Is It Worth It To Visit Arches National Park In The Winter?
I’ve been to Arches National Park countless times over the years, but this last year was my first visit to Arches National Park in the winter.
We spent a few days around New Year’s Eve exploring Arches National Park as a family, and it was a great time!
I know it can be difficult to decide if it’s worth it to visit a specific destination in the off-season, so I’m here to let you in on the pros and cons of visiting Arches National Park in December/January (slash the winter in general) to help you decide if it seems like it will be a good time to visit for you!
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✨ OUR ARCHES NATIONAL PARK FAVORITES ✨
WHERE WE STAYED:
😍 WORLDMARK MOAB: We loved our stay here!One-bedroom apartment style accomodations,free breakfast AND a beautiful heated pool and hot tub that you can even use in the dead of winter! We found a killer deal to stay here in mid-January.
EXCURSIONS TO BOOK:
🛻 Adventurous Off-Road Jeep Adventure: Discover another side of Moab on this thrilling (yet safe) off-roading Jeep experience! Crazy good reviews!
🏎️ Hell's Revenge U-Drive 4x4 Tour + Petroglyphs: Be your own driver in a 4x4 guided by a professional navigating the adventurous Hell's Revenge landscape!
🚲 2-Hour Ebike Petroglyph Tour: Take an easy Ebike ride through a beautiful canyon visiting several ancient sites and petroglyph panels along the way.
✨ Sightseeing Tour of Arches National Park with Easy Walks: Want to see Arches without any long hikes? This is the perfect driving tour of Arches with only viewpoint and easy walks!
OUR OTHER TRAVEL FAVORITES:
📸 Tours/Excursions: Viator & Get Your Guide
🚕 Airport Transfers with Car Seats: Welcome Pickups
👉 Travel Strollers: Zoe Traveler & Zoe Double
🍼 Baby Carriers: Tula Carriers, Wildride Hip Carriers
📱 International Data Phone eSIM: Airalo
🚗 Cheap Rental Cars: Economy Bookings
🏠 Accomodations: Booking, Expedia, VRBO, Airbnb
🌎 Travel Insurance: World Nomads
We receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using the above link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.
Is WINTER a Good Time to Visit ARCHES NATIONAL PARK?
In my opinion, winter is the second-best time to visit Arches National Park and overall a great time to visit. Spring is my first pick for visiting Arches (think March/April), but then winter is a close second.
Winter time offers minimal crowds, which means plenty of parking is available, empty roads, and no long waits at the entrance.
This is a huge positive about visiting in the winter because lines, crowds, waits and lack of parking can become a huge problem when visiting Arches in the late spring/summer.
When we visited Arches in the winter, there were plenty of parking spots available at all of the trailheads and it didn’t feel crowded at all.
That being said, even in the first week of January, there were still other people on the trails with us; however, in mid-January after the Christmas/New Years holiday, it’s even quieter.
This graph on the Arches NP website really helps show just how much less crowded the park is in November, December, January and February.
So, if you’re looking for the absolute quietest time to visit, aim for December and January.
Pros of Visiting Arches in the Winter
- Lack of crowds (SO much quieter than peak spring/summer)
- Way cheaper accommodations (we stayed at WorldMark Moab and it was barely over $100 per night)
- You can hike at any time of day and not be too hot
- If you happen to have snow, it’s a unique, beautiful sight to see atop the red rocks
Cons of Visiting Arches in the Winter
- It can be a bit chilly!
- Ice and snow can potentially be a problem on the trails (we had no issues with this)
- Ranger-led programs in the park, like hikes and campfire talks, aren’t held in the winter
- Some other tours/excursions, like this whitewater rafting trip from Moab, aren’t running in the winter (But some are! Like this Hell’s Revenge 4X4 U-Drive Tour!)
Does it Snow in Arches National Park in Winter?
It can! Arches National Park is most likely to receive snow in the months of December or January. But even when it does snow, it generally doesn’t stick around longer than 2-3 days.
But even a little bit of snow can make popular trails icy and slick, making traction devices or hiking poles necessary.
We didn’t have any snow during our trip to Arches in late December/early January. However, we did happen upon a few small patches of snow and ice from an earlier snowfall.
Seeing the ice made us realize that it could get quite slick if the entire trail was compacted snow and ice, and it’d be necessary to have some easy, slip-on traction devices like these (these are the kind that the park rangers recommend).
🥾 CLICK HERE TO SEE THE EASY, SLIP-ON TRACTION DEVICES YOU MAY NEED IF IT SNOWS AT ARCHES 🥾
Where To Stay in Moab in the Winter
Moab is the town just outside of Arches, and where you’ll most likely want to stay.
Visiting in January is actually the perfect time to get a great deal on accommodations in Moab.
We stayed at WorldMark Moab when we visited over New Year’s, and we had a great time. Although WorldMark can be quite expensive in peak months (like most places in Moab) it can actually be quite affordable in the winter!
For a few nights over New Year’s Eve, we paid barely over $100 per night for our 1-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and sofa bed at WorldMark. For a family that basically feels free 😆.
Even though we had a kitchen, we still also got free breakfast! It was nice to be able to easily pack lunches and make dinner at home, but then have an easy go-to breakfast each day.
One of the best parts was that although it was below freezing outside at night, we were still able to use the outdoor, heated pool and hot tub! It was a fun thing to look forward to after exploring in the park each day (and our kids loved it, obviously).
There are also gas fire pits near the pool you can sit around, BBQs you can use, an indoor game room, and an outdoor playground on-site.
Overall, WorldMark is a really lovely place to stay, especially if you can get a killer winter deal.
😍🛏️✨ CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE WE STAYED IN MOAB WITH A HEATED POOL & HOT TUB! 😍🛏️✨
What is the Weather in Arches National Park in THE WINTER?
My favorite way to research the weather of a specific destination is to visit AccuWeather.com. On Accuweather, I search for my specific destination and then, in the top bar, select ‘monthly’.
This pulls up a calendar with the expected average high and low temperatures for each day of your selected month in the upcoming year.
However, my favorite feature is to select the month of the previous year in the dropdown menu to see the actual high and low temperatures for the previous year.
This gives a pretty good, comprehensive view of what the weather may be like during the time period you are interested in visiting.
In December and January in Arches National Park, you can expect daytime temperatures in the mid-30s° F to mid-40°s F with very cold nighttime temperatures ranging from 15° F to 20 ° F.
When we were in Arches over New Year’s Eve, we had sunny weather with daily high temperatures around 40° F and nighttime temperatures around 15° F.
But even with the bitterly cold nighttime temperatures, we were still able to swim and hot tub in our outdoor heated pool after a day of hiking (we found a killer winter deal at WorldMark Moab and really enjoyed it!).
😍🛏️✨ CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE WE STAYED IN MOAB WITH A HEATED POOL! 😍🛏️✨
WHAT ACTIVITIES CAN YOU DO IN THE WINTER IN ARCHES?
You can do most things in and around Arches National Park in the winter season; however, there are a few things not running. Below I’ll give you a list of things you CAN do and things you CAN’T in the winter. Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list, but it will help give you the general idea.
Things You Can Do in Arches in the Winter Season
- Visit the park’s visitor center (be sure to pick up a free Junior Ranger Guide if you’re visiting Arches with kids!)
- Hiking on all of the trails (potentially not Fiery Furnace, but look into it)
- Visit quirky local shops in Moab (our favorites are the Rock Shop to see dino fossils and geodes and the iconic T-Shirt Shop to make a custom shirt!) Keep in mind, a few shops/restaurants close around the holidays for a few weeks
- Go swimming if your hotel has an outdoor heated pool or hot tub! Ours did and we loved it-check it out here!
- Explore outside of Arches on an adventurous (but safe) 4X4 U-Drive Tour of Hell’s Revenge
Things You Can’t Do in Arches in the Winter Seasons
- Ranger-led programs within Arches, such as fireside talks and ranger-led hikes, do not operate in the winter
- No whitewater rafting (like this trip) are operating (for obvious, cold reasons)
- A few random shops/ eateries may close around the holidays for a couple of weeks (if there are specific ones you want to visit, you may want to reach out to them beforehand)
WHAT TO WEAR WHEN VISITING ARCHES IN THE WINTER
The key to dressing for a day out in Arches National Park in the winter is to be prepared for variable weather with layers.
We started out each day in long pants, sweaters, light puffer jackets, and beanies; however, once the sun was high in the sky, we warmed up and stripped down to just our sweaters.
This can make hiking a bit tricky as you shed layers along the way and have to carry them with you (maybe just tricky for us since we were also carrying the extra layers for our three kids 🤪).
One important thing to keep in mind is that as the sun sets, it gets cold FAST.
If you’re starting a hike in mid-afternoon, it may not feel too chilly; however, you still need to pack your layers to avoid getting cold as the sun goes down.
WHAT TO WEAR IN ARCHES NATIONAL PARK IN WINTER
- Long Pants
- Sweater/Long Sleeve
- Light Puffer
- Beanie
- Gloves
- Wool Socks
- Hiking Boots/Shoes with Good Traction
It’s good to have all of these things with you and then shed layers as necessary. Thankfully, the bright afternoon sun can warm things up, but in the shade in the early morning, it can be quite chilly.
Summer vs Winter at Arches National Park
Yes, the weather can be a bit chilly in Arches in the winter, but it’s still quite lovely. It’s shocking to me that the super-hot summer months are the park’s busiest months because the heat is seriously unbearable.
If your only two available times to visit Arches are either peak winter or peak summer, I’d choose PEAK WINTER EVERY time.
In the summer, the daily temperatures in Arches can surpass 100° F 🥵.
Not only would it be miserable to explore the park in the extreme summer heat, but it’s actually quite dangerous to hike in those conditions.
In the hot summer months, rangers recommend that hikes be completed quite early in the morning, before the sun is high in the sky, to avoid any major problems.
In my opinion, it’s far better to visit in the winter and have to wear a couple of extra layers and enjoy yourself all day long in the park than try to explore the park in the oppressive summer heat.
Visiting in the winter gives you a lot more flexibility in what you can do and when you can do it because the heat is not an issue.
PLUS, even in the winter, we still got to enjoy the heated outdoor pool and hot tub where we stayed at WorldMark Moab, which you may only think of as an option in the summer!
OTHER GOOD TIMES TO VISIT ARCHES NATIONAL PARK
Of course, winter and summer aren’t the only two times to visit Arches.
Spring and fall are the two best times to visit the park with temperatures generally in the 60°s F and 70°s F. My favorite month to visit is March because of moderate temperatures and minimal crowds compared to other months.
Arches is an extremely popular national park, which can sometimes mean a lot of waiting in line, traffic on the scenic roads and inability to find parking.
The busiest time at Arches is from April to October, from 8 am- 3 pm. During these peak periods, parking lots often fill up and/or entrance is restricted (which can last for hours at a time).
You can read all about potential traffic jams, hour-long waits in line, and more on the Arches National Park website here. On that same page is also a very cool graph that shows the number of visitors throughout the year, highlighting peak times over holiday weekends etc.
Personally, I think that visiting with such intense crowds (and potentially heat) doesn’t sound like a very pleasurable experience.
One thing to know is that the park has gone through periods of requiring a timed-entrance ticket for visits from April to October.
However, as of 2026, they’re no longer requiring that. However, if you plan to visit in that time period, you may want to check their official website to see if they have reimplemented a reservations system.
☀️ LOOKING FOR MORE ABOUT ARCHES NATIONAL PARK?
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✨ The Ultimate Guide to Arches National Park with Kids: Things to Do + Map and Tips
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