eight-mile loop past multiple arches and secluded viewpoints).
While there’s no lodging inside the park itself aside from one camping spot, the Devils Garden Campground, tucked deep inside the park, nearby Moab has plenty of funky motels and upscale hotels. For elevated desert glamping, Ulum, an upscale spin-off from the Under Canvas brand, offers safari-style tents with king beds, en suite bathrooms, private decks, and rain showers set on 200 acres of private land bordered by parkland (it was named one of the best new hotels of 2024 by Afar). There, guests can unwind with morning yoga, refuel at the on-site restaurant serving Southwest-inspired fare, participate in naturalist-guided hikes, or sit in on a stargazing session; Moab has also been designated an International Dark Sky Community, so the nighttime celestial viewing is an attraction unto itself.
