June 3, 2021
The entrance to Arches national park closed at 8:30 am this morning. Arrive early is the standard advice. Sunrise is at 6:00 am. As each car that is inside the park departs, the gate is opened to send in a replacement. Arches National Park warns you should expect a 3-5 hours wait to enter the park after the road road closure, until traffic eases in the late afternoon.
Sunset is at 8:30. If the entrance is closed when you arrive in the morning thru early afternoon, go see something else and come back at 4:00-5:00 pm (USA 12 hr clock time).
By Cycle?
Look at a map of Arches National Park. The park's roads all dead end and require turning around and leaving the park by the same way you entered. A restricted number of cars are allowed into the park. After entering the park, the road from the Visitor's Center to Park Ave. is a steep uphill climb that may or may not be accessible on a bicycle, but its a long steep climb and the temperature for the next 3 days is predicated 38 C or 100-102 F. Humidity is around 10%. My guess is that it is an elevation gain of over 1,000 ft. Drinking water is available only at the campground at the end of the road after you leave the visitor's center. Bring 4-8 lbs of water per person with you. There is no food available in the park.
Cyclists might also consider the 7 mile long unpaved road that starts at US Rt 191 2 miles north of UT Rt 313. I don't ride cycles, so I'm guessing on all this. Contact the Moab Tourist Information Office to find out more.
For what to do while waiting and hoping to get into Arches, see my Tip on Moab which starts: “Red Rocks and Beyond: A Guide to Moab and Its Incredible Natural Parks” by JoAnn Hill @dcglobejotters is such a good introduction to the Moab area that I see no point in doing another one. However, “Red Rocks and Beyond: A Guide to Moab and Its Incredible Natural Parks” is incomplete, lacking in important details that those of us who live in Utah know from our more detailed explorations of places like Arches National Park. Think of this as an extension of “Red Rocks and Beyond: A Guide to Moab and Its Incredible Natural Parks” that fills in some of those gaps”
