Can You Drive Through Arches National Park?
Yes — you can drive your own car the full length of Arches on the paved Arches Scenic Drive, an 18.7-mile road that runs from the entrance station to its end at Devil’s Garden. But you don’t drive *through* the park the way you would Zion: there’s no loop and no exit on the far side. The road is a dead-end, so it’s an out-and-back of about 37.4 miles round trip, and you leave the same way you came in. And new for 2026, you no longer need a timed-entry reservation to get in.
The road: Arches Scenic Drive
There’s only one main road in Arches, and it’s the one you drive. The Arches Scenic Drive climbs from the visitor center near the entrance, switchbacks up past Park Avenue and the Courthouse Towers, and runs north 18.7 miles to the trailhead at Devil’s Garden, where it stops. Two paved spur roads branch off it: one east to The Windows and Double Arch, and one to the Wolfe Ranch parking area for the Delicate Arch trail. It’s fully paved, gentle enough for any standard car, and takes most people two to three hours round trip with stops at the major viewpoints.
Because the road dead-ends, every viewpoint is an out-and-back. You drive in, see the arches, and drive back out the same corridor to U.S. 191 and Moab. There is no through-route to anywhere else — Arches is a destination you enter and exit, not a park you pass through on the way to somewhere.
What changed for 2026: no reservation needed
For three summers Arches ran a timed-entry pilot that forced visitors to book an arrival window in advance. As of 2026 that requirement is gone — the National Park Service confirmed in February that no timed-entry reservation is required to enter Arches this year. You still need a valid entrance pass (buy it at the gate or online at Recreation.gov), but you can simply show up during operating hours and drive in.
The one caveat: the park can still pause entry temporarily when the lots at the busiest stops — Delicate Arch, Devils Garden, The Windows, Double Arch — fill up. That’s a parking-capacity hold, not a reservation system. Arriving before about 8 a.m. or after 4 p.m. sidesteps it almost entirely in peak season.
What most people get wrong
People search “can you drive through Arches” expecting a pass-through scenic road like Zion’s Mount Carmel Highway, where you enter one side and exit the other. Arches doesn’t work that way. It’s a single dead-end road, so “driving through” really means driving in to the end and back. Budget for the full out-and-back distance and time — roughly 37 miles and a half-day if you stop at the headline arches — and don’t plan to “continue on” to another park from the far end, because there is no far end. To pair Arches with Canyonlands or Moab’s other sights, you return to U.S. 191 first.
Prefer a guided trip? Browsing guided Arches and Moab tours, 4×4 backcountry trips, and ranger-style arch hikes is the easiest way to lock in the highlights without the parking guesswork.
Renting a car? Most Utah parks trips start in Salt Lake City or Las Vegas — compare prices across every major rental company:
Can you drive your own car through Arches National Park?
Yes. The 18.7-mile Arches Scenic Drive is paved and open to private vehicles, and any standard car can handle it. It’s a dead-end road, though, so you drive in to Devil’s Garden and back out the same way rather than through to an exit on the other side.
How long does it take to drive the Arches scenic drive?
Plan on two to three hours round trip if you stop at the main viewpoints, and a half-day or more if you add short hikes like The Windows or Delicate Arch. The drive itself is about 37.4 miles out and back.
Do you need a reservation to drive into Arches in 2026?
No. The timed-entry reservation requirement was dropped for 2026 — you only need a valid park entrance pass. The park may still temporarily hold entry when parking fills at peak times.
Is the Arches scenic drive paved?
Yes, the main scenic drive and its two spur roads (to The Windows/Double Arch and to the Delicate Arch trailhead) are all paved and suitable for any vehicle. No high-clearance or 4WD is needed for the paved route.
Can you drive all the way to Delicate Arch?
No — the road takes you to the Wolfe Ranch trailhead, and reaching Delicate Arch itself requires a 3-mile round-trip hike. You can see it from a distance at the Delicate Arch Viewpoint, which is a short walk from its own parking area.
Keep planning your trip: 7-Day Utah National Parks Road Trip
